The Baltimore Orioles‘ pitching rotation needs some serious help. Other than Trevor Rogers, they have no top-notch starters they can count on to eat innings, strike out batters, and win games. 

While they may have missed out on Dylan Cease, there’s another ace they could get to pair with Rogers. According to Fansided’s Christopher Kline, the Orioles are the favorite to trade for Washington Nationals All-Star Mackenzie Gore. 

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“Of all the potential outcomes, Gore screams “Baltimore Orioles trade target” the most of all. Baltimore has the assets, firstly. A stacked farm system, full of intriguing bats. Gore’s contract is also favorable for the O’s. Baltimore can ride out 2026, see if Gore elevates them to a more competitive stature, and then reassess at the start of next season. If the O’s aren’t back in the postseason hunt, GM Mike Elias can recoup assets in another trade. If it goes well — if the Orioles get healthy and Gore proves to be the solidifying ace Baltimore lacks — then Baltimore can squeeze at least two years out of him before the open market determines his fate. There’s a bit more length and flexibility to this arrangement than the Corbin Burnes rental, and few teams need frontline pitching more than Baltimore,” Kline wrote. 

This past season, Gore posted a 4.17 ERA with 185 Ks and a WHIP of 1.353 over 159 innings pitched. However, in the first half of the season, Gore had an ERA of 3.08 and 138 strikeouts, which earned him his first All-Star nod.

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Getting a guy like Gore into the O’s rotation could work well. While Baltimore isn’t the best team, they still did much better than the Nats did in a much more challenging division.

With that in mind, Gore could blossom in Baltimore and could serve as the perfect No. 2 pitcher to Rogers’ No. 1. Hopefully, the O’s realize that and get to work on negotiations.

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