The Orioles are in agreement on a one-year, $9 million contract with free-agent reliever Andrew Kittredge, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
The deal, which has not yet been finalized, calls for a $1 million buyout on a 2026 option.
The Orioles signed Kittredge after a reported deal for right-hander Jeff Hoffman fell through. According to FanSided’s Robert Murray, the Orioles had a tentative agreement with Hoffman on a three-year, $40 million contract, but he didn’t pass the team’s physical. Instead, he signed a three-year, $33 million contract with Toronto on Friday.
Kittredge, who will turn 35 on March 17th, is familiar to the Orioles from his seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, where the right-hander pitched against them 25 times.
Last season, Kittredge was with the St. Louis Cardinals and was 5-5 with a save and a 2.80 ERA in 74 games.
In his eight-season major league career, Kittredge is 23-12 with 16 saves and a 3.44 ERA. He was an American League All-Star in 2021 when he was 9-3 with a 1.88 ERA and eight saves in 57 games with Tampa Bay.
He hasn’t had success pitching at Oriole Park with a 7.24 ERA in 13 games with the Rays.
Kittredge will fit in the back end of the Orioles’ bullpen along with returning closer Félix Bautista, right-handers Yennier Cano and Seranthony Domínguez and left-handers Keegan Akin, Cionel Pérez and Gregory Soto.
In just over a month, the Orioles have signed two right-handed starters — 35-year-old Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano and 41-year-old Charlie Morton, outfielder Tyler O’Neill, and catcher Gary Sánchez as free agents.
Kittredge and Morton, who signed with the Orioles a week ago, were teammates with Tampa Bay in 2019 and 2020.
Once Kittredge’s contract becomes official, the Orioles will need to drop a player from the 40-man roster.
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