Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Orioles Rumors

Orioles Have Listened To Offers On Trevor Rogers, Felix Bautista

By | at

The Orioles have been at least listening to offers on both left-hander Trevor Rogers and closer Felix Bautista, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. A trade of either player is considered unlikely, though. Both are controlled beyond the 2025 season. Rogers is arbitration-eligible through 2026. Bautista is arb-eligible through 2027. SNY’s Andy Martino reported last week that rival clubs who’ve talked to the Orioles don’t expect Bautista to be moved.

That Rogers would even have appeal as anything more than a pure sell-low candidate is a welcome development for the Orioles. The former Rookie of the Year runner-up pitched poorly enough following last year’s acquisition from Miami that he was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Rogers then suffered a subluxation of his knee in January and opened the season with a six-week stay on the injured list. He was optioned again once ready for reinstatement and posted a 5.51 ERA in 32 2/3 minor league frames.

Rogers was still recalled out of necessity on May 24, and he’s been an unexpected boon to a struggling Baltimore rotation. The 27-year-old southpaw has made six starts since that recall and turned in a pristine 1.53 earned run average. His 93.5 mph average fastball isn’t quite back up to the 94.6 mph peak he enjoyed before a series of back, lat and biceps injuries, but it’s up considerably from last season’s 91.6 mph average.

There are reasons to be quite skeptical of Rogers’ success, however. He’s sitting on a .200 average on balls in play despite yielding an ugly 50.5% hard-hit rate in the majors this year. Only one of the 33 fly-balls he’s allowed has become a home run (3%) — far lower than his 10.2% career mark and 2025’s 11.4% league average. Similarly, his 84% strand rate trounces the 72.7% league average and Rogers’ own career mark of 71%. There’s some very likely regression in store in all those areas, though a 3.71 SIERA suggests that Rogers has still been a genuinely improved pitcher this season.

On the one hand, the Orioles need long-term help in the rotation. Charlie Morton, Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano are free agents at season’s end. Grayson Rodriguez hasn’t pitched this season due to triceps and elbow troubles. Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells are both on the mend from UCL surgery. They’re expected back later this summer, but it’s hardly a given that they’ll recapture their pre-injury form. Former top prospects Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott have both struggled in 2025 —  the former in the majors and the latter in Triple-A. Povich is currently on the shelf due to a hip injury.

On the other hand, Rogers is only controlled one more season and clearly saw his stock plummet in his first six months with the club. If he’s rebuilt some trade value, there’s an argument to be made for capitalizing on it and bringing back some more controllable talent. Even six weeks ago, the idea of Rogers having trade value of note would’ve seemed far-fetched. He’s certainly not as good as his sub-2.00 ERA would suggest, but on a thin market for pitching, his restored velocity and improved results could hold interest — particularly given that extra season of control and a very affordable $2.6MM salary.

Turning to Bautista, a trade of the former All-Star closer seems far less likely. The asking price, certainly, would be considerably higher. The electric 30-year-old righty is earning just $1MM this season and has two arbitration years remaining. He’s returned from late-2023 Tommy John surgery to pitch 33 2/3 innings of 2.41 ERA ball and collect 18 saves. Bautista’s 35.6% strikeout rate isn’t close to the superhuman 46.4% mark he recorded in 2023 but is excellent nevertheless. His 14.8% walk rate is also fairly alarming.

That said, both Bautista’s strikeout and walk rates are trending in the right direction. Dating back to the beginning of June, he’s fanned 44.4% of his opponents against an 11.1% walk rate — near-mirror images of his 2023 levels. Bautista is now favoring a new 97.5 mph sinker over the 99.3 mph four-seamer he used as his primary offering in ’23. The velocity isn’t as strong, but he’s seen his grounder rate climb from 35.7% to a hearty 50.7%.

Bautista is an elite relief arm with several metrics trending in the right direction and multiple years of affordable club control. That’s the sort of asset that every contending club would want. His affordable salary both makes him more plausible for budget-conscious contenders and carries extra appeal for the top luxury-paying clubs that don’t want to pay a 110% tax on a pricey reliever’s average annual salary.

The general consensus around the Orioles is that they’re unlikely to move anyone who’s controlled beyond the current season. The O’s have played better baseball since a dreadful start to the season but look to have dug too deep a hole to climb back into contention in the next two weeks. They’re nine games under .500 — 11.5 back from the division lead and 7.5 back of a Wild Card spot (with seven teams to leapfrog). They open the second half with a a seven-game road trip (three in Tampa and four in Cleveland) and have played at a 21-27 clip on the road (.437) versus a 22-25 clip at home (.468).

It’s far likelier that veterans like Morton, Eflin, Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins, Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto — all free agents at season’s end — change hands. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Rogers suddenly felt a bit like found money and GM Mike Elias looked to capitalize. A trade of Bautista would come as a shock, but it’s at least of some modest note that the Baltimore front office is willing to hear out interested clubs and give them a chance to put forth an overwhelming offer.

MLBTR Podcast: Rays’ Ownership, The Phillies Target Bullpen Help, And Bubble Teams

By | at

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Which 2025 All-Star hitter and pitcher are most likely to be traded ahead of the deadline? (29:50)
  • Will the Red Sox trade an outfielder to upgrade another part of the roster? Could they get Joe Ryan from the Twins? What should Boston do with Tanner Houck? (36:15)
  • Could the Padres trade Dylan Cease and still compete, the way the Tigers flipped Jack Flaherty and still made the playoffs last year? What will the Friars add at the deadline? (51:50)
  • How will the Mets use Clay Holmes the rest of the way? (59:50)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Firings in Washington, Bad Braves, And An AL East Shake-Up – listen here
  • Depleted Mets’ Pitching, The Pirates Are Open For Business, And More! – listen here
  • The Braves Say They Won’t Sell, Jeimer Candelario DFA’d, And Injured D-Backs – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Orioles Claim Elvin Rodriguez

By | at

The Orioles announced Wednesday that they have claimed right-hander Elvin Rodriguez off waivers from the Brewers and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. Milwaukee designated Rodriguez for assignment last week. Baltimore now has 39 players on its 40-man roster.

Milwaukee signed Rodriguez, 27, to a split major league contract in the offseason. He’d spent the 2023-24 seasons pitching well enough in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to command a 40-man spot in his return to North American ball, but his time with the Brewers organization has been a struggle. He’s pitched in six big league games (two of them starts) and been tattooed for 18 runs on 23 hits and seven walks in 18 2/3 innings. A whopping seven of those hits were long balls.

Rodriguez has fared far better in Triple-A, where he’s pitched 29 2/3 innings and notched a respectable 4.25 ERA. His 20.3% strikeout rate in Nashville effectively matches his 20.2% mark in the majors, but he’s also logged a tidy 4.9% walk rate in Triple-A. Homers have been an issue there as well, however; he’s yielded another seven round-trippers in those 29 2/3 frames (2.12 HR/9). Rodriguez sits around 94 mph with his four-seamer and pairs that pitch with a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup.

Prior to his time with the Brewers, Rodriguez made his MLB debut with the 2022 Tigers (29 2/3 innings) and pitched even more briefly with the 2023 Rays (3 1/3 innings). He’s allowed more than a run per inning in his 51 2/3 big league frames but has a nice track record in Triple-A and turned in a sparkling 1.80 ERA in 45 innings pitching in Japan. He’s worked both as a starter and reliever but has been used primarily in stints of one to two innings recently. The righty’s last appearance of more than two innings, in either Triple-A or the big leagues, was back on May 7 when he tossed 3 1/3 innings.

Rodriguez is in the second of three minor league option years and will give the Orioles some flexible bullpen depth for the time being. If the O’s wind up trading rental arms like Charlie Morton, Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano, he could stretch back out as a depth option for the rotation in the season’s second half. He’ll also be a candidate to fill some innings in the ’pen if the O’s trade Gregory Soto, Andrew Kittredge or Seranthony Dominguez — all of whom are potential free agents at season’s end (though Kittredge has a 2026 club option).

Trade Candidate: Charlie Morton

By | at

Charlie Morton’s time with the Orioles couldn’t have begun much worse. He started his first five appearances and lost all of them. His best outing in that stretch was a five-inning start in which he recorded 10 strikeouts but allowed five runs. By the end of April, he’d lost his rotation spot. He carried a 9.45 earned run average with nearly as many walks (21) as strikeouts (26) through 26 2/3 innings.

Morton spent the next three weeks working out of the bullpen. He allowed eight runs (seven earned) over 16 1/3 innings across six appearances. It was better than his early-season production but wasn’t a full-fledged turnaround. Injuries reopened a rotation spot at the end of May.

The 41-year-old Morton has seized the new starting opportunity. He has allowed two or fewer runs in six of his past eight starts. Over that stretch, he carries a 2.76 ERA. Morton has fanned more than a quarter of opponents with a vastly improved 7.5% walk rate. His 12.4% swinging strike percentage during that time is a top 30 mark in MLB. Morton’s fastball has gained some life. The heater averaged 93.7 MPH in April but has climbed to 94.4 MPH since the beginning of June.

Morton’s April struggles still leave him with a 5.18 ERA on the season. Yet he’s coming up on two months of the mid-rotation form he showed throughout his time with the Braves. This version of Morton is the pitcher the Orioles expected when they signed him to a $15MM free agent contract.

It’s an important development with two weeks until the deadline. Morton has quietly reemerged as an intriguing trade chip for a Baltimore team that is nine games below .500. As recently as six weeks ago, he seemed closer to a DFA candidate than a trade asset. He’s now probably the most appealing of Baltimore’s three impending free agent starting pitchers.

Zach Eflin has struggled since his suffering a lat strain in mid-April. He’s on the injured list with a lower back strain, though it seems likely he’ll return to make a start or two before July 31. Tomoyuki Sugano has a 6.62 ERA in seven starts since the beginning of June. Opposing hitters have a .327/.380/.520 slash line in that time. Sugano has a 14% strikeout rate and has allowed 1.72 homers per nine innings on the season. The O’s are going to have a difficult time drumming up interest.

Morton is owed a little more than $6MM the rest of the way. That’ll drop to roughly $4.75MM from the deadline through season’s end. That’s a decent sum for two months, but it’s reasonable if an acquiring team feels he’s back to being a playoff-caliber starter. Baltimore is going to get plenty of calls on All-Star slugger Ryan O’Hearn in the next couple weeks. Morton is pulling alongside Cedric Mullins and relievers Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto in their next tier of rental trade candidates.

Manfred: Longer Break In 2028 For All-Star Game And Olympics Is Possible

By | at

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to the media today, ahead of tonight’s All-Star game, addressing various topics relevant to the league. One subject that got a lot of discussion was the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the potential of MLB players participating. Baseball will be an event at the Olympics, with Dodger Stadium being the venue, but it’s still not confirmed if MLB players will be able to play. Manfred suggested it could be possible for the league to have a slightly longer midsummer break to include both the All-Star game and the Olympics, while also not impacting the regular season.

“It is possible to play the All-Star game in its normal spot, have a single break that would be longer but still play 162 games without bleeding into the middle of November,” Manfred said, per Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post. “That is possible.”

MLB players have never participated in the Olympics. Baseball has occasionally been an event in the games, but has been played by minor leaguers or college players. In recent years, it has not been unusual for MLB players to compete in international play. The World Baseball Classic has been running every few years since 2006, even though the COVID-19 pandemic threw the normal schedule off for a bit.

The main difference with the Olympics would be the timing. The WBC is held in March, ahead of the MLB regular season. The ’28 Olympics are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles from July 14th to 30th. Per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, the baseball field would include six teams, set by qualifying tournaments, who would then play from July 15th to 20th. Per Evan Drellich of The Athletic, the league would prefer that to be a little earlier. The All-Star break is usually the second Tuesday of July, which would be July 11th in 2028. The opening ceremony of the Olympics is scheduled for July 14th.

There are logistical challenges but it’s theoretically possible to line everything up. The fact that the games are taking place in the United States is also convenient, compared to a distant country where travel would be more of a concern.

It has been suggested in the past that perhaps the league could look to skip the All-Star game for one year, with the Olympics taking over as the main midsummer event. Manfred’s comments today point to both taking place, which would raise some interesting questions. Presumably, there could be a lot of overlap in terms of All-Star selections and Olympic rosters. If a player is planning to play in the Olympics and is also selected for the All-Star game, would they simply skip the latter like injured players do? Would some try to do both?

In terms of the scheduling, the details there aren’t clear either. In recent years, the MLB season has sometimes had some teams start the regular season in mid-March in order to play games in other countries such as Japan or South Korea. Starting the regular season earlier for all teams could perhaps allow for a longer midseason break, though that would lead to many weather-related annoyances in certain parts of the country.

Per Cooper, insurance is another potential hurdle. For the WBC, there are insurance policies in place to compensate an MLB team if one of their players is injured. But the WBC is put on by MLB, whereas the Olympics are put on by the International Olympic Committee. As noted by Cooper, it’s unclear if the IOC would be willing to pay the insurance premiums or if MLB would be willing to do so. MLB wouldn’t be directly benefiting from the event, since the IOC receives the proceeds, though the league would obviously hope that the Olympics would help to grow the MLB brand and expand its reach. Cooper mentions the possibility of Olympic committees of individual countries covering the insurance premiums but says this is the least likely scenario.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the logistical challenges could lead to San Francisco hosting the 2028 All-Star game. She says the league and the MLBPA would prefer a West Coast club host that year, in order to be near the Olympics in Los Angeles. She points out that San Diego, Seattle and Arizona have all hosted the All-Star festivities fairly recently, whereas the Giants last hosted back in 2007.

Slusser adds that MLBPA executive director Tony Clark also seemed open to the players agreeing to the Olympic plans, though with some details still to be worked out. “There’s just a lot of conversation that needs to be had sooner rather than later to see how viable this is,” Clark said. “But we’re hopeful that we can figure our way through it for the benefit of the game.”

If it comes to pass that the Giants host in 2028, it will kick things down the road for other clubs that have been waiting their turn. Last year, Manfred acknowledged that the Blue Jays were due, since they haven’t hosted since 1991. However, the Phillies are hosting in 2026, a decision that was made long ago to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It seems likely that the Cubs, who haven’t hosted since 1990, will be hosting in 2027. Putting the 2028 game in San Francisco would mean the Jays and other teams hoping to host would probably have to wait until 2029 at the earliest.

Manfred still seems to have a Toronto All-Star game on his radar, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. “Obviously, (the Blue Jays) are kind of perking up to the top of the list based on time,” he continued. “I’d like to be back in Toronto. Rogers has made a really significant investment in terms of improvements in the stadium. TBD at this point, beyond that.” Davidi adds that the Orioles and Red Sox are also interested. Baltimore last hosted in 1993 and Boston in 1999.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

Orioles Outright David Bañuelos

By | at

The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve passed catcher David Bañuelos through waivers and assigned him outright to Triple-A. He had the right to elect free agency but will instead accept his assignment to Norfolk. The 40-man roster count drops to 38.

The 28-year-old was added to the Orioles’ big league roster last week after the team had traded reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays. Bañuelos was already traveling with the O’s on their taxi squad, and he was selected to the roster ahead of a doubleheader versus the Mets.

A short-term stint seemed likely, given that Bañuelos was selected due to his proximity on the taxi squad and a desire to avoid playing a man down in that twin bill. He’d been the third catcher on the roster behind Jacob Stallings and Alex Jackson, though Baltimore gave him a couple of plate appearances during his brief run. Bañuelos has just three MLB plate appearances and is still looking for his first big league hit. He did reach base for the first time in his career when he was hit by a pitch yesterday.

Bañuelos is the consummate glove-first catcher. He’s a career .197/.276/.362 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons but has been praised as a plus defender behind the dish dating back to his days at Long Beach State. He was originally a Mariners draftee but has spent the bulk of his pro career in the Twins’ system after Minnesota acquired him from Seattle in exchange for international bonus space. Bañuelos became a minor league free agent after the 2023 season and has since signed a pair of minor league pacts with the Orioles, who clearly value having his defensive skills on hand in the upper minors. He’s now accepted multiple outright assignments to remain with the O’s, so it seems like a mutually agreeable arrangement.

Orioles Designate Corbin Martin For Assignment

By | at

The Orioles announced this morning that they have recalled left-hander Grant Wolfram to the major league roster. Right-hander Corbin Martin was designated for assignment to make room for Wolfram on the club’s active roster. Baltimore’s 40-man roster now stands at 39 players.

Martin, 29, was a second-round pick by the Astros back in 2017 and received some attention as a top-100 prospect prior to the 2019 season. He underwent Tommy John surgery during the first half that year, and early in his recovery found himself traded to the Diamondbacks on the day of the trade deadline as part of the Zack Greinke blockbuster alongside Josh Rojas, Seth Beer, and JB Bukauskas. Martin didn’t return to a mound until 2021, and once he did so the results left much to be desired. He surrendered a 10.69 ERA in 16 innings of work during his first season with the Diamondbacks at the big league level, and while he showed some signs of improvement during his age-26 season in 2022 he suffered a number of additional injuries.

That includes a lat tear in his shoulder that required surgery and cost him his 2023 campaign. Martin was ultimately designated for assignment by the Snakes in early 2024, and after a brief stint in the Brewers’ minor league system last year he found himself claimed off waivers by the Orioles last May. He pitched at Triple-A for Baltimore’s Norfolk affiliate last year and was eventually removed from the 40-man roster, but remained with the organization and was brought back up to the majors earlier this month. This latest stint in the majors proved to be a brief one, as he remained on the roster for less than two weeks and made just one appearance. The appearance was an impressive one, however, as he struck out two and allowed just one hit in 1 1/3 innings of work against the Rangers.

Going forward, the Orioles will have one week to either work out a trade involving Martin or attempt to pass him through waivers. Should he clear waivers successfully, he would have the opportunity to either accept an outright assignment to the minor leagues or elect free agency in search of a better opportunity elsewhere. It wouldn’t be a shock to see some team take a chance on him now that he’s healthy, though his 5.29 ERA at Triple-A this year still raises some questions about his effectiveness even after his strong return to the majors earlier this month. As for Wolfram, the rookie made his big league debut with the Orioles earlier this year and has a 31.3% strikeout rate in three appearances at the big league level so far this season. With Keegan Akin on the injured list, Wolfram’s return to the bullpen should take some pressure off of fellow lefty Gregory Soto going forward.

Which Other Draft Picks Are Eligible To Be Traded Before Sunday?

By | at

The Rays made an “early” strike in deadline season yesterday, shipping off their Competitive Balance Round A selection (No. 37 overall) in Sunday’s draft to acquire righty Bryan Baker from the division-rival Orioles. Baker, 30, has had his two worst outings of the season in his final Orioles appearance and last night’s Rays debut — which came just hours after he was “shocked” to learn he was traded and boarded a last-minute flight to meet his new team in Boston — but carried a 2.58 ERA and 33.3% strikeout rate through July 5. He comes to the Rays with three additional seasons of club control, as well.

Following the trade, O’s general manager Mike Elias acknowledged that Thursday’s trade was “earlier than my comfort level” but that the timing of the draft and strength of the return pushed him to make a deal sooner than he’d have preferred (link via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). It’s feasible that other general managers/president of baseball operations feel similar pressure if presented with opportunities to add an extra pick over the next two-plus days.

As a refresher, Competitive Balance picks are the only picks in the annual amateur draft that are eligible to be traded. They can only be traded one time, meaning the pick the Orioles received for Baker — and the picks the Dodgers, Guardians and Red Sox received in trades of Gavin Lux, Josh Naylor and Quinn Priester, respectively — are now locked in place for those clubs. There are still a handful of selections that could be traded, however.

Here’s a rundown of the picks in Competitive Balance Rounds A and B. MLBTR has confirmed via industry sources that the picks held by the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets in Round A are ineligible to be traded, as they’re technically first-round picks that were dropped down into Competitive Balance Round A as penalty for exceeding the luxury tax by more than $40MM. Similarly, the picks held by the Rays and Brewers in Round B are ineligible to be traded due to the fact that they are compensation for failing to sign last year’s picks in Competitive Balance Round B. Picks that are eligible to be traded are in bold; those ineligible to be moved are in strikethrough font. The deadline to trade any of these eligible picks is 4pm ET on Sunday — two hours prior to the start of this year’s amateur draft.

Round A

  • No. 33 overall: Red Sox (acquired from Brewers in exchange for RHP Quinn Priester)
  • No. 34: Tigers
  • No. 35: Mariners
  • No. 36: Twins
  • No. 37: Orioles (acquired from Rays in exchange for RHP Bryan Baker)
  • No. 38: Mets
  • No. 39: Yankees
  • No. 40: Dodgers
  • No. 41: Dodgers (acquired from Reds in exchange for INF/OF Gavin Lux)
  • No. 42: Rays (acquired from A’s in exchange for LHPs Jeffrey Springs, Jacob Lopez)
  • No. 43: Marlins

Round B

  • No. 66 overall: Guardians
  • No. 67: Rays (compensation for unsigned pick in 2024)
  • No. 68: Brewers (compensation for unsigned pick in 2024)
  • No. 69: Orioles
  • No. 70: Guardians (acquired from D-backs in exchange for 1B Josh Naylor)
  • No. 71: Royals
  • No. 72: Cardinals
  • No. 73: Pirates
  • No. 74: Rockies

The Tigers are the only clear buyer with a pick that can be traded, and it’s a prominent one. The Mariners and Cardinals are only one game out of a Wild Card spot in their respective leagues. Seattle is expected to act as a buyer and has been on the hunt for corner infield bats and late-inning bullpen help. The Royals (3.5 games), Twins (4) and Guardians (5) are all within five games of a Wild Card spot.

Fans would largely welcome the advent of additional selections becoming eligible to be traded, but that’s not in the cards for now. MLBPA executive director Bruce Meyer joined Foul Territory earlier this week and told hosts Scott Braun, Erik Kratz and A.J. Pierzynski that the union is in favor of trading draft picks and has unsuccessfully raised the issue in past waves of collective bargaining (video link, draft pick talk coming around the one hour, 12-minute mark).

“This union has consistently been in favor of teams being able to trade draft picks,” said Meyer. “It would help competition. We think it would help small-market teams that have those valuable draft picks. They should have the flexibility to trade them if it’s in the best interest of the team. I think many teams would agree, but the league for whatever reason has, to date, been against allowing clubs the ability to trade Rule 4 [amateur] draft picks. We proposed it last time. It was rejected. I don’t want to commit to much for the next round of bargaining, but I feel pretty confident we’ll propose that again, because we think it’s actually beneficial to competitive balance.”

It should be noted that virtually any proposal in collective bargaining comes with some give and take. Meyer’s comments only portray one side of the discussion, and it’s not clear whether anything else was attached to that proposal. Regardless, it’s notable that the union’s lead negotiator has signaled a desire to again broach the subject of draft pick trades when the two sides return to the table to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.

Which Other Relievers Might The Orioles Shop?

By | at

The Orioles and Rays lined up a mid-July trade on Thursday morning. Baltimore sent setup man Bryan Baker to Tampa Bay for the 37th pick in the draft. That was spurred by the calendar — with the draft on Sunday, the O’s didn’t have time to waste to finalize the deal — but could be the first in a few bullpen trades for Baltimore.

SNY’s Andy Martino writes that rival teams do not expect the Orioles to trade star closer Félix Bautista. The big righty is cheaply controllable via arbitration for the next two seasons. Baker was also controllable, but dealing Bautista would be a much more significant hit to the 2026 bullpen. Bautista’s command was wobbly early in the season as he returned from Tommy John surgery. He has been utterly dominant over the past six weeks, allowing only one run with 24 strikeouts and six walks in 15 innings dating back to the beginning of June.

Even if the Orioles hold Bautista, they have a few relievers who should be available. Martino suggested the O’s will soon seriously consider offers on righties Andrew Kittredge and Seranthony Domínguez and on southpaw Gregory Soto. All three are short-term bullpen pieces. The Orioles remain eight games under .500 despite sweeping a doubleheader against the Mets on Thursday. Fielding offers on rental and/or veteran relievers makes sense.

Seranthony Domínguez ($8MM salary, impending free agent)

Baltimore acquired Domínguez from the Phillies at last summer’s deadline. While the 6’1″ righty had been Philadelphia’s closer earlier in his career, he’d fallen out of favor because of scattershot control. Domínguez struggled to keep the ball in the park after the trade, yet the Orioles exercised an $8MM option to keep him.

That has proven to be a smart decision. The 30-year-old has worked to a 3.13 earned run average through 37 1/3 innings. He has punched out a third of opposing hitters. His 15% swinging strike rate is a top 30 mark in MLB (minimum 30 innings). The command is still a concern — he has walked more than 14% of batters faced — but he has huge stuff. Domínguez averages nearly 98 MPH on his heater and misses bats with both his breaking ball and a splitter. He has been locked in over the past few weeks. Since June 1, he has fired 16 innings with three runs (one earned) while striking out 25 against eight walks.

Gregory Soto ($5.35MM salary, impending free agent)

Like Domínguez, Soto landed with the Orioles in a trade from Philadelphia at last summer’s deadline. The 30-year-old southpaw is a two-time All-Star from his early days as Detroit’s closer. He didn’t meet expectations after the Phils acquired him going into 2023. Soto has tantalized with big stuff, but the results haven’t really matched in recent seasons.

Soto is amidst his best year since Detroit traded him. He has provided the O’s with 33 1/3 innings of 3.78 ERA ball. Soto has struck out 28% of opponents against a slightly elevated 10.4% walk percentage. He has only allowed five runs since the beginning of June, three of which came in one rough appearance against Texas on July 1. A lefty with a 97 MPH fastball who is having a solid season is going to intrigue plenty of contenders.

Andrew Kittredge ($9MM salary, $9MM club option with $1MM buyout for 2026)

Baltimore added the 35-year-old Kittredge on a $10MM free agent deal. His organizational tenure got off to a rough start. Kittredge injured his left knee and required Spring Training debridement surgery. That kept him from making his team debut until May 21. Kittredge has pitched well, posting a 3.57 ERA with a slightly above-average 23.7% strikeout rate. He has only walked 6.5% of opponents.

Kittredge doesn’t light up radar guns the way that Domínguez and Soto can. His fastball sits in the 94-95 MPH range; he leans as frequently on a high-80s slider. Kittredge has nevertheless been a quality leverage piece when healthy. He was an All-Star with the Rays in 2021. After undergoing Tommy John surgery the next year, he returned to toss 70 2/3 innings of 2.80 ERA ball for the Cardinals last season. Kittredge led the National League with 37 holds a year ago. There shouldn’t be any doubt regarding his ability to handle important innings. The club option means the O’s could retain him into next season, but they may prefer to shop him rather than banking on his age-36 campaign.

Orioles Select David Banuelos

By | at

The Orioles announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contract of catcher David Bañuelos from Triple-A Norfolk. He was already with the club on their taxi squad, Jake Rill of MLB.com points out, making him a natural fit to temporarily fill the roster spot vacated by this morning’s trade of reliever Bryan Baker to the Rays. Baltimore also appointed lefty Grant Wolfram as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader, so they’ll still have a full stock of relievers.

Bañuelos, 28, appeared in one big league game with Baltimore last year but flew out in his only plate appearance. That’s the only major league at-bat of his career. Assuming this is a short-term selection to avoid playing a man down in today’s doubleheader, Bañuelos might not get another opportunity. He’ll be serving as a third catcher alongside Jacob Stallings and Alex Jackson on an injury-ravaged Orioles roster.

Bañuelos has missed a fair bit of time on the injured list himself so far in 2025. He’s tallied only 64 plate appearances with Norfolk, going just 5-for-57 with a homer, seven walks and 21 strikeouts. The resulting .088/.188/.193 batting line is an eyesore, but Bañuelos posted a more solid .225/.360/.352 line in 22 Triple-A games for the O’s last year. He’s a career .197/.276/.362 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons.

Offense has never been a big part of Bañuelos’ game. He’s been touted as a glove-first catcher even dating back to his amateur days at Long Beach State. The Mariners selected him in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, but he’s spent the bulk of his career in the Twins system. The O’s signed him to a minor league deal following the 2023 season, and he’s now in his second year within their system.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top