3 Center Fielders the Orioles Could Target in the 2027 MLB Offseason

The Baltimore Orioles could look for a new center fielder after the 2026 season. Their revolving door includes Colton Cowser, Leody Taveras, and Luis Robert Jr., and all three had a pretty underwhelming 2026 season.

Cowser hit .226 with 13 home runs and 40 runs batted in in 142 games. Taveras hit .219 with eight home runs and 56 runs batted in while playing 139 games, and Luis Robert Jr. continues his slide, playing in just 61 games and hitting .221 while battling a left hamstring strain. 

The Orioles missed the playoffs by 4.5 games, finishing 79-82 as the season came down to the final week. The Orioles were a top-10 power team in 2026, but ranked 28th in team average with a .234 clip. They could look for a more contact-oriented center fielder as their everyday guy in 2027. 

Here are some candidates to man center field for the Orioles next year. 

Jazz Chisholm - Free agent

Chisholm has mainly played the infield for the past two seasons, but he voluntarily moved to center field with the Marlins in 2023 and played there consistently until he was traded to the New York Yankees. 

He hit .231 with 19 home runs and 55 runs batted in in 2026, his worst season by average, while playing at least 100 games. He will likely play for another team in 2027, and he could fit well with the Orioles from the left side of the plate if given the chance to bounce back with much less pressure than he faced in New York. 

Ronald Acuña Jr. - Trade candidate

The drama around Ronald Acuña Jr. has been well documented, as he deleted all Braves-related material from his Instagram shortly after Atlanta’s season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. He has a club option this offseason that the team is expected to exercise, but he is a prime trade candidate given his injury history and struggles in 2026. 

He hit .255 with 20 home runs in just 107 regular-season games, as he had multiple stints on the IL. At just 28, he still has a lot of gas in the tank, and I think a change of scenery could really help him. 

Steven Kwan - Trade candidate

This one makes a ton of sense to me. Kwan is a trade candidate for the Guardians, who are currently playing in the ALCS. His biggest issue is his propensity for left field, but he has played center field before, totaling 96 games since his debut season in 2022. Eighty-eight of them came in 2026. 

Kwan is a contact hitter who can really help the Orioles' average. He hit .282 in 2026, tying for the league's 22nd-best average. The lowest average he’s had in a season is .268 in 2023. Kwan is a free agent in 2028.