When it comes to the starting rotation, there's no question the Orioles are still lacking in talent. John Means' ascension in 2019 was legitimately impressive, but even if he is for real, the O's will need a whole lot more than him to piece together even a halfway decent group of starters.
While Dylan Bundy continues to evolve into something resembling a reliable back-end starter, the O's are hoping Alex Cobb can stay healthy and return to form -- maybe even the form that he showed in the second half of 2018.
Not much of the Cobb signing has gone according to plan. Inked to a four-year, $57 million deal about a week before the season started in 2018 (unsurprisingly with a significant chunk of deferred money), he was supposed to be the final piece of Dan Duquette's last-ditch attempt to construct a playoff contender. Instead, Cobb allowed 20 combined runs in his first three starts and was terrible in the first half (6.41 ERA, 5.13 FIP in 92.2 innings). The O's went on to finish with a horrendous 47-115 record and made the Dark Ages Orioles look competent in comparison.
