How did free agents from the 2023 Orioles fare in 2024? / MAILBAG

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.

Question: The Orioles have signed free agents for a year, then let them go. It seems they are able to sign for more money and also have a pretty good year with their new team.

How have the ‘lost’ free agents done this year? Or were they a bust for the new team? From: Gerry Mack

Answer: Gerry, there were five free agents who left the Orioles after the 2023 season: starting pitchers Kyle Gibson, Jack Flaherty, reliever Shintaro Fujinami, infielder Adam Frazier and outfielder Aaron Hicks.

Flaherty and Fujinami were both acquired by the Orioles ahead of the trade deadline while Hicks was signed as a free agent in May.

Gibson is 8-8 with a 4.13 ERA in 29 starts with St. Louis while Flaherty, who was traded from Detroit to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline, is a combined 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA in 27 starts.

Fujinami signed with the Mets but never pitched for them. He was 1-2 with a 5.94 ERA in 33 games with four of New York’s minor league teams.

Frazier is hitting .202 with four home runs and 20 RBIs in 102 games with Kansas City, and Hicks was released by the Los Angeles Angels on May 1^st after hitting .140 with a home run and five RBIs in 18 games. 

Question: I read the Norfolk staff is working and improving Trevor Rogers’ pitches, especially his slider. Could you comment on his progress? From: Carlos Vasquez

Answer: Carlos, Rogers was 1-2 with a 5.65 ERA in five games with Norfolk. He allowed 10 runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings in his first start for the Tides, and his subsequent starts were better, including his next-to-last one when threw six scoreless innings, allowing four hits.

I don’t know about his progress with the slider, but his overall stats were better after that first start.