Offseason In Review: Baltimore Orioles

There was some hope that the Orioles would become big offseason players in the first winter under new owner David Rubenstein. That didn’t exactly come to pass, though the O’s still showed a bit more aggression than they have in a while.

Major League Signings

• OF Tyler O’Neill: Three years, $49.5MM (O’Neill can opt out after 2025)
• RHP Charlie Morton: One year, $15MM
• RHP Tomoyuki Sugano: One year, $13MM
• RHP Andrew Kittredge: One year, $10MM (including $1MM buyout on 2026 club option)
• C Gary Sánchez: One year, $8.5MM
• OF Ramón Laureano: One year, $4MM (deal also has 2026 club option)
• OF Dylan Carlson: One year, $975K

2025 spending: $67.975MM
Total spending: $100.975MM

Option Decisions

• Team declined $16.5MM option on DH/OF Eloy Jiménez
• Team exercised $2.2MM option on LHP Cionel Pérez
• Team exercised $8MM option on 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn
• Team exercised $8MM option on RHP Seranthony Domínguez
• Team declined $4MM option on LHP Danny Coulombe

Trades and Claims

• Acquired OF Daz Cameron from Athletics for cash (Cameron was later outrighted)
• Claimed C René Pinto from Rays (Pinto later lost to Diamondbacks via waivers)
• Claimed RHP Thaddeus Ward from Nationals (Ward was later outrighted)
• Claimed RHP Roansy Contreras from Reds (later lost to Yankees via waivers before being claimed again)
• Claimed IF Jacob Amaya from White Sox (later lost back to White Sox via waivers)
• Acquired IF Luis Vázquez from Cubs for cash (Vazquez was later outrighted)

Notable Minor League Signings

• Vimael Machín, Franklin Barreto, Jordyn Adams, Matt Bowman, Nick Gordon, Terrin Vavra, Dylan Coleman

Extensions

• IF/OF Jorge Mateo: One-year, $3.55MM plus 2026 club option

Notable Losses

• Corbin Burnes, Anthony Santander, John Means, James McCann, Austin Slater, Eloy Jiménez, Danny Coulombe, Jacob Webb (non-tendered), Burch Smith, Daniel Johnson, Juan Nunez (Rule 5), Blake Hunt

The Orioles hired Mike Elias as general manager in November of 2018. The initial years of his tenure saw the club act very conservatively, but for understandable reasons. They lost 115 games in that 2018 season and were looking at a long rebuilding period. They finally emerged with a winning record in 2022 and then made the playoffs in 2023, but the ownership situation was uncertain. The Angelos family had been squabbling over control of the club and there were whispers that the O’s were for sale.

In the 2023-24 offseason, reports emerged that a group led by David Rubenstein was going to purchase the club. That sale didn’t get approved by Major League Baseball until around Opening Day of the 2024 season. At that time, Elias had still never given a free agent a multi-year deal. Craig Kimbrel and his $13MM guarantee was the only signing to go beyond $10MM.

Many Oriole fans hoped that the regime change would lead to a huge shift in operating policy, similar to the way Steve Cohen turned the Mets into a powerhouse club. There were some positive signs during the 2024 season that such a path was possible. The O’s acquired Zach Eflin at the deadline. His deal with the Rays was backloaded, with an $18MM salary in 2025 that the Orioles took on. They also acquired Seranthony Domínguez, whose deal contained an $8MM club option for 2025 that was eventually exercised.

Reading the tea leaves, it seemed like the club would be operating with some more spending capacity for 2025. In early October, just after the O’s were eliminated from the playoffs, Elias fanned the flames a bit. He told members of the media that he was “pretty confident” the club’s payroll would be going up. He later said that the O’s were looking at “the whole spectrum” of available pitchers, adding: “If you’re running the team optimally….you’re certainly wanting to keep the whole menu of player acquisition open. That involves high-end free agent deals over many years. We’ve been engaged in those conversations already.”