Back in January, the O’s signed reliever Andrew Kittredge to a one-year, $10MM deal. They haven’t yet received any return on that investment but that may soon change, since he’s currently on a rehab assignment.
“All good news with how he’s throwing the baseball and how he feels,” said manager Brandon Hyde, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. “I think he throws again this weekend and then he’ll do a back-to-back and maybe another one. We’ll see how it goes.”
Kittredge required a left knee debridement procedure in March and has been on the 15-day injured list all year so far. He’s now made four rehab appearances, the last three being scoreless Triple-A outings. Based on Hyde’s comments, it seems he’ll get into a few more games and should join the Baltimore bullpen after that.
The righty had a 2.80 earned run average in 70 2/3 innings with the Cardinals last year. His 23% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 45.2% ground ball rate were all solid figures. If he can get back to that level of performance, he’ll be a nice upgrade to the relief corps. However, it might require a tough decision on who goes out. The only members of the bullpen who are optionable are the high-leverage arms: Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin. That could put pressure on a struggling pitcher like Cionel Pérez or Charlie Morton, who both have ERAs north of 8.00.
Regardless of that decision, it’s possible that Kittredge could eventually emerge as a trade candidate this summer, if he performs well after being reinstated from the IL. The O’s are now 15-27 and will have to engineer a big winning streak to avoid being deadline sellers. Kittredge’s deal contains a $9MM club option for 2026 with a $1MM buyout.
Kubatko also relayed a minor update on outfielder Colton Cowser, saying that he did some “light outfield work” yesterday. He suffered a broken thumb just a few days into the season, an injury which came with a timeline of six to eight weeks.
He was subsequently transferred to the 60-day IL, so he’s not eligible to return until late May, though that doesn’t seem likely even though it’s been over six weeks now. He will presumably need to ramp up his activities further before even beginning a rehab assignment. Kubatko notes that the injured thumb is still wrapped in a brace. For now, the Orioles will continue with the outfield mix consisting largely of Cedric Mullins, Ramón Laureano, Tyler O’Neill and Heston Kjerstad.
The club also announced to reporters, including Kubatko, that pitching prospect Patrick Reilly had UCL surgery yesterday. The O’s didn’t provide a timeline for Reilly but he’ll surely be sidelined into the middle of the 2026 season.
Acquired from the Pirates last summer in a deal which sent Billy Cook the other way, Reilly has been with Double-A Bowie since the deal. He has logged 41 innings for the Baysox with a 3.29 ERA. For his entire minor league career, he now has 139 2/3 innings with a 3.54 ERA, 30.1% strikeout rate and 12.3% walk rate.
Coming into 2025, Baseball America ranked him the #16 prospect in the Orioles’ system while FanGraphs had him at #25. He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December of 2026 if not protected before then, but he’ll spend most of the intervening time rehabbing from this surgery.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
When it comes to trades and free-agent signings, Mike Elias seems to have the opposite of the Midas touch.
That Trevor Rogers trade was really bad. Kyle Stowers is looking like one they should’ve kept.
They gave up 2 solid prospects for Trevor Roger’s, who was the 4th starter on a 100 loss team. Absolutely terrible job by Elias.
Rogers and Luzardo were very similar talents at the time of their respective trades. How would anyone know which guy was going to flop and which one would he a Cy Young contender. They should have traded for both.
Trevor Rogers hadn’t really been any good since 2021 at the time of the trade. Luzardo wasn’t totally healthy, but had a much better track record of success (and has better stuff, when healthy). They most definitely picked the wrong one to trade for. And the Phillies didn’t give up nearly as much for Luzardo as the Orioles did for Rogers. The Rogers trade could end up going down as one of the worst in recent memory if Stowers and Norby continue breaking out for the Marlins.
They have remarkably similar career FIPs. So does Alcantara by the way.
Caba is the 69th rated prospect in baseball. I don’t think the Phillies gave up less for Luzardo
Norby isn’t doing anything special. Stowers looks good. Both are very small sample sizes.
Caba can’t hit and is years away from the majors. Norby has crushed minor league pitching and has already shown flashes of being a solid regular since being traded to the Marlins, despite some inconsistency. I’d say there is a very good chance that both him and Stowers develop into above average regulars. I absolutely think the Orioles gave up more than the Phillies did for Luzardo.
So much focus on a completely meaningless trade.
Stowers was a 240 AAA hitter – he will fade as as the league adjusts. Norby is a decent utility guy. Rogers has basically been hurt since the trade. Maybe not a great trade but hardly impactful either way.
Amazing how everyone ignores that Eflin was the best trade at last year’s deadline.
Plus Soto and Dominguez were solid if not spectacular trades as they gave up nothing. Hays no longer in Philly.
Obviously Morton has been terrible, I did not understand signing Sanchez and it was mistake to let Coulombe leave while keeping Perez.
Yes this season is a nightmare but how do you all just ignore the most wins in the Al for the last 2 years?
Orioles Manager is on the hot seat – Totally underperforming
More like the front office
cu%k^
Here’s an Oriole’s note for you, Rubenstein is a fool & Elias is a clown. Ahahahahahaha!
Fire Hyde (Clyde)!🤣
Better off with Jeckyl (or Heckyl)
Sugano 13 million
Morton 15 million
Kittredge 10 million
Gibson 5 million
Carlson 1 million
Sanchez 8.5 million
ONeill 16.5 million
Laureano 4 million
These 8 players have combined to produce negative WAR in 2025. 73 million for negative WAR. This is the problem.
Double A for the Orioles is no longer called Bowie. They are now the “Chesapeake Baysox”
And periodically the OysterCatchers (‘)