6:25pm: Coulombe receives a $2.3MM salary, The Associated Press reports. That’s the midpoint of the respective filing figures. The 2025 option is valued at $4MM and comes without a buyout. Coulombe could push the option value as high as $4.925MM via escalators. The price would increase by $100K if he reaches 50 appearances this year, $50K apiece for his next five games, $55K each for his 56th-60th appearances, and $60K per game between 61 and 65 outings.
9:31am: The Orioles and left-hander Danny Coulombe have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with a club option for the 2025 season, the team announced. In doing so, the two sides avoided an arbitration hearing. Coulombe, a client of Elite Sports Group, had filed for a $2.4MM salary while the team countered at $2.2MM. He’d have been a free agent at season’s end, so the O’s are gaining an extra year of control over the southpaw with today’s agreement.
Coulombe, 34, proved to be an excellent low-cost pickup for Baltimore last winter. Acquired from the Twins in exchange for cash just days before the season began, he delivered 51 1/3 innings of 2.81 ERA ball in his first season with the O’s, striking out a strong 27.6% of his opponents against an outstanding 5.7% walk rate.
That marked the continuation of a late-career breakout that’s now seen the journeyman southpaw work to a collective 2.86 ERA over the past four seasons. It also represents a bounceback from an injury-marred 2022 campaign in which he posted a 1.46 ERA in a small sample of 12 innings with Minnesota but also walked an uncharacteristic 17% of his opponents. Coulombe missed the bulk of that season with a hip impingement but showed little to no ill effects in 2023.
Coulombe figures to slot back in as a setup man for manager Brandon Hyde, though he’ll be bridging the gap to a new closer in 2024. After star right-hander Felix Bautista underwent Tommy John surgery in October, the Orioles responded by signing free agent Craig Kimbrel to a one-year, $13MM deal. Kimbrel figures to close games for the O’s this season, with Coulombe, Yennier Cano and a healthier Dillon Tate among the current favorites for leverage spots in the seventh and eighth innings.
The option year being tacked on is significant for the Orioles. It’s relatively commonplace for teams to work out one-year deals with options of some kind even after figures are exchanged, but not necessarily with players who have five-plus years of service. Five-plus players tend to either prefer straight one-year deals or perhaps agree to a mutual option, which is largely a formality as mutual options are almost never exercised by both parties. It’s a compromise that effectively ensures the player he can reach the open market as was previously scheduled while also allowing the team to bend on a straight one-year deal that can then be used a data point in future arbitration cases. (The inclusion of an option of any kind disqualifies those agreements from being used in future negotiation of straight one-year arbitration deals.)
Coulombe, however, is older than the standard five-plus player and was perhaps more willing to surrender a free agent year as a result. He’ll lock in a salary that nearly doubles his modest career earnings of $2.89MM, and while next year’s option will surely be reasonably priced, it’ll give him the opportunity to remain in a setting where he clearly felt comfortable and where he’ll clearly have a good chance at being part of a competitive roster.
The Orioles exchanged arbitration figures with an MLB-high five players this year, but both Coulombe and fellow lefty reliever Cionel Perez have since agreed to one-year deals with options. Outfielder Austin Hays ($6.35MM vs. $5.85MM), first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn ($3.8MM vs. $3.2MM) and righty Jacob Webb ($1MM vs. $925K) are all still unresolved, but presumably the team will continue looking into similar arrangements with that group in order to avoid a potentially contentious hearing.
Coupon be is worth every penny. Is there another team getting better production per dollar out of their bullpen than the Orioles? I don’t think so.
Of course Elias had a coupon for Coulombe’s services. That’s the only way Angelos would approve the signing.
Coulombe be was acquired via trade and the Orioles sent cash. If the Orioles and their $66 million payroll last season can do it, any team can.
$71 Million, but thanks for taking an uneducated guess.
is that factoring in the money that is going to Chris Davis, Alex Cobb and Bobby Bonilla.
The team is managed on the cheap for now- but they had bigger payrolls as recently as a few years ago. I am sure Elias has gotten some consessions on future payrolls if he can put together the rebuild on the cheap- and that is what he has done.
That teams has done amazing finding scrap heap players that are solid. Cano was a throw in player in a deal the year before (Jorge Lopez deal). Ramon Urais i think was a waiver claim. Santander was a rule 5 pick, Ohearn was non tendered last year by the Royals…. going further back in the rebuild- Rio Ruiz, Jorge Mateo, Aaron Hicks, and the list goes on.; all players that the orioles got great value from the bottom of the barrell.
They really only bottomed out breifly. They were good as recently as 2017 (i may be off a year either way), so a 5 year rebuild is pretty fast for a small market team
John Angelos has said in interviews that extending the young players would require significant price increases. Mike Elias is working within the financial constraints imposed by ownership.
Rebuild didn’t start til 2018. Flopped in the 2nd half in 17 but added Cobb and kept all of our pending FA’s. Very quick rebuild in a tough division to do so.
I don’t exactly call this a quick rebuild.
They were last good in 2016 (89 wins). That was the last of a 5 year stretch where they somehow had the AL’s best record yet just 1 division title and 0 ALCS wins.
In 2017 they started 22-10 then finished 75-87 playing poorly the last 2 months.
2018: 47-115
2019: 54-108
2020: 25-35 however started 12-8 and finished a more typical 13-27, likely another 100 loss full season
2021: 52-110
Having to watch guys like Mike Wright, Richie Martin, David Hess, Chris Davis, Yefry Ramirez, Maikel Franco, and the like day after day made it seem like 40 years.
Now they’re satisfied with “good enough” and not building on the gains in the last 2 seasons by getting a top half of the rotation guy and extending young players like the Braves, who are going to be dominant for the next decade..
Orioles’ rebuild didn’t start until 2019. The Orioles ere trying to compete for the division in 2018. The wheels fell off and they started trading players in July.
That should have read Coulombe. Sorry if that caused confusion.
*Coulombe.
Agreed, Orioles are getting great value out of the ‘pen. I’m glad to see they are looking ahead to 2025 too with the club option and not only doing reclamation/one year deal type stuff.
If Coulombe pitches like he did last year for the O’s, that club option should be a no-brainer.
The club option is a nice hedge against any potential regression. With that being said, reclamation projects appear to be a major part of Elias’ strategy.
bullpen reclamation projects are the norm for 75% of the league .
Most of the good bullpens have a legit closer and 2 set up guys, Maybe 1-2 middle releivers that are team controlled but would otherwise be set up men on other rosters (like the Os here). But a normal bullpen is 6-8 guys. The other 3-5 guys are normally a swingman starter, and either reclaimation projects or 26 year old failed starters in the minors (that are still reclaimation projects to convert them sucessfully).
The number of external finds for Elias is really more to do with the organization before he got there. They had nothing in the minors. So there were no failed SP prospects, since the best SP prospects (outside of Grayson) were already not great. So it was better to find guys outside the org for that purpose. I think it shifts in the next few years. If a guy like Cade Povich cannot cut it as a starter, he will get run in the bullpen. They are already doing it with Hall (who looks like he is never getting another chance to start)
Good. The Orioles need to be careful with their pitchers, especially relievers. They did a good job with Coulombe, managing his innings. But they Boonedoggled Cano with 70+ innings. And their starters faltered in the postseason, but it was the Rangers juggernaut.
Yes. Curious if O’s fans are concerned about the downgrade from lights out Bautista to old man Kimbrel since that can mess with BP roles/usage and what was a major strength.
In many divisions, the dynamic offense can help mitigate, but there are no pushovers in the AL East.
yes, but with Bautista out only for a year, i agree with them not kneejerking and signing a HAder or other long term expensive bullpen arm. Kimbrel was in that grouping of good releivers who could close and was willing to only go 1-2 years. So no objection from me on that signing.
Why? Imagine hader and Felix together next year. Don’t think small. The orioles have one of the lowest payrolls. Whose money are you trying to save?. Signing Hader to a ridiculous contract for a reliever would give them a mega boost in winning the division again and on…..
I’m not into $100MM for a reliever. I’m trying to put together the best team we can in the future. Now, if they do nothing but pocket the cash—sure. But if that is put into a starter or an extension for one of the young core guys then that’s much better.
$100MM for a one inning reliever is nuts for a small-mid market club.
I agree with you on Hader’s pricetag, but this regime has been known for doing nothing and pocketing the cash. His father spent for competitive teams, but John has the team firmly planted in the bottom-6 for payroll for years. No trade deadline additions, no multi-year free agent acquisitions.
@sheetz
Yeah. It is still early in the window though. We’ll see after this season if the necessary moves/payroll additions aren’t made
Obviously, ownership has placed financial constraints on Elias. Orioles fans would prefer to lock up Gunnar and Holliday than blow the wad on a 1-inning reliever like Hader. There are better investments than relievers for this team.
You can argue that a shut-down reliever is what this team needs. There aren’t many starting pitchers who go more than 6-7 innings anymore. So shutting down the 7-8-9 innings is key.
P.S. Angelos, please sell the team
I would argue that they need a good Starter far more than a shut-down reliever. I believe ME’s plan is for just this one year of Kimbrel to bridge the Bautista TJ gap in order to return Felix to the highest-leverage situations in 2025. If they could sign someone like Hader for 1/$25 for 2024, I would support the decision. I can’t think of any reliever I want to commit 5/$95MM to. The Orioles need to get to those relievers with a lead for them to provide value. PS: What if Hader reverts to his 5.20 ERA, 1.280 WHIP from 2022? Not that I expect that, but there is a lot of volatility with relievers.
John Angelos needs to shortchange every player he possibly can so he can sign a top tier FA starter like Snell. Not that he would ever do that. He’s too cheap.
Top tier like Snell? The 31 year old who wants $30 million a year for the next 9 years but walked 5 batters per 9 innings last year? Hard pass.
yup, i would do the 30m, but 2 years…..no way i would go over 180m for the rest of his career.
But no way he accepts a short term deal, and there’s always a team out there willing to give him a longer term deal. And that’s why Angelos ends up with a reputation as “Cheap” because he doesn’t want to overpay for mediocre aging talent.
It has been reported that the Yankers are offering 6/$150. Players don’t sign for 2/$60 instead.
Strange, this guy has been very lucky the past 4+ seasons. His FRA has been around 4.50 for his career but he’s overperforming, especially last season. Good for him to get a small bag of cash, though. I would expect some negative regression coming in 2024.
baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/danny-coulomb…
He was about dead on to his peripherals in Baltimore. Different pitching approach here. I like his chances to be a low 3 ERA reliever next year
Praise God
Twins really blew this one, we could have used a solid lefty in out bullpen. Even more so this year…
Seems like Orioles and Twins have had a couple insywhere the Os pick their pocket kinda. Jorge Lopez trade worked out great for Os. Tyler Wells a rule 5 pick from the Twins too?? I’d stop taking calls from Elias in the Twin Cities.
I will say, Twins do have a good organization at finding good arms.
This extends club control past arb! That’s an excellent deal. I guess he badly wanted that extra 100k this year.
Loving that club option. Shrewd and no risk/all reward, great combination.
That was a home run by Elias. $5MM is the going price for a decent middle reliever. Getting an option for less than that on Danny C is great
Wow didn’t expect the option price to be that low. I really hope he can max out those escalators for both his and the Os sake. $4.9 Million would be a great price for what he did this past year. Given his age though, I don’t think he left much on the table for giving the club a $4M option and $100k for a guy with under $5M career earnings in the most fickle position in MLB isn’t peanuts.
I dont understand why the player did this deal. There is no incentive to do so. If he is better than $4M (or $5M with all incentives) he gets more than that on the open market. If he worse than that, the team declines the option. So there is no incentive for the player to take this deal. No I dont expect much so its probably moot but just a bizarre option for the player to agree in theory.
It is odd. I missed that it didn’t have a buyout initially. He gave up the freedom and potential earning power for maybe $100K?
Or he gave up his freedom/earning power & 100K for nothing—-if he won the arb case…. This is an odd one lol