The Orioles are coming off their fourth consecutive season posting one of the five worst records in MLB. It is very slowly becoming easier to see the potential for better days, with top prospects Adley Rutschman and Grayson Rodriguez soon to join breakout star Cedric Mullins and solid young players like Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle at the big league level.
Baltimore should be better in 2022 than they’ve been over the last few seasons, but they’re not on the verge of contention. The O’s front office probably views 2023 and beyond as a more realistic window to compete. If that’s the case, then GM Mike Elias figures to listen to offers on Cole Sulser, whose surprising 2021 season should make him a prime trade target for clubs this winter.
Sulser had appeared briefly in the majors before this year. He broke in with Tampa Bay in 2019, then was claimed off waivers by Baltimore over the following offseason. He was hit around in his early big league time, but his track record of posting huge strikeout numbers in the minors inspired the Baltimore front office to give him another opportunity. Sulser worked in low-leverage situations for the first couple months, but he proved to be one of the few reliable bullpen options for manager Brandon Hyde. By late June, Hyde was giving him more important innings.
Thanks to that strong first few months, he reportedly drew a bit of interest at the trade deadline. There’s no indication a deal ever got close this summer, but teams should be more motivated to land Sulser now. From July 31 onward, the right-hander tossed 25 innings of 2.52 ERA ball while holding opponents to a .207/.247/.304 slash line. Sulser’s strikeout rate actually ticked down from his early season level, but he paired that with a corresponding drop in walks.
Overall, Sulser’s coming off a 2021 campaign in which he worked 63 1/3 frames with a 2.70 ERA/3.45 SIERA. He punched out a solid 28.4% of batters faced while only walking 8.9% of his opponents. Despite middle-of-the-road velocity, Sulser racked up plenty of whiffs on a backspinning four-seam fastball which he generally featured up in the strike zone. He backed that up with a solid changeup that he located consistently down and arm side, an effective weapon that was crucial in neutralizing left-handed hitters (who hit .186/.270/.274 in 127 plate appearances).
Sulser has missed bats in both Triple-A and the big leagues. He throws strikes at a strong clip, succeeded in higher-leverage situations, and is effective against hitters from both sides of the plate. Contending clubs are always on the lookout for bullpen help, and Sulser has a strong all-around profile.
Equally appealing is Sulser’s contractual outlook. He’s not slated to reach arbitration eligibility until the conclusion of next season. Barring changes to the service structure in the next collective bargaining agreement, he’d remain under club control for three seasons thereafter. That affordability should appeal to both low-payroll clubs as well as bigger spenders intent on staying below the luxury tax threshold.
That remaining control means the Orioles don’t have to trade Sulser this offseason, but it seems likely they’d be open if made a strong enough offer. A late bloomer, he’s already 31 years old (32 in March). Baltimore probably won’t be in position to contend before Sulser turns 33 or 34.
Relief pitchers also tend to be volatile, so Elias and his staff could see this winter as the best opportunity to move Sulser for a strong prospect return. The O’s reportedly fielded interest in Tanner Scott and Paul Fry at the deadline but elected to hold both players. Each had an atrocious second half that likely sapped the bulk of their trade value. It’s fair to wonder if the front office would rather strike relatively early on a Sulser deal than risk a similar downturn in production from him next summer.
Sulser’s breakout performance could result in his changing teams in the coming months. Still buried at the bottom of the standings, the O’s front office figures to continue to jump at opportunities to stockpile young talent as they progress through their massive rebuilding project. Turning a fairly recent waiver claim into a solid prospect or two makes plenty of sense for Baltimore, while Sulser might have pitched his way into more immediate contention.
This is the type of guy to get traded to the Padres and either immediately get injured or immediately underperform
Maybe. I could also see the Rockies acquiring him just to say to their fans they acquired a good player. Obviously he’s just a relief pitcher. That didn’t stop them from announcing they “acquired a superstar” in the Michael Givens deal. He came from the same Baltimore Orioles bullpen this guy does.
Lol
The guy they got from the Reds for Givens is a really good pitching prospect who was excellent in the Rockies system this year. I wouldn’t say that just yet.
Who, Davis? Not looking near as well as the guys Colorado gave up to get Givens.
Givens was pretty good in Denver
This is true and as the saying goes, it hurts.
W
A career minor league Reliever who had a career year at age 31 screams buyer beware
eugh, he had injury issues and was held back a bit in the CLE system. TB aquired him so there’s that to take note of.
The Orioles may get some nibbles, but probably not great offers. Relief pitchers are the most volatile segment of an MLB team. All teams sign low-level FA pitchers or invite them to Spring Training on a minor league contract, hoping to find a few that have been modifying their game with off-season coaching on the off-chance that one or two can help the team. Mostly teams now trade for relief pitchers in-season after seeing how they’re pitching that year (or if the scouting staff and / or player acquisition staff see something in the pitcher they can correct that they think will make him effective).
If Mr. Sulser’s “breakout performance” carry over to early 2022 then yes, they can probably get some decent prospects for him. But right now he’s viewed as a 9 year professional baseball player that’s coming off a very good half-season.
Excellent point Samuel. The Mariners are a prime example. We had a great bullpen this year manned by guys most M’s fans had never heard of. DiPoto signed a bunch of guys with potential upside and several panned out really well. But history tells us that there certainly is no guarantee that all or any of them will be as good next season.
I like Sulser, and the late breakout doesnt concern me, but the fact that the O’s will want a return for a controllable player when some of that control will be when he’s into his mid-30s and he may already be declining is scary. kinda like Rich-Rod, but the track record and age disparity is even greater.
Sell high. Youre in a rebuild. Get as many shots at a corner stone player as you can. Corner stone starter, position player in a ball from a team looking to contend in 2022.
How has Baltimore been this bad for this long?
Peter. Angelos.
Angelos is probably a top 10 worst owner in all major league sports.
The McCaskey family in Chicago and Ilitch family in Detroit would like to have a word with you. Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about the Wilpons in New York any longer.
I don’t think you should put the Ilitch family in that category. Mike Ilitch had the Tigers go all in to try to win a championship before he died. Sure it left them with a barren farm system that has taken a while to replenish but a lot of fan bases would be thrilled to see their team actually make an effort to win
Yeah. Mike Ilitch is in the Hockey hall of Fame and the Red Wings made the playoffs 25 years in a row. They were the best team in hockey 6 times and won the Cup 4 times.
Angelos did same exact thing Ilitch did.
3 years? They’re rebuilding. The Astros were pretty bad too FYI.
They were in the playoffs 5 years ago. Hopefully back in 2023
He’s 31 and still a year away from arb eligible? That’s the problem with the cba. PA should be worrying about getting RP more money. Most of mlb problems stem from the abuse of optional RP who make the league minimum.
Most of MLBs problems?
Correct. 3 true outcomes, time of game, less reliance on SP. several of mlb problems they’re actively trying to fix have to do with cheap optional RP who are easily replaceable every year with some other nameless RP who throws hard.
The O’s won’t get much for this guy, so they should take what they can get. Besides, at 31, it’s not as though he’s part of their long term plans.
Would like to see the O’s become good again. I’m a Phillies fan, but each year I meet up with several college classmates at an Orioles game. The last few years, save for 2020 when nobody was at the games, it was sad to see all those empty seats.
Relief pitchers don’t tend to fall off like other positions. Many mid thirties relievers do quite well. They have 4 more years of control! That’s much more important than his age, as he doesn’t have a burdensome contract.
Relief pitchers do tend to fall off. It’s the most volatile position in the sport.
Did Cole Sulser pay someone for this article to be written?
He shadow wrote it actually.
I want to know is this the year the Os start spending SOME money on free agents? We, the fans, have been sold the Os are following the Astros model over & over. Well in year 4 Astros spent money on a few free agents. The Astros added a starting pitcher and a closer, to start with. It didn’t help a lot, they only won 70games in year 4 of the rebuild, but they did start spending on legitimate free agents beyond the bounce around the league scrubs.
This is probably the year. I would expect some starters to be signed. There just isn’t enough SP’s in the org at this point. We gave Kremer& Akin a shot. They flashed some potential in ‘20 but definitely regressed last year.
Zim & Means are the only 2 that I think are penciled in as starters. I’d expect we get a decent middle rotation and a backend arm or 2.
This article is missing some information. He pitched well to start 2020 and was thrust into the closer role where he got beat up. He was also injured according to reports. This year he really just got back to where he was and excelled.
A 32-year-old, career minor leaguer reliever who just had a surprise season? Really not sure they’d get that much for him.
Gotta agree with Samuel on this one. They won’t get much for him now; but if he repeats in the first half of 2022, they can get a whole lot more at the deadline. Relievers are the currency of the realm on July 31, especially the “hot” ones.
Orioles’ breakout reliever? They had the worst bullpen ERA. I wouldn’t touch them with a 10-foot pole.
Imagine what the Bullpen ERA would’ve been without him then…..
If anything you just made a point to acquire Sulser….Far more likely he goes in July if he’s able to repeat this season’s #’s.
Can’t believe the team didn’t move Fry before his implosion. He has no value now. I think Sulser is a quality arm though. Wouldn’t mind hanging on for a better offer in July.
You can have a bad bullpen, but one good player in it.
No team would be acquiring the whole bullpen by trading for Sulser
Another reason why the date that the Orioles will be competitive keeps getting pushed back. Anyone displaying any semblance of competence is traded. I’m not worried about a reliever so much as we will soon have that “will be competitive” date pushed back to where hmm, now Trey Mancini won’t be part of the next Orioles competitive team. Oh wait, Mountcastle is coming up on 5 years better trade him before we have to pay him. And so on.
The best teams find these guys internally and ride them til they break down or get too pricey, then they break on the team that paid big for them.
Sulser is not going anywhere. Him and their young breakout pitcher they got from the Twins are solid. The Orioles will be a lot better than most expect in 2022. They really need some starting pitching most of all. Their offense is decent.
Him is solid, huh?
About time for Sulser to show just how good he is in the MLB finally. I was worried he might get stuck as a AAAA guy after 2020. I always knew he had a 2021 caliber season in him after Tampa acquired him in the three team trade between the Rays, Mariners and Indians.
Orioles will lose 100 games for the next 4-5 years. The red Sox Yankees and rays jays will always be better for a awhile
Please place money on your uninformed claim of 100 losses for the next 4 – 5 years,
Just keep the guy. The O’s pen is hot garbage, he is one of two legitimate bright spots out there judging by last season’s performances. They’re not going to get anything meaningful for him, so just keep him.