I know what you’re thinking.
“Fix” is a silly word to use for a team that won the American League East by 12 games last year, clubbed more than 200 home runs for the third consecutive season and swept the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series.
Still, after losing Nelson Cruz, Andrew Miller and Nick Markakis to free agency and with Delmon Young possibly on the way out as well, the O’s have some work to do if they want to compete for another division crown in 2015.
In many regards, they’re already way behind. The Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox have already made major splashes, bringing big names like Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin, Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval into the division, not to mention lesser but impactful players like Michael Saunders, Didi Gregorius and Marco Estrada.
Luckily, we haven’t even entered into 2015 yet, so there’s plenty of time for the O’s to make moves of their own. Also working in Baltimore‘s favor is the fact that it has Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter pulling the strings.
The duo swept Baseball America’s manager and executive of the year honors, earning rave reviews for their work with a roster that endured several maladies in 2014, including season-ending injuries to cornerstones Matt Wieters and Manny Machado and the disappointment that was Ubaldo Jimenez.
Here are six fixes—easy to not-so-easy—that could set the Orioles on a similar path back to the playoffs.