The Orioles' decision to tender Ryan Mountcastle an arbitration contract was surprising in November. The already odd fit became all the more so when the O's signed Pete Alonso to a five-year deal at the Winter Meetings. Mountcastle hasn't had a real path to playing time since that signing, yet he remains on Baltimore's roster.
An initial out would have been for the O's to proceed to an arbitration hearing, then release Mountcastle during Spring Training. Arbitration salaries that are determined at a hearing aren't fully guaranteed until Opening Day (whether the player wins or loses). Teams can release those players during Spring Training for 30 or 45 days termination pay, depending on when they make that move.
It wouldn't have been an ideal sequence to drop Mountcastle for a little over $1MM, but that situation isn't without precedent. The Giants' decision to release J.D. Davis in Spring Training two years ago was motivated by the Matt Chapman signing, which didn't take place until after they'd tendered Davis an arbitration contract.
It appears that Mountcastle's camp learned from the Davis situation. Arbitration hearing salaries aren't fully guaranteed during the spring, but settlements are locked in at the time of signing. Mountcastle and the Orioles reached a settlement in the middle of January on a $6.787MM deal for 2026, with a $7.5MM club option for the '27 season. Mountcastle's '26 salary is an exact match for what he earned last year.
That's a savvy move by his representatives, who were clearly aware of the termination pay possibility. Arbitration salaries essentially never decrease year over year, so the $6.787MM number would have been the floor had he gone to a hearing, but it wouldn't have been locked in until Opening Day. By settling, he ensured that money is fully guaranteed. In exchange, the Orioles picked up the club option that gives them control over a potential free agent year. They did something similar with Ryan O'Hearn a couple seasons ago and were rewarded when O'Hearn played well enough to make an $8MM club option an absolute bargain.
None of that addresses the roster glut, though. It's frankly difficult to see a path in which Mountcastle is a near-$7MM value to the Orioles in either of the next two years. Alonso basically never takes a day off, so Mountcastle is not going to get first base reps unless the Polar Bear gets injured. They're likely to divide most of the DH playing time between their two catchers and/or Tyler O'Neill.
Holding Mountcastle as a bench bat isn't ideal for anyone. It's a roster spot they'd probably rather use on a utility infielder. They'd be better off clearing the salary and leveraging it into more payroll flexibility at the deadline. The player is entering a potential walk year and should welcome an opportunity to get more at-bats than will be on the table in Baltimore.
That all makes it unsurprising that Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported in mid-February that the O's were still open to trades involving Mountcastle and Coby Mayo. There's less urgency to trade the latter, who can fill in at third base with Jordan Westburg facing an uncertain timeline due to an elbow ligament injury. Mayo also has a minor league option remaining and could be sent to Triple-A if the infield gets too cluttered. The O's don't have that luxury with Mountcastle.
Most of the trade activity is behind us, but we may yet see one or two deals involving notable players before Opening Day. Mountcastle is among the more accomplished players known to be available. He's coming off a poor season in which he hit .250/.286/.367 while missing two months with a hamstring strain. He was a slightly above-average hitter in each of his first four and a half seasons in the big leagues. Mountcastle has never been a star, but he's usually reliable for 1-2 wins above replacement. He's a career .263/.312/.438 hitter in nearly 2700 trips to the plate.
Which teams might still be in touch with O's president of baseball operations Mike Elias?
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Yeah I didn’t agree with tendering him a contract then or now. However, the injuries have made his presence a bit of a decent fall back plan. Are there better roster options even with said injuries? Absolutely. Can you count on every other option making it out of spring training unscathed? I wouldn’t take that bet even if using house money.
You will however have to do something with him. You wont get much for him in a trade but it might be better than literally nothing.
Braves
Just what the Braves need to use the salary from profar. A 1b that hits like a 2b, and plays LF worse than a ziploc bag full of dog dump with a mitt placed on top.
Mounty has never put it all together, but there is plenty of red on his statcast page. Nobody remembers that he hit 33 HRs his rookie season.
Compared to their other options for DH? Murphy is still out until at least May.
Look at the underlying metrics beyond rate stats. Sure he chases, but he punishes the ball usually. The wall hurt him quite a bit.
how long ago would the Braves have known about Profar?
they probably signed Yaz when they found out….
they’re done
I’m assuming Basallo will start the season in AAA to manipulate service time so why not keep him until a good offer presents itself or it sorts itself out naturally. Not costing anybody of significance a roster spot unless I’m missing something?
Basallo signed an extension. He’s up unless he falls flat on his face.
They manipulated Sammy’s service time last year, when they kept him down in AAA during a terrible season which coulda used his offense or at least work out that learning curve some, in a season that toast.
They manipulated it so he is still a ROY & PPI eligible. And the Warehouse just loves their PPI picks, and Competitive balance picks!
The manipulation hasn’t gone, it just changed forms.
Uh what? He’s going to be with the MLB team. PPI pick possibility and he just signed the extension…
A change of scenery might greatly benefit him. I don’t know how needs a 1B though
The Rockies could definitely use him. As long as the trade cost was minimal, I wouldn’t mind seeing a major league player at first base in 2026. Mountcastle feels a bit like a Mickey Moniak type pick up and I think he could thrive in Denver.
Troy Johnston was better last year than Mountcastle.
No one wants Ryan Mountcastle.