Coming into the 2023 offseason, there were a lot of areas where the Orioles could stand to improve. Starting pitching continued to be a thorn in the O’s wings, the lineup needed more left-handed options and the front office would look to replace underproducing veterans at second base and backup catcher.
However, one area where Birdland surely felt the Orioles were set was relief pitching. After all, the O’s relief corps was coming off a season where they finished ninth in all of baseball with a bullpen ERA of 3.49. Breakout seasons from Félix Bautista, Dillon Tate and Cionel Pérez invoked fond memories of the days of Darren O’Day, Brad Brach and Zack Britton closing out games in Baltimore.