9:05am: The 2025 option is valued at $7.5MM and does not contain a buyout, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The value of that option would jump $500K if O’Hearn appears in 120 games and another $500K for appearing in 150 games.
8:30am: O’Hearn is guaranteed $3.5MM, Andy Koska of the Baltimore Banner reports.
7:54am: The Orioles announced this morning that the club agreed to a one-year contract with first baseman Ryan O’Hearn to avoid arbitration. The terms of the deal are not yet clear, though the pact does include a club option for the 2025 season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected O’Hearn for a $3MM salary in 2024 back in October. Both sides submitted figures slightly higher than that projection back in January, as O’Hearn requested a $3.8MM salary while the Orioles countered at $3.2MM.
The 30-year-old O’Hearn, acquired from the Royals last offseason in exchange for cash, has the best season of his big league career with Baltimore in 2023. The former eighth-round pick slashed .289/.322/.480 with career-highs in plate appearances (368), home runs (14), doubles (22).
That O’Hearn agreed to a club option for the 2025 season is an unexpected benefit for the Orioles. The lefty-swinging slugger had been slated to reach open market following the 2024 campaign, but Baltimore now gains control over what would’ve been his first free-agent season.
O’Hearn tallied only 29 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers in 2023, and he’ll likely reprise that platoon first base/designated role in 2024. He’ll be joined by right-handed-hitting Ryan Mountcastle in that mix, but both players will have plenty of young talent pushing for playing time as the season wears on. Corner infielder Coby Mayo and outfielders Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad could all push onto the big league roster and into prominent roles at some point in 2024. (Cowser and Kjerstad have already made their MLB debuts.)
If and when that happens, right fielder Anthony Santander could be pushed into more time at designated hitter, crowding the mix. It’s a good “problem” for the Orioles to have, and one that could of course be alleviated by injuries that a team inevitably incurs over the course of the year. At $3.5MM, O’Hearn is a reasonably priced power bat off the bench, even if the Orioles’ burgeoning youth movement pushes him into a reserve role.
The Orioles exchanged arbitration figures with an MLB-high five players, O’Hearn among them. The team avoided hearings with O’Hearn and left-handed relievers Danny Coulombe and Cionel Perez by agreeing to one-year deals with club options for the 2025 season. Outfielder Austin Hays and right-handed reliever Jacob Webb both won hearings over the team.
Think he would’ve lost that one
I thought so too, but the O’s likeky decided to split the difference in exchange for getting the club option in 2025. That provides the team with some flexibility if his breakout continues this year; otherwise, he’d be a free agent.
Yeah I mean paying another $300K is worth having the flexibility. He might end up getting flipped if he has another good year. I’d think next off-season w/ the prospects we have coming up.
Happy to have another year of club control.
Hopefully he can continue to get his career WAR closer to 0 next year.
You sound like a jaded Royals fan?
Nah, just a dude who doesn’t like seeing negative numbers.
Nah
Just a troll
Can’t get a reaction by saying something positive, or intelligent, or that improves the conversation, so you just post something negative to get a reaction.
The fact that people fall for the bait is their own fault and their own lack of self control. If you thinks its trolling, why get so angry and even reply back? Says more about all of your built up anger than it does about the troll.
I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.
You definitely posted this to troll then liked your own comment immediately to show yourself some level of credibility to compensate for your lack of it in your miserable life. Go hug a Porcupine.
You’re a smart man. I appreciate you calling this horrible person out.
Vaderzim, who are you replying to here?
I was calling you the smart man, as you called out the dude who I told to hug a Porcupine.
I was not trolling with this post, I genuinely hope Ryan O’Hearn continues to break-out and has a good career, but so far his career WAR is -1.5, and if he gets to or surpasses 0 this year, that would be awesome.
Gotchya. Yeah its funny when someone disagrees with my posts, or considers it “negative”, then I’m automatically “trolling”. Just because I have a different opinion. I don’t see anything in the MLBTR comments guidelines thats says “all comments must be positive and in agreement with all others in order to not make them cry like little babies”.
Amen man, that is why I appreciate the mute button for those types of people who troll by calling you a troll.
We’re talking Baseball and anyone who comments on my commentary instead of responding with a different opinion or additional information I didn’t know about will be muted immediately.
vad
“You definitely posted this to troll then liked your own comment”
False
Troll
Muted
JH
” I don’t see anything in the MLBTR comments guidelines thats says “all comments must be positive and in agreement with all others in order to not make them cry like little babies”.”
Of course not
However you’re the one who seems to think any disagreement is “cry[ing] like little babies”
Which is the kind of statement along saying someone is “too sensitive” or “offended” because they don’t like something that is obviously homophobic or misogynistic
And not the kind of person I want to interact with
Muted
All kidding aside, it could definitely happen.
Look at a dude like Charlie Morton…was a replacement level player for years then finally turned it on in his mid to late 30’s. He’s going to finish with a decent career stat line when it’s all said and done.
Another genius move Elias and the Os. If he puts up those numbers from last year its worth it. If he doesnt they send him back down to minors or trade him hoping another team thinks he can produce 2023 stats.
lansl
Signing your player to a below market contract when the player has no real leverage isn’t a genius move. It’s a no-brainer.
Trading cash for him in the first place, though…
O’Hearn could refuse assignment because he has 5 years in MLB.
The genius move (or was it dumb luck) was giving Ryan an opportunity to play in 2023. The result, IMO, is that he did well enough that Elias did not see the need to bring in another 8 million Frazier rental type to put wood on rawhide.
O’Hearn was in the right place at the right time. He was given an opportunity to play due to the issues Mountcastle had, he made the most of his opportunities, and he made it difficult for the manager to bench him. That’s a good problem to have.
Well done! Ryan O’Hearn is a good bar for any of the young bats to have to clear. Wanna play at the MLB level, displace Ryan. Not all the kids will hit the ground running, ans it’ll be interesting if others get the Gunnar treats and allowed to suck and adjust at the MLB level. I kinda doubt it, but Jackson would be the exception.
Gunnar never “sucked.” Even when he didn’t hit great in April and May, he still posted a .332 OBP and a near 100 OPS+. And despite some early errors, he showed good range and other positive metrics,
Ra — “Sucked” is the tree in the forest of my post.
How about, “wasn’t performing the way he had in the minors”, or “his early struggles had many asking how long till he was demoted to work on things”, or “he set a very high bar for himself/fans/Orginzation based on his high level of success in the minors”, or ….
Sucked is simply a shorter way to say it.
If you’re trying to point out that he had success outside of his offense skills, sure. But I have a feeling you and I watched every game last year and saw the same thing. 6 weeks of trying to take walks rather than attacking pitches. He adjusted, it was awesome.
OK, you used hyperbole I replied because I read some people on OH defend Cowser’s dismal sss performance based on his OBA — while he looked completely clueless — and state that it was “just like” Gunnar’s start. Horrible comparison. Gunnar never looked as bad as Cowser looked.
PS: Gunnar had hit well the previous September, so we all knew it was just a matter of time before he started hitting MLB pitching again. We’ll see if Cowser can figure it out.
It’s good to have players respect your organization.
The O’Hearn of Plenty.
The guy has put up some good numbers in the minors and I think with the ability to platoon him at 1B with The Mounty is a great position to have. Mounty has been a streaky hitter and came down with some strange health issues last year. I also think that Mounty may be on his way out soon with Basallo waiting in the wings. Basallo doesn’t grade out as a very good catcher, and Rutsch is already holding that down. If the bat is real on Sam, you fine a place for him to play. 1B seems to be that spot, or in worst case scenaro, DH until he improves at 1B.
Mountcastle’s health issue was vertigo. If you are unfamiliar, it is inescapable that his batting would be affected by dizziness and blurred vision. After his return, he was steadily highly productive.
Expect Basallo to start ~50 games at Catcher in 2025, health allowing.
I know it was vertigo and what the effects are. The question is, what caused the vertigo? The whole “dizziness” thing is the same thing that was being reported by Brian Roberts before it was revealed that he had a pretty severe concussion.