With the slugger headed to the Mets for a record-breaking 15 years and $765 million, the hot stove action could pick up pace at the Winter Meetings.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
To the two or three Orioles fans who were holding out hope that the O’s would sign Juan Soto, I hate to disappoint you. The slugger has reached his decision, agreeing late last night with the New York Mets on a whopping 15-year, $765 million deal, the largest in MLB history in both years and total money.
Soto’s choice of team was pretty much a best-case scenario for the Orioles, as his other primary suitors included three AL East rivals in the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays. He’s now out of the division after his one fantastic season with the Yanks, and the O’s will have to deal with him for only three games instead of 12 every year. His departure from the Bronx badly weakens the defending East champs, whose offense was held aloft almost entirely by the Soto/Aaron Judge duo this year.
And if USA Today’s Bob Nightengale is to be believed, Soto spurned a similar offer from the Yankees — 16 years, $760 million — to join the Mets. You love to see it.
The New York Yankees offer for Juan Soto was $760 million for 16 years. He chose the Mets.
— Bob Nightengale (@bnightengale.bsky.social) 2024-12-09T03:20:30.244Z
The baseball world had been waiting on Soto, a once-in-a-generation free agent talent, to make his decision. Now that he has, the other dominoes could begin falling quickly at MLB’s Winter Meetings in Dallas for the next three days. The teams that missed out on Soto could pivot to the second tier of free agent outfielders, a group that includes longtime Oriole Anthony Santander. Similarly, teams that were offering $600-$700 million for Soto could refocus a chunk of that money to pursue Corbin Burnes, arguably the top remaining free agent regardless of position.
And yes, I fully realize this could set off a chain of events that leads to Burnes, Santander, or both ultimately signing with the Orioles’ AL East foes. I for one do not enjoy the thought of seeing Corbin Burnes in pinstripes or Santander mashing dingers for the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. But I’ll deal with that when or if it comes.
Still, the O’s have been plenty busy themselves. They didn’t even wait wait for the Winter Meetings to begin before jumping into the hot stove action, landing a pair of free agents on Saturday with the signings of Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sánchez. The two signings fill a pair of obvious needs for the Birds — a right-handed hitting outfielder in O’Neill, a backup catcher in Sánchez — so kudos to Mike Elias and the O’s front office for getting those taken care of relatively early in the offseason.
The O’s do still have a glaring weakness to address in the starting rotation, which could badly use a #1 starter. The best fit would be Burnes himself after his phenomenal 2024 season with the Orioles, though longtime Braves ace Max Fried is also available in free agency. Now that Elias has handed out his first-ever multi-year free agent contract to O’Neill, how far will David Rubenstein’s financial largesse reach? Do the Orioles have a chance of competing with the top bidders for Burnes or Fried? It might not take much longer to find out.
Links
MLB free agency notes: What we’re hearing about the Orioles and Mets’ pitching pursuits – The Athletic
According to Rosenthal, the Orioles’ biggest obstacle to signing a big-name starting pitcher might not be the money but their hesitancy to lose a draft pick. Listen, Mike, I know you love drafting, but you need to be okay with giving up a pick in the mid-30s if it means signing Max Fried.
A guide to the Winter Meetings for Oriole fans – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Rich Dubroff gives a rundown of what goes on at the Winter Meetings. It doesn’t exactly make me want to hop on a plane to Dallas, but then, few things would.
Merv Rettenmund, two-time World Series champ, dies at 81 – MLB.com
R.I.P. Merv Rettenmund, an underrated hitter for the late ‘60s-early ‘70s Orioles who homered in the Birds’ World Series clincher in 1970.
Tyler O’Neill makes the Orioles better at what they already were good at – The Baltimore Banner
The signings of whiff-prone guys O’Neill and Sanchez won’t exactly fix the contact issues that plagued the Orioles’ offense in the second half. But that might not be a bad thing, as Jon Meoli writes.
Some notes and stats on soon-to-be Oriole Tyler O’Neill (Sanchez too) – Steve Melewski
My favorite Tyler O’Neill fun fact: he has homered on five straight Opening Days, an MLB record. Blue Jays, he’s coming for you on March 27.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Five ex-Orioles were born on this day: right-hander Hunter Harvey (30), outfielder Tony Tarasco (54), left-hander Darold Knowles (83), and infielders Tony Batista (51) and the late Billy Klaus (b. 1928, d. 2006).
The Orioles have been remarkably busy on this day in history, making a bunch of transactions such as signing Harold Baines (1999), trading away Ramón Hernández (2008), and acquiring Kevin Millwood (2009). But no Dec. 9 move has been more significant than the O’s pulling off the greatest trade in franchise history in 1965, acquiring slugger Frank Robinson from the Reds for three players.
Cincinnati owner Bill DeWitt infamously thought that Robinson — a former NL MVP, Rookie of the Year, and six-time All-Star — was too old at age 30, and the O’s took full advantage of the Reds’ foolishness. In his first year in Baltimore, Robinson won the Triple Crown and AL MVP and led the Orioles to their first championship, kicking off his legendary O’s career.
And on this date in 2010, the O’s made another outstanding trade, albeit not on the level of the Robinson deal. The Orioles traded two pitchers to the Twins for veteran shortstop J.J. Hardy, whose power and defensive prowess made him an integral part of the Birds’ renaissance from 2012-2016. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention his handsomeness.