Baltimore Orioles, Mike Elias, -4.2 games
Like Neander in Tampa, Elias spent the MLB off-season fixated on pitching. Of 18 new faces to the Orioles this season, 14 are pitchers. The only exceptions are role-players: backup infielder Tyler Nevin, veterans Freddy Galvis and Maikel Franco, and rookie outfielder Ryan McKenna.
Franco (-1.8) drives the class average down pretty substantially. He went on the injured list batting .221 with a .641 on base average, obviously not good enough for a team’s regular third baseman.
You also have to look pretty hard to find promise in the influx of arms. The Orioles have high hopes for rookie starter Dean Kremer (-1.2). But to date he has been cuffed around to an 0-7 record and 7.25 ERA in a dozen starts, and then sent down to the minors for reflection.
Another callup, Keegan Akin (-1.0), is 0-4 with a 7.46 ERA in his seven MLB starts. To date Akin, unlike Kremer, has not been sent down for seasoning.
The team’s closer is Cesar Valdez, a 2020 free agent signee who has not lost his rookie status. But Valdez (-0.5) has a 6.18 ERA in 26 appearances.
Alex Cobb, a veteran arm, was shipped to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for a minor leaguer. Cobb (+0.2) is actually having a decent season in Anaheim with a 6-3 record and 4.63 ERA. That’s better than he ever did in three seasons with the Orioles.