Orioles’ 2017 expectations took another big hit Tuesday, when the Boston Red Sox pulled off the first major deal of the winter meetings and added a third Cy Young caliber starting pitcher to their rotation.
Chris Sale hasn’t won a Cy Young Award, but he always seems to be in the running and he’s going to be matching up against the Orioles fairly regularly over the next few years, which might improve his chances if their recent success against left-handed pitchers is any indication.
So the outlook for the next incarnation of the O’s continues to dim, which does not make this offseason much different from any of the previous five that Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter have been running the team.