2011 Contract Issues: Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles face two contractual options after the season:

• First baseman Garrett Atkins has an $8.5MM club option with a $500K buyout.  Barring a miraculous return to his 2006 abilities, the Orioles will decline.
• Lefty reliever Mark Hendrickson has a $1.2MM club option with a $200K buyout.  Much too early to call.

Paying a $500K buyout to Atkins means shaving $3.5MM off the payroll.  The Orioles can free up nearly $30MM in additional funds, since Kevin Millwood, Miguel Tejada, Koji Uehara, Ty Wigginton, and others are up for free agency.  They'll also trim $1.5MM in buyouts paid to Melvin Mora and Chad Moeller.  The Orioles will shed $32.85MM if they let all their free agents go aside from Hendrickson.

On the increase side, there's a $3.5MM bump for Nick Markakis.  The Orioles have three first-time arbitration players in Adam Jones, Jim Johnson, and Felix Pie.  Jeremy Guthrie, Cla Meredith, and Matt Albers will go for a second time, Luke Scott a third.  The Orioles should have at least $15MM to play with even if they hold payroll steady and tender everyone a contract.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.