Preseason Preview Day 6: Baltimore Orioles & Milwaukee Brewers
Baltimore Orioles
Coming off a bit of a disappointing 2024 season, the Orioles are one of the more interesting teams to look at heading into 2025. There was a lot of chatter around the moves, or lack there of, they made around the trade deadline given the holes in their roster and where they were sitting in the standings at the time of the deadline.
The offseason thus far has been a bit boring for the Orioles, as they have added veteran starter Charlie Morton, outfielders Tyler ONeill & Ramon Laureano, Gary Sanchez and 37 year old Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano. Returning Greyson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin, Morton and Sugano add to the depth of the rotation with Kyle Bradish and Dean Kramer. Oh yeah, they also let Corbin Burnes walk away in free agency, so looking at it from a pretty straightforward point of view I think it’s safe to say the pitching is still going to be an issue.
However, their lineup loaded full of young stars have only notched another year under their belts, and although the postseason hasn’t seen any wins, any experience in those games will help them down the road. We know what to expect from Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman at this point, the question is what are they going to get from Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo and others who are going to need to fill the shoes of the 40HR man, Anthony Santander.
Draftkings has their win total at 88.5. This may surprise some folks, but we are going to take the under. Within the division, the Yankees have them edged as far as depth and roster construction, and I believe both the Rays and Red Sox are going to be in the mix for the division this year. I won’t forget to mention that I think the Blue Jays have gotten better, and Bo Bichette will not play as poorly as he did last year. I think the 2025 Orioles surprise many and struggle this year, mainly due to the gaping holes in their rotation.
Milwaukee Brewers
The team that can seemingly never get it done, the Milwaukee Brewers. The ending to the 2024 season is a pain point for Brewers fans, as they had the Mets exactly where they wanted them in the playoffs - a lead in the 9th with Devin Williams on the mound - until Pete Alonso crushed all their hope.
Heading into 2025, the Brewers look a lot like the Brewers always do. Strong bullpen filled with guys you may or may not know, solid rotation, and a young and fairly cheap lineup that is going to be competitive. Returning Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich, the Brewers have their aircraft carriers. The main question mark will be replacing Willy Adames’ numbers and clubhouse presence. Let’s not forget, they traded away the best closer in baseball in Devin Williams, so you’d imagine they only get a little weaker in that category. However, the starting rotation has some steady veterans in Brandon Woodruff, Fastball Freddy Peralta and newly acquired Nestor Cortes.
The Brewers will need guys like Brice Turang, William Contreras, Sal Frelick and Joey Ortiz to step up in a big way this year, as the NL has reloaded with talent, and their division has only gotten better. The Cubs and Reds have been some of the most active teams this offseason, so a simple ‘run it back’ is not going to be as easy as it sounds.
Draftkings has the Brewers win total at 83.5. While the breakdown maybe suggests I do not expect much from the Brewers, I am still going to take the over here. The Brewers remind me a bit of the Rays in that they continue to let walk or trade away all their big(ger) names and come back the next year not missing a beat. I do not believe they win the division this year, but 83.5 wins is a number I envision them eclipsing.
