The Orioles offered 2026 contracts to 11 of their 12 arbitration-eligible players on Friday. Despite speculation that first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and right-handed reliever Yennier Cano would not be offered contracts, they were.
Mountcastle missed more than two months with a hamstring injury.
“I think so much of what happened in 2025, it was frustrating and disappointing and there were injuries in there, so it was really kind of microcosmic of what happened to a lot of the team,” Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said in a video conference call.
“And Ryan still showed flashes of his ability. We think he’s a great hitter and that’s why we tendered him and we’re bringing him back, and he’s a big part of our picture right now.”
Right-handed pitcher Albert Suárez, who missed nearly all of the 2025 season with a rotator cuff injury, was not tendered a contract for next season and is now a free agent.
“The arbitration system, the tender system, there are price points that are set by the system itself that you have to adapt your decision-making to,” Elias said. “We love Albert. He’s been a tremendous success story for us since our pro scouts and Mike Snyder’s group found him coming out of Asia.
“What our pitching department did to develop him, and then what he did particularly in 2024. And it was a real bummer and it was a big part of a lot of the struggles we had last [season] that he got hurt. I don’t want to go into details about our decision-making as we approach these tender decisions, but we very much are fans of Albert and we’re very much hoping to continue talking to him, and made that clear to him and his group. And I hope the feeling’s mutual.”
In addition to Mountcastle and Cano, reliever Keegan Akin, starters Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Trevor Rogers and Tyler Wells, catcher Adley Rutschman, shortstop Gunnar Henderson and newly acquired outfielder Taylor Ward were offered contracts.
Reliever Félix Bautista and the team avoided arbitration with a one-year deal for 2026 worth $2.25 million, a figure first reported by MLB.com and confirmed by an industry source.
Bautista, who had Tommy John surgery in October 2023, had rotator cuff and labrum surgery in August.
“I’m glad we got that done,” Elias said. “My expectations for him are to have a great rehab and get healthy, and if we’re able to have him pitching in the latter part of the season, all the better. So far, so good with his rehab, but it’s early. We just want to keep supporting him and keep getting him back to health. We love the guy, and he’s a huge part of our organization, so I’m very happy that we solidified that deal and got that business out of the way.”
The Orioles also offered contracts to all players on the 40-man roster who are not yet eligible for arbitration.
Notes: Longtime Orioles outfielder and executive Brady Anderson, who left the team after the 2019 season, is the new Los Angeles Angels hitting coach. John Mabry, who was on the Orioles’ coaching staff for the last four months of the 2025 season as special advisor, will be the Angels’ assistant hitting coach. … Outfielder Pedro Léon, who was designated for assignment by the Orioles on Tuesday, was claimed off waivers by Philadelphia.
Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.