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Orioles Outright Will Robertson

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The Orioles announced that outfielder Will Robertson has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk. He was designated for assignment December 28th when the O’s signed Zach Eflin. DFA limbo is normally capped at a week but the rules are looser around the holidays, which led to Robertson hanging out there for almost two weeks.

Robertson, 28, has never played for the Orioles. He was claimed off waivers from the Pirates in December. The Orioles love to claim players and them put them back on waivers later, hoping to keep the player in a non-roster capacity. The upside of this scenario was recently demonstrated by Ryan O’Hearn. The O’s acquired him from the Royals in January of 2023. He was designated for assignment two days later and then passed through waivers. He earned his way back onto the roster and spent over two years as a key contributor for Baltimore.

Since this is Robertson’s first career outright and he has less than three years of big league service time, he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency. He’ll stay with the O’s and try to earn his way back onto the roster.

He was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2019 and didn’t have a lot of prospect hype as he climbed the minor league ladder. He showed flashes of a breakout in 2025, however, which got him up to the majors with the Jays. He eventually lost his roster spot and went to the White Sox in July. In the offseason, he went to the Pirates and then the Orioles.

During his brief major league action, he put up a dismal .129/.173/.143 line, but in a tiny sample of 75 plate appearances. His 354 Triple-A plate appearances were much more impressive. His 24.9% strikeout rate was above average but an improvement for him personally, as he was at 31.3% the year previously. His 13.6% walk rate at Triple-A last year was quite strong and he also hit 20 home runs in those 354 trips to the plate. That led to a .289/.387/.571 line and 148 wRC+ at that level.

Since Robertson cleared waivers, it seems major league clubs were a bit skeptical of that production. His .342 batting average on balls in play was a bit on the high side. He was a 27-year-old repeating the Triple-A level, with serious strikeout concerns in previous seasons. He’s also mostly a corner outfield guy, with very limited center field experience.

If his 2025 was a legitimate late-bloomer breakout, the O’s could benefit down the line if he earns his way back onto the roster. He doesn’t have an easy path, as Baltimore’s current outfield mix consists of Colton Cowser, Taylor Ward, Dylan Beavers, Tyler O’Neill, Jeremiah Jackson, Leody Taveras, Reed Trimble, Heston Kjerstad and Marco Luciano, though Luciano and others could eventually follow Robertson to the waiver wire.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images

Braves Claim George Soriano, Designate Brett Wisely For Assignment

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The Braves have claimed right-hander George Soriano off waivers from the Orioles, according to announcements from both clubs. Baltimore designated him for assignment earlier this week. To open a 40-man spot, Atlanta designated infielder Brett Wisely for assignment.

Soriano, 27 in March, spent his entire career with the Marlins until recently. The Orioles claimed him off waivers in November. Baltimore loves to claim players from the wire and then put them back out there later, hoping the player clears waivers and can stay in the Orioles’ system. They recently designated Soriano for assignment when they claimed outfielder Jhonkensy Noel. They later designated Noel for assignment when they claimed Marco Luciano.

In this case, Baltimore’s attempt to get Soriano through waivers has not worked, with Atlanta scooping him up. Atlanta has surely gotten some decent looks at the righty, as he has been playing within their division. He logged 118 innings for the Marlins over the past three years, allowing 5.95 earned runs per nine. His 22% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate were both a bit worse than average.

Teams like Baltimore and Atlanta are likely intrigued by his minor league numbers. He tossed 42 2/3 innings in Triple-A last year with a 2.32 ERA. He struck out 28.8% of batters faced and also kept batted balls on the ground at a 55.7% rate. He also held his walk rate to a more reasonable 8.8% rate at that level.

Soriano exhausted his final option season in 2025, which has pushed him to a fringe roster area. He’s now twice been put on waivers but twice been claimed. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he loses his roster spot yet again before the winter is out. For now, he has a spot with Atlanta. He has a bit more than a year of big league service time. That means he can be controlled for five full seasons and is still two years away from qualifying for arbitration.

Wisely, 27 in May, is in a somewhat similar position. He’s an infielder and not a pitcher but he has exhausted his options, giving him a tenuous hold on a roster spot thanks to tepid big league results. The Giants designated him for assignment in September, which led to Atlanta claiming him off waivers.

In 466 big league plate appearances, he has a line of just .214/.265/.319. But over the past three years, he has a .276/.375/.436 line and 113 wRC+ at the Triple-A level. He has also racked up a bunch of stolen bases in the minors and provides defensive versatility. He has experience at all four infield spots and all three outfield slots as well.

Like Soriano, he can be affordably controlled for five more seasons if he latches on somewhere. Given his multi-positional abilities and speed, perhaps he will find interest from a club looking to deepen its bench. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, Atlanta can keep him in a non-roster capacity. He can be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so Atlanta could take five days to field trade interest, but they could also place him on the wire quicker than that.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

18 Players Exchange Filing Figures

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Teams and arbitration-eligible players had until 7:00 pm Central to agree to terms or exchange filing figures. The vast majority agreed to salaries, either this afternoon or before November’s non-tender deadline to ensure they were offered contracts at all.

There were 18 cases where team and player did not align — none bigger than the record $13MM gap between the Tigers and Tarik Skubal. Nothing formally prevents players and teams from continuing negotiations. However, virtually every team takes a “file-and-trial” approach to the process. Clubs will mostly refuse to continue talks about one-year deals after this date. They’ll often make exceptions for discussions involving multi-year contracts or one-year deals with a club/mutual option. It’s unlikely that all of these players will end up getting to a hearing, but the majority probably will.

If the sides go to a hearing, a three-person arbitration panel will either choose the player’s or the team’s filing figure. (Hearings will run between January 26 and February 13.) The arbitrators cannot pick a midpoint. That’s designed to prevent the parties from anchoring by filing at extremely high or low figures. Teams’ preferences for the file-and-trial approach follows a similar logic. The idea is to deter players from submitting a higher number from which they could continue to negotiate until the hearing begins.

Unless otherwise noted, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com and ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported all filing figures for those who didn’t reach agreements. The list of players who could go to a hearing this winter (service time in parentheses):

Angels

  • Reid Detmers (3.159): Filed at $2.925MM, team filed at $2.625MM

Astros

  • Isaac Paredes (4.160): Filed at $9.95MM, team filed at $8.75MM
  • Yainer Diaz (3.035): Filed at $4.5MM, team filed at $3MM

Blue Jays

  • Eric Lauer (5.091): Filed at $5.75MM, team filed at $4.4MM (first reported by Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet)

Braves

  • Dylan Lee (3.150): Filed at $2.2MM, team filed at $2MM

Brewers

Marlins

Mariners

  • Bryce Miller (2.153): Filed at $2.625MM, team filed at $2.25MM

Nationals

Orioles

  • Keegan Akin (5.083): Filed at $3.375MM, team filed at $2.975MM
  • Kyle Bradish (3.160): Filed at $3.55MM, team filed at $2.875MM

Rays

  • Edwin Uceta (2.150): Filed at $1.525MM, team filed at $1.2MM

Reds

Royals

Tigers

Twins

  • Joe Ryan (4.033): Filed at $6.35MM, team filed at $5.85MM

Orioles Avoid Arbitration With Ryan Mountcastle

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The Orioles and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a contract that gives the O’s control over Mountcastle’s first free agent year, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.  Mountcastle will earn $6.787MM in 2026, and Baltimore holds a $7.5MM club option on the first baseman’s services for 2027.  Mountcastle is represented by Apex Baseball.

The $6.787MM salary is an exact match for Mountcastle’s 2025 earnings.  MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $7.8MM salary for Mountcastle in 2026, yet the first baseman has eschewed on even a modest raise while also agreeing to give up a year of free agency, meaning that he won’t be able to fully financially capitalize on a bounce-back season.

The deal may simply reflect the lack of leverage Mountcastle has over his future in Baltimore, as it was viewed as something of a surprise that the Orioles tendered the first baseman a contract in the wake of his lackluster 2025 campaign.  A solid 111 wRC+ hitter over the 2020-24 seasons, Mountcastle plummeted to an 81 wRC+ in 2025 after hitting .250/.286/.367 with seven home runs over 357 plate appearances.  A severe hamstring strain limited Mountcastle to 89 games, which president of baseball operations Mike Elias said in November was a factor in the decision to tender Mountcastle a contract.

Elias’ view is that a healthy Mountcastle can rebound to his pre-2025 self, and thus the team didn’t want to let that player go for nothing.  Keeping a veteran on hand as a complement to Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo made some sense if the Orioles weren’t fully ready to give the youngsters a full run at regular first-base duties, yet the picture suddenly got a lot more crowded when Baltimore signed Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155MM contract.

It could be that this agreement is a step towards making Mountcastle more of an attractive trade candidate for any interested suitors.  Beyond his lack of a raise on his 2025 salary, the club option would give a new team some additional control at a potential bargain price if Mountcastle can indeed regain his old form.  The Orioles could also pivot by moving Mayo in a trade, and thus Mountcastle becomes first base/DH insurance for 2026 and potentially beyond, giving the team a bit more time to evaluate Basallo.

Orioles Avoid Arbitration With Taylor Ward

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The Orioles and outfielder Taylor Ward have agreed to a $12.175MM salary for the 2026 season, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports.  The two sides avoided arbitration with a figure that comes in lower than Ward’s $13.7MM projection from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, but it’s still a big raise over the $7.825MM Ward earned in 2025.  Ward is represented by Wasserman.

In what ended up as his final season with the Angels, Ward hit .228/.317/.475 over 663 plate appearances, with a career-high 36 home runs and 103 RBI.  Ward’s 117 wRC+ in 2025 wasn’t much higher than his 112 wRC+ in 2024, and his batting average and OBP actually declined from the previous year.  However, since arbitors tend to favor traditional counting stats over advanced metrics, Ward’s big increase in homers and RBI meant that he was in line for a hefty increase.

Since Ward is a Super Two player, he had four years of arbitration eligibility instead of the standard three.  With his 2026 figure now established, Ward will have made $27.5MM over his four arb years, which included winning an arbitration hearing with the Angels entering the 2024 season.  (The panel gave Ward his desired $4.8MM salary rather than the Angels’ price of $4.3MM.)

Ward will hit free agency next winter in advance of his age-33 season, and on the heels of what Ward hopes is a productive first season in Baltimore.  After years of trade rumors, the Angels finally dealt Ward in an intriguing one-for-one deal in November that sent Grayson Rodriguez to Anaheim.  The move to a more hitter-friendly ballpark may well boost Ward’s numbers in his platform year, and he’ll surely welcome the chance to play for a potential contender after never playing on a winning team over his eight years with the Angels.

Orioles Designate Jhonkensy Noel For Assignment

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The Orioles announced that they have claimed outfielder Marco Luciano off waivers from the Pirates, a move which was previously reported. To open a 40-man spot, outfielder Jhonkensy Noel has been designated for assignment. The O’s also announced that left-hander Josh Walker, who was designated for assignment last month, has cleared waivers and been sent to Triple-A Norfolk.

Noel, 24, was just claimed off waivers two days ago. It may seem strange to acquire a player and then immediately cut him from the roster but this sequence of events is becoming more common in baseball and the Orioles are one of the more aggressive teams in attempting it. The ideal outcome for the team is that the player eventually clears waivers and stays in the organization as depth without taking up a roster spot.

Baltimore fans should be familiar with the upside of the move. The O’s acquired Ryan O’Hearn from the Royals in January of 2023. He was designated for assignment two days later and cleared waivers. A few months after that, he hit his way back onto the roster and was a productive member of the club for over two years.

Up until he was claimed by the Orioles, Noel had spent his entire career with the Guardians. With that club, he has shown huge power potential but also a poor approach at the plate. He has 351 big league plate appearances to this point with 19 home runs but his 4.8% walk rate and 32.8% strikeout rate are both awful numbers. Despite the long balls, he has a .193/.242/.401 batting line and 79 wRC+, indicating he’s been 21% worse than the league average hitter.

He exhausted his final option season in 2025, which has pushed him into fringe roster territory. The Guards nudged him off and the O’s scooped him up. He’s now back into DFA limbo again, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the O’s could field trade interest for the next five days, but the Guards weren’t able to line up a trade in the previous weeks. Most likely, Noel will be back on the waiver wire.

Despite the rough major league results, he could draw interest from the raw power and also his better minor league numbers. Over the past two years, he has stepped to the plate 536 times at Triple-A. His 7.5% walk rate and 23.7% strikeout rate at that level are still not great but much closer to average. That’s helped him put up a .285/.349/.538 line and 130 wRC+.

If some other club scoops him up, Noel has just over a year of big league service time. That means he can be controlled for five full seasons and is still two years away from an arbitration raise. If he clears waivers, the O’s can keep him. Since he doesn’t have three years of service nor a previous career outright, he doesn’t have the right to reject an outright assignment.

The situation with Walker is somewhat similar. The O’s claimed him off waivers from the Phillies in August. The O’s then signed him to a major league deal in November. Salary terms of that pact haven’t been reported but it presumably pays Walker something slightly above the $780K league minimum, since he still hasn’t qualified for arbitration.

He was designated for assignment two days later. Like with the O’Hearn and Noel situations, the O’s were hoping Walker would clear waivers and stick with the club in a non-roster capacity. It didn’t work initially, as Atlanta claimed him. But that club designated him for assignment a few weeks later, which allowed the Orioles to claim him back. The O’s then tried again, designating Walker for assignment once more on December 19th.

DFA limbo normally only lasts a week at most, but there are different rules around the holidays, so Walker lingered in the ether for a few weeks. Today, he finally has clarity on his status. While he probably isn’t glad to lose his roster spot, he now at least knows which spring training location he’ll be reporting to.

Walker will try to win in the Baltimore bullpen at some point in 2026. His major league track record isn’t amazing, as he has a 6.59 earned run average in 27 1/3 innings. However, he just posted some intriguing minor league numbers in 2025. Split between the Blue Jays, Phillies and Orioles, he logged 42 2/3 Triple-A frames. His 4.64 ERA in that sample isn’t too exciting but he struck out 24.1% of batters faced and got grounders on 52.1% of balls in play.

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images

Orioles Claim Marco Luciano

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The Orioles have claimed outfielder Marco Luciano off waivers from the Pirates, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. The Bucs designated him for assignment last month. The O’s will need to make a corresponding move to open a 40-man spot.

DFA limbo is normally capped at one week but the rules are clearly different around the holidays, even if the specifics of the exceptions aren’t publicly known. Luciano was bumped off Pittsburgh’s roster on December 19th, almost three weeks ago.

The 24-year-old Luciano was once one of the top prospects in baseball. The Giants gave him a $2.6MM signing bonus in 2018 as an international amateur out of the Dominican Republic. He flashed huge power potential from the shortstop position and Baseball America ranked him the #12 prospect in the league in 2021. Since then, his glovework tailed off to the extent that he was moved to left field, putting more pressure on him to provide value with the bat. Unfortunately, significant strikeout issues have plagued him since reaching the upper levels of the minors.

He has taken 939 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level over the past two years. His 16% walk rate in that sample is massive but he’s also been punched out at a 29.1% clip, leading to a .229/.354/.400 line and 101 wRC+. He also has 126 big league plate appearances with a 35.7% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate, .217/.286/.304 line and 68 wRC+.

Luciano exhausted his final option season last year, pushing him to a fringe roster position. The Giants put him on waivers in early December. The Pirates scooped him up but he was nudged off their roster a few weeks later.

The Orioles are one of the most aggressive clubs when it comes to claiming players off waivers, often putting the same players back on the wire later on. The ideal outcome in that scenario is that the player stays in the organization without taking up a roster spot. He can then be retained as depth and be added back to the roster if he earns a spot.

The best-case scenario in that situation is Ryan O’Hearn. The O’s acquired him from the Royals in January of 2023 and then designated him for assignment a few days later. He cleared waivers but eventually hit his way back onto the roster and was a productive member of the club for over two years.

That is perhaps the plan with Luciano, as it’s hard to see a path for him earning a regular role on the current roster. The Orioles have an outfield mix consisting of Colton Cowser, Taylor Ward, Dylan Beavers, Tyler O’Neill, Jeremiah Jackson, Leody Taveras, Heston Kjerstad, Reed Trimble and Jhonkensy Noel. The designated hitter spot doesn’t provide much relief as the O’s are likely going to have Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo sharing the catching duties. There’s also the first base group consisting of Pete Alonso, Coby Mayo and Ryan Mountcastle, which should spill into the DH spot.

Luciano has fewer than three years of service time and hasn’t been outrighted in his career. That means he would not have the right to elect free agency if he eventually clears outright waivers. That may be his fate with the Orioles or some other club but he gets a roster spot for now after a long holiday in limbo.

Photo courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images

Valdez, Suarez Among Orioles’ Targets In Continuing Rotation Search

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Jan. 6: Both Framber Valdez and Ranger Suarez remain under consideration by the Orioles, reports Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner. The O’s have already been reported to have interest in both lefties, but that was prior to their recent slate of pitching acquisitions and prior to their $155MM signing of Alonso, so it’s notable that they’re still shopping in the deep end of the free agent pool even after spending a combined $195MM in free agency and taking on another $26MM or so via trade.

Jan. 5: The Orioles have made a couple of rotation moves in recent weeks but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re done. Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report today that the club is still looking for another starting pitcher, which could be either via free agency or the trade market.

Adding to the rotation has been an obvious goal for quite a while. Baltimore starters posted a collective 4.65 earned run average in 2025, which was better than just six other clubs in the majors. At season’s end, Tomoyuki Sugano and Zach Eflin became free agents, further thinning out the group.

Accordingly, the O’s have been connected to a wide number of free agents and trade candidates this winter. They made a notable move a couple of weeks ago, sending four prospects and a draft pick to the Rays for Shane Baz. A week ago, they brought back Eflin via a one-year, $10MM deal with a mutual option for 2027.

If the season started today, the rotation would feature Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Baz and Eflin in four spots. Dean Kremer would be the favorite for the final slot. Guys like Tyler Wells, Chayce McDermott, Cade Povich and Brandon Young also on the roster but have options and could be sent to the minors if everyone is healthy. Albert Suárez is back on a minor league deal and prospect Trey Gibson is also lurking as another non-roster option.

That’s a decent group, and a team source describes it as “adequate” to The Athletic. For a club looking to rebound from a nightmare season, it’s understandable that they still want more. That’s especially true considering it’s hard to rely on this collection of arms.

Bradish just returned from Tommy John surgery late last year and made just six starts. He only made eight starts in 2024 before the surgery, so that’s just 14 starts and 77 1/3 innings over the past two years. Wells is similar, having made just seven starts over the past two years due to his own elbow surgery. Rogers was great last year but limited to 18 starts by a knee injury. Due to multiple ailments over his career, he’s never topped 133 innings in a big league season. Baz took the ball 31 times in 2025 and logged 166 1/3 frames but that was his first time going beyond 14 starts and his first time hitting the 80-inning mark. Eflin underwent back surgery in August. He recently said he’s hoping to be ready by Opening Day but that doesn’t seem to be a lock.

Adding another arm would make things a bit cluttered if everyone is healthy, but that’s a big if, considering the total track record of the group. Given the number of depth options, the O’s would presumably be looking for more upside with another rotation addition.

Rosenthal and Sammon mention Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez and Zac Gallen as free agent possibilities, in addition to trade candidates Edward Cabrera, Freddy Peralta and MacKenzie Gore. That appears to simply be a list of the best pitchers still available, as opposed to reporting on anyone the O’s are specifically targeting, though the club has been connected to those free agents as well as Cabrera and Gore earlier in the offseason.

RosterResource projects the O’s for a payroll of $147MM next year. They opened 2025 at $165MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Signing one of the Valdez/Suárez/Gallen trio would likely require the O’s to pay $20 to $30MM annually. That would involve going beyond last year’s spending but not by much. It’s also possible they could save themselves a few bucks if they can trade Ryan Mountcastle, now that the Pete Alonso signing crowds him out. Mountcastle is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $7.8MM salary this year.

The trade candidates would cost less financially. Peralta will make just $8MM next year. Gore and Cabrera are projected for $4.7MM and $3.7MM respectively. But of course, the O’s would have to send something of value to those other clubs in trade. As mentioned, the O’s just sent out a big package of prospects in the Baz deal, which may lower their desire to further deplete the farm system with another big trade.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images

Orioles Claim Jhonkensy Noel, Designate George Soriano For Assignment

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The Orioles have claimed outfielder Jhonkensy Noel from the Guardians, according to announcements from both clubs. Noel was designated for assignment last month. To open a spot for Noel, the O’s designated right-hander George Soriano for assignment.

Noel, 24, changes organizations for the first time. The Guards signed him as an international amateur back in 2017 and he has been part of that system until today. Over the past two years, he has shown some big power ability but also a poor approach. In 351 big league plate appearances, he has 19 home runs but his 4.8% walk rate and 32.8% strikeout rate are both awful figures. That’s led to a lopsided .193/.242/.401 slash line thus far.

He exhausted his final option season in 2025, which pushed him off Cleveland’s roster. He was designated for assignment December 17th when Cleveland acquired Justin Bruihl from the Blue Jays. DFA limbo is normally capped at one week but there are clearly different rules around the holidays, as “Big Christmas” just spent close to three weeks in that liminal space.

The O’s have grabbed him today, though Noel won’t have a great path to playing time. Baltimore has a fairly crowded group for their outfield corners, as well as the first base and designated hitter spots. Pete Alonso should be the regular at first, with Coby Mayo and Ryan Mountcastle also in the mix there. Those guys could spill over into the DH slot, though the O’s might also want at-bats for their catching tandem of Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo. The outfield group includes Colton Cowser, Taylor Ward, Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Beavers, Leody Taveras, Heston Kjerstad and others.

Alonso, Mayo, Mountcastle, Ward and O’Neill are all right-handed power bats. The same is true of Noel, though he has a lesser track record of major league success than everyone in that group. The O’s tend to be very aggressive at claiming players off waivers and then putting them back on the wire later, hoping to keep them as non-roster depth. It’s possible that is the plan here, as Noel currently faces a steep path to a big league role.

His numbers in the minors are more encouraging than his major league work. Over the past two years, he has stepped to the plate 536 times at the Triple-A level with 30 home runs. His 7.5% walk rate and 23.7% strikeout rate were still not amazing but much better than his big league work. His .285/.349/.538 line in that sample translates to a 130 wRC+.

Being out of options will make it challenging for him to carve out a lengthy amount of big league playing time. But if he gets a chance and runs with it, he can be affordably controlled for years to come. His service time clock is at one year and 29 days, meaning he is still five years from free agency and two years from qualifying for arbitration.

Soriano, 27 in March, has never pitched for Baltimore. He spent his entire career with the Marlins until the Orioles grabbed him off waivers in early November. Over the past three years, he tossed 118 innings for Miami, allowing 5.95 earned runs per nine. He struck out 22% of batters faced and gave out walks at a 10.3% clip.

Like Noel, Soriano exhausted his final option season in 2025 and got pushed to the waiver wire. As mentioned, the O’s like to make claims and then try to pass guys through waivers later to keep them as non-roster depth. Soriano flashed some intriguing potential in Triple-A last year, tossing 42 2/3 innings with a 2.32 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 55.7% ground ball rate.

His service time clock is at 1.095, so he also has years of potential cheap control. That could entice another club to acquire him but the O’s would surely be happy if they can get him through waivers and hang onto him in a non-roster capacity.

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images

Zach Eflin Scheduled For Bullpen Session Next Week, Aiming To Be Ready For Opening Day

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After an injury-ruined 2025 season, veteran right-hander Zach Eflin is back with the Orioles on a one-year deal. The 31-year-old (32 in April) underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure in August. At the time, he and the team indicated that while the procedure can come with a recovery timetable of four to eight months, he was hopeful that he’d be able to have a normal offseason after roughly 12 weeks of recovery.

There hasn’t been much concrete information about his rehab window since that time, but on a Zoom call with the Orioles beat, Eflin revealed that he’s slated to throw his first bullpen session on Jan. 6 (via the Baltimore Sun’s Matt Weyrich). Eflin added that his goal is to be ready for Opening Day, though he noted that timetable is still very much subject to change. Obviously, his ultimate return point will hinge on how his ramp-up period goes now that he’s been cleared for his first post-op bullpen session.

A healthy Eflin would, at least on paper, give the Orioles a full rotation. He’d slot in alongside Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer and newly acquired Shane Baz. That’s a solid group if everyone’s healthy, but that’s a colossal “if.” Eflin pitched just 81 1/3 innings last year before that season-ending back surgery. Bradish pitched only 54 innings between the minors and the big leagues as he returned from Tommy John surgery. Baz tossed a career-high 166 1/3 innings but totaled only 106 1/3 major league frames across the three preceding seasons, due primarily to Tommy John surgery. Depth options like Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott and Brandon Young give the O’s some cover, but none of that trio has established himself in the big leagues just yet.

The Orioles have been connected to a wide swath of notable starters via both trade and free agency. Their pursuit of Miami righty Edward Cabrera has reportedly cooled, but Baltimore has been linked to free agents like Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suarez and Framber Valdez throughout the offseason. Bringing Eflin back at a pretty reasonable rate shouldn’t stand as a major impediment to any subsequent additions. RosterResource projects Baltimore’s payroll for about $147MM as of this writing. That’s $13MM shy of their 2025 mark. It stands to reason that ownership is willing to at the very least replicate that level of spending, if not push the payroll further north.

Virtually no team makes it through a full season in today’s game with only five starting pitchers. The Orioles are even likelier to need extra arms than most. Bradish and Eflin will see their workloads managed to varying extents. Rogers and Baz have notable injury histories. Whether in spring training or throughout the marathon regular season, the Orioles are sure to incur injuries on their staff. They had eight pitchers start six or more games for them in 2025, and that includes free agent Tomoyuki Sugano, who started a team-high 30 games. They’ll likely have at least seven or eight pitchers with 10 or more games started.

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