Britton calls Orioles' lack of offseason moves 'a little frustrating'

The Baltimore Orioles' inactivity this winter has certainly been noticed by the team's All-Star closer, Zach Britton.

It's been a historically slow offseason and the Orioles are one of the culprits. The club has yet to sign a free agent despite a desperate need for multiple starters, and the only move of any significance came in November when they traded for depth outfielder Jaycob Brugman.

"It's pretty obvious what our needs were when the season ended, but being with the team so long, I understand. We wait," Britton said on 105.7 The Fan's "Orioles Hot Stove Show," according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.

"We normally don't spend top dollars on guys and we wait for a deal to come to us that makes sense. I did think that maybe we would go out and sign a guy, an established major-league player, during the Winter Meetings, to fill at least one of the slots and maybe let the kids in the organization fight for the last two. But, yeah, to be this close to spring training with three rotation slots open, it's maybe a little frustrating for myself and I know some other teammates, especially the fact that a lot of us are free agents (next winter)."

Baltimore's starters ranked last in the majors with a 5.70 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. The team lost Jeremy Hellickson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Wade Miley, and Chris Tillman to free agency without replacing anyone to date. If the season opened today, the Orioles' rotation would likely feature Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman, Gabriel Ynoa, Mike Wright, and Miguel Castro in it.

"We have three rotation spots open, so I didn't expect us to use in-house candidates for all three," Britton said. "But somebody's bound to have a breakout year. It always happens."

Luckily for the Orioles, there are still plenty of options available through free agency, and the team has been linked to Lance Lynn, Alex Cobb, and potential trade candidate Jake Odorizzi.