Coulombe not getting picked up is a surprise.
Five days after the end of the World Series is the deadline for teams or players to make their decisions about contract options. The Orioles held 2025 team options for a number of players and had some decisions ahead of them. They announced the decisions on Monday afternoon: Contract options were picked up for Seranthony Domínguez, Ryan O’Hearn, and Cionel Pérez. A 2025 option for Danny Coulombe was surprisingly declined.
The decision for Coulombe is such a surprise because that contract option was only for $4 million for the 2025 season. Although Coulombe was limited to just 33 games this season due to a lengthy injured list stint, he was great when he pitched, dropping a 2.12 ERA and 0.674 WHIP over 29.2 innings. That was even better than he did last season, when he was one of the team’s surprise players after being acquired towards the end of 2023 spring training.
With Coulombe’s option declined, he is immediately a free agent. It’s weird. He was good and would be worth the salary even if he missed half the season again next year. It’s true that Coulombe will be heading into his age 35 season, so there is the possibility that he declines suddenly and substantially, but I would have rather had him than Pérez.
The Orioles were generally careful not to use Coulombe for more than three batters. That could be a factor in their decisionmaking as well, if they feel they’d rather have a more versatile player on the roster instead. If they replace him with some jabroni who rolls in and posts a 4+ ERA, then they haven’t actually managed to improve.
Domínguez and O’Hearn’s options are each for $8 million. Pérez’s option was picked up at $2.2 million rather than the team going to arbitration with him. An expensive $16.5 million option for Eloy Jiménez was previously declined by the team. The Orioles paid half of a $3 million buyout, with the White Sox paying the other half according to the trade that brought Jiménez to Baltimore.
Acquired for Austin Hays ahead of the trade deadline, Domínguez posted a 3.97 ERA and 1.279 WHIP after joining the Orioles. His biggest issue was being prone to allowing home runs, as he gave up six in 22.2 innings. That included two high-profile walkoff losses in the same series against the Mets. I would say that the 2025 Orioles are going to need to do better than him for the closer role, but he could still be worth $8 million as a setup man.
O’Hearn was exposed a bit as he played more in the 2024 season compared to previously. Still, he ended up as a 2.0 bWAR player, hitting 15 home runs over 142 games played with a .761 OPS. Players capable of having a 2 WAR season should not be taken lightly even if they don’t conform to exact ideas of what a successful player at that position looks like. (This is also true about O’Hearn’s fellow Ryan, Mountcastle.)
Pérez was not particularly good this year, finishing with a 4.53 ERA over 62 games. That included negative WAR at -0.2 bWAR. He had good peripheral stats, or at least better ones, including a 3.30 FIP. Notably, he did not allow a single home run across 238 batters faced. So at least he’s got that going for him.