With the Orioles already exploring the high-end reliever market, Robert Stephenson is another name drawing interest from Baltimore, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (via X).
The O’s saw plenty of Stephenson when he pitched for the Rays last season, a 38 1/3-inning stint that set a new ceiling on the former first-rounder’s potential. While Stephenson had posted good results over full seasons (with the Reds in 2019 and with the Rockies in 2021) and for the last month of the 2022 season after the Pirates claimed him away from Colorado, the right-hander had simply been too inconsistent to be a truly reliable bullpen arm. Stephenson had a 5.14 ERA in 14 innings with Pittsburgh last season before the Rays acquired him in a June trade, and that’s when the turnaround happened.
Stephenson proceeded to post a 2.35 ERA, 42.9% strikeout rate, and 5.7% walk rate over his 38 1/3 frames for Tampa, suddenly breaking out as one of the best relievers in baseball. A tiny .194 BABIP undoubtedly contributed to that success, yet the rest of Stephenson’s metrics were so impressive that batted-ball luck alone couldn’t account for his success. Replacing his slider with a cutter as his secondary pitch worked wonders for Stephenson, as his cutter became one of the more overpowering pitches in all of baseball.
While 38 1/3 innings isn’t a huge sample size by any stretch, Stephenson’s run in Tampa Bay was so dominant that it has made him one of the most sought-after names on the relief market as he enters his age-31 season. Morosi previously reported that the Cubs, Angels, and Dodgers all had interest in the righty’s services, and the Orioles now become the fourth team linked to the Stephenson market.
MLBTR ranked Stephenson 27th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, projecting a four-year, $36MM contract. Darragh McDonald also picked the Orioles as Stephenson’s landing spot, despite the fact that the O’s have yet to sign any player to even a multi-year contract during Mike Elias’ tenure as general manager. While nobody expects the Orioles to suddenly go wild with spending this winter, the team’s 101-win 2023 season shows that Baltimore is firmly capable of contending for a championship, and some level of payroll increase is likely necessary to add what might be only a couple of final pieces to the team’s impressive talent core.
The Orioles have showed signs that they’re at least considering some higher-level expenditures. Baltimore reportedly checked in on Aaron Nola before he re-signed with the Phillies, and their ventures into the relief market have included links to Josh Hader, Jordan Hicks, Aroldis Chapman, and Craig Kimbrel.
Stephenson perhaps joins Hicks as something of a middle ground between the nine-figure, multi-year deal it will likely take to land Hader and the one-year deals Kimbrel or Chapman are likely to sign. Signing Stephenson, Hicks, or Hader would give the O’s a longer-term relief arm even after Felix Bautista returns from Tommy John surgery, and putting any of those relievers with Bautista and Yennier Cano in 2025 and beyond makes for a very promising bullpen situation.
Yes. Good idea Orioles, Really like this for dem O’s!
Would be ideal/savvy.
Blimey – appreciate he had a brilliant half season in Tampa, but a 4 year deal at $36 million total seems a bit generous to say the least. Nevertheless, make good whilst the sun shines, and good luck to him…
Maybe he can pitch as well as he writes, oh wait, not the same guy? Well, maybe if it is, he’d be good out of the “pen”
Are we sure it isn’t the same guy? Started out rough around the edges, but then polished his craft to fringe excellence? He did author one of the best second have scripts last year.
@O’sSayCanYouSee
Isn’t there a “Long John Silver” that posts regularly. He’d know the answer for sure.
Can only hope he hasn’t been kidnapped…
AAAARRGGGGH matey, cough cough
Where’s Johnny Depp when you need him?
(in the middle of a heard?)
This is the one
4 years, good for him. I had him pegged for a 2-3 yr contract.
Would the O’s trade Santander to the Braves for Iglesis ?
I think the Braves would do that to shore up LF for sure
I think the Braves want to free up Iglesis & Ozuna’s salaries to make a run @ Ohtani.
Bringing back Santandar shores up LF and they can also bring back Kimbrel possibly or Minter gets a crack at closing.
You don’t want Santander playing LF.
There is no chance at all that the orioles would make that trade. That is a substantially worse return than typically projected either here or on other sites. The Braves would surely have to include substantial prospect capital In return to make that deal possible.
The orioles would surely require substantially more in exchange for Santander. If the only major league talent is Iglesias I imagine the Braves would need to kick in both substantial prospect capital and dollars.
I’d rather have Stephenson @4/36 & Santander than Iglesias @2/29.
Looks like Iglesias is 2/$32, per b ref
I was surprised by that dollar figure too but digging into his numbers he’s had some decent success in a few other recent seasons too. His career numbers are weighed down pretty heavily by his first few seasons and what seem like some “poor fit” situations. Maybe the O’s trust they can keep him on course.
Why every time I see an article about the O’s looking at spending on pitching, I always think of Marge Simpson’s quote in the pretzel wagon episode: Look at them! They’ve jumped on the one franchise (pitcher) I might have considered thinking about possibly becoming interested in.
The article “expresses interest”. Half of the comments suggest a deal has been made. What am I missing?
The comments are in reaction to the MLBTR projected salary/deal quoted in the article I believe. He has not been signed… according to the above post.
38 innings !? Yikes ! That’s like a 1/2 season worth of work. Dude has no chance living up to a 4 year pack- he’s way to inconsistent and won’t be taking the rays coaching staff w him
That word is “pact,” not “pack.”
The Pirates have been pretty decent at unearthing bullpen talents like this and a move to the Rays is like finishing school for relievers.
But the Orioles paying top dollar on a long term deal for Stephenson?
Yikes!
Elias has to make a multi-year signing before I get invested in “interest.” Please improve the team
Elias isn’t the bad guy here. John Angelos, Os managing partner since late 2018, is the culprit. Elias knew what he was heading in to and he did not have to take the job offer from Angelos … but he did.
John Angelos approving a 4 yr deal for a 31 yr old reliever … can’t fathom it. Next case.
This isn’t going to be an expensive one.
The Orioles do nothing but make money. They control MASN (joke of a network as it is), which is to say they control their tv rights and Washington’s tv rights. This is not the typical “small market” team. Now that they are winning, they need to make the moves that will put them over the top.
I think this offseason and next offseason are the team’s best time to make go for a mega deal, as the core is all cheap. But then again, the owners are cheap too.
Always liked and really pulled for Stephenson as a Red. Hopefully, that cutter can continue to be a very effective pitch for him!
Wouldn’t mind seeing him back now that he is finally harnessing that first round potential he showed early on.
Could end up being a bargain if he pitches anywhere close to how he did for the Rays, actually. He was better than Hader after joining Tampa Bay (better FIP, WHIP, K/BB ratios) and should only command about 1/3 of what Hader could get.