Orioles Rumors

Cubs, Orioles Exploring Rotation Additions

By Darragh McDonald | March 10, 2025 at 3:50pm CDT

There are still several starting pitchers available in free agency and it’s possible that mounting injuries could help create new opportunities for them. Ken Rosenthal and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic report that the Cubs and Orioles are two clubs exploring rotation additions. The Cubs reportedly had some talks with Andrew Heaney before he signed with the Pirates and are currently keeping tabs on Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn.

The Cubs don’t have a major health concern in their rotation at the moment. Javier Assad has been slowed by some oblique soreness and is trending towards starting the season on the injured list, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll be out for an especially long time. The club’s projected top four of Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon are healthy. With Assad out, Colin Rea could perhaps take the fifth spot for a while. Or if he’s in a long relief role, guys like Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks, Caleb Kilian or Cody Poteet could step up, though all the guys in that group have options and could also be in the Triple-A rotation.

However, Rosenthal notes that the Cubs are facing an unusual spring. They have been ramping up a bit earlier than usual in anticipation of going to Japan soon. As part of the Tokyo Series, they will play a couple of exhibition games against Japanese clubs on March 15th and 16th, before playing regular season games against the Dodgers on March 18th and 19th. The Cubs are seemingly aware that some hiccups could arise with the unique schedule and are keeping the phone lines open.

At this part of the calendar, the market isn’t especially kind to players. The aforementioned Heaney signed with the Pirates a few weeks ago, a one-year deal with a guarantee of just $5.25MM. About a week ago, Jose Quintana signed with the Brewers for a $4.25MM guarantee. Coming into the winter, MLBTR predicted Heaney and Quintana to get two-year deals worth $24MM and $20MM respectively. Many pitchers outearned expectations earlier in the offseason but the market has clearly fallen off more recently.

A few months ago, Gibson and Lynn seemed like possibilities for eight-figure guarantees on one-year deals. But the fact that they have lingered unsigned while the market has softened means they are likely going to have to adjust their expectations if they want to sign. Rosenthal reports that unsigned pitchers are being asked to sign advanced consent forms, which allow clubs to terminate a contract within 45 days for any reason except injury and only have to pay the player for the time he spent on the roster. That’s obviously not ideal from a player’s perspective and it would only be signed if such a player had very little leverage.

Lynn, 38 in May, has a lengthy track record but isn’t riding a high tide of momentum at the moment. He posted a 5.73 earned run average in 2023, the worst of his career. He still was able to a secure a one-year, $11MM deal from the Cardinals and bounced back somewhat with a 3.84 ERA in 2024, but there were also some flags. He twice went on the injured list due to inflammation in his right knee, the same knee that had required surgical repair in 2022. Those IL stints limited him to 117 1/3 innings last year. While the ERA bounced back, his strikeout rate and velocity dropped.

Gibson, 37, is one of the steadiest pitchers in the league but lacks upside. He has logged at least 147 1/3 innings in each of the past ten major league seasons. However, he only posted an ERA below 4.20 in three of those. His 4.24 ERA last year was his best of the past three seasons.

Perhaps neither are as exciting as the aforementioned optionable pitchers that the Cubs have on hand, but they certainly have more experience. Between Brown, Wicks, Kilian and Poteet, there’s no one with even 85 big league innings.

For the Orioles, Rosenthal doesn’t specifically connect them to Gibson or Lynn, but it’s understandable that they would be keeping tabs on the market generally. Grayson Rodriguez has some elbow inflammation and is still getting some testing done but will start the season on the IL regardless. That leaves the O’s with a projected rotation of Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Dean Kremer. Manager Brandon Hyde has suggested the final spot is likely down to Albert Suárez or Cade Povich.

Suárez is a journeyman who spent many years in Asia before returning to North American ball last year. He pitched in a swing role for the O’s in 2024 and logged a 3.70 ERA. Povich went into 2024 as a notable prospect but had a 5.20 ERA in his first 16 big league starts. Adding a veteran starter could allow the club to keep Suárez in a long relief role and bump Povich to the Triple-A rotation, while also adding depth to hedge against future injuries.

Signing at this part of the season does come with some perceived risk, however. As noted by Rosenthal, both Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery signed late last winter and the initial results were poor with both. Snell signed with the Giants in mid-March, then had a couple of IL stints in the first half. He eventually finished strong but was sitting on a 9.51 ERA when he returned from his second IL stint in July. Montgomery didn’t officially sign with the Diamondback until late March and never got on track, finishing the year with a 6.23 ERA over 117 innings.

The Cubs and Orioles are surely not the only clubs sniffing around the available starting pitchers. The Yankees will be without Luis Gil for months due to a lat strain and are facing the possibility of Gerrit Cole requiring Tommy John surgery. The Mariners are going to put George Kirby on the IL to start the year due to some shoulder inflammation. Other injuries will inevitably arise and lengthen that list.

For clubs looking to free agency, they will have to consider whether its worth the money to sign one of these vets and quickly ramp them up, as opposed to going with in-house options. Rosenthal notes that both Gibson and Lynn have been throwing in an attempt to be somewhat ready, though they would surely still need some game action somewhere to truly get in form. Other free agents of note include Patrick Corbin and Spencer Turnbull. Guys like Jordan Montgomery or Taijuan Walker may be available on the trade market.

Grayson Rodriguez To Start Season On IL; Andrew Kittredge To Miss Months

By Darragh McDonald | March 9, 2025 at 9:17am CDT

TODAY: Rodriguez was diagnosed with elbow inflammation and he received a cortisone shot to deal with the issue, Hyde told reporters (including the Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka). The plan is for Rodriguez to be shut down for 7-10 days to let the shot take effect, and the right-hander will then start a throwing program.

March 8: Kittredge underwent left knee debridement on Friday, the Orioles revealed to reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The team described the procedure as “successful.”

March 7: Orioles manager Brandon Hyde provided members of the media with updates on various injured players today. Most notably, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is going to start the season on the injured list due to some discomfort in his elbow/triceps area, though Hyde emphasized that there’s no concern about the righty’s ligament. Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner was among those to relay the info. Additionally, righty Andrew Kittredge is going to have arthroscopic knee surgery and will miss multiple months, per Kostka.

Rodriguez had diminished velocity in his most recent start and later told reporters that he felt “sluggish” and “flat” during the outing. Hyde eventually revealed that Rodriguez was battling some soreness in his triceps. It seems the club is still working on firming up the diagnosis but has enough info to determine that Rodriguez won’t be ready by Opening Day. “It’s not a ligament issue, so we’re not concerned about that,” Hyde said, per Kostka. “But it’s going to result in some missed time. … Right now, we’re still getting opinions.”

Time will tell about the long-term picture, but the O’s will have to make a rotation pivot in the short term. Without Rodriguez, four rotation spots will be taken by Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Dean Kremer. Hyde said today that the final rotation spot will likely come down to Albert Suárez or Cade Povich, per Kostka.

Suárez, 35, spent the 2019 to 2023 seasons pitching in Asia. He returned to affiliated ball with the O’s last year and had good results in a swing role. He made 24 starts and eight relief appearances, tossing 133 2/3 innings with a 3.70 earned run average. He only struck out 19.1% of batters faced but limited walks to a 7.6% clip. He projected to be in a long relief role to start the year. If he jumps into the rotation, perhaps Roansy Contreras will take over as the long man since the O’s are stretching him out.

Povich, 25 in April, was a top 100 prospect going into 2024 but didn’t excel in his first taste of the majors. He made 16 starts last year with a 5.20 ERA, 19.6% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. But his minor league numbers were better, as he logged 77 2/3 Triple-A innings last year with a 3.48 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. He still has options and could be in the Triple-A rotation if not in the majors.

Ideally, one of those arms will cover the rotation spot for a few turns while Rodriguez gets healthy. Though if it’s eventually determined that he’s facing a longer absence, perhaps the club will look for external help. The free agent market still features Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, Spencer Turnbull and others. Pitchers such as Jordan Montgomery and Taijuan Walker are likely available on the trade block.

As for Kittredge, it’s an unfortunate blow since the O’s made a notable investment in him less than two months ago. In mid-January, Baltimore signed Kittredge to a one-year, $10MM deal, hoping to have him take up a key role in the club’s bullpen. But he recently experienced some soreness in his left knee and was sent for some testing, which revealed the need for this operation.

This isn’t the first time an injury has intervened in the righty’s career. Kittredge had a 1.88 ERA in 71 2/3 innings for the Rays in 2021 but then Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his next two seasons. He stayed healthy last year after being traded to the Cardinals and tossed 70 2/3 innings with a 2.80 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 45.2% ground ball rate. That spurred the O’s to give him an eight-figure deal but it now appears it will take several months for them to receive any kind of return on that investment.

Without Kittredge, the O’s still have many strong relief options, including Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano, Keegan Akin, Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto. If the Kittredge injury sends them looking for external options, guys like David Robertson, Phil Maton and Joe Kelly are unsigned.

As for shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who is dealing with an intercostal strain, Hyde said he is still getting treatment. Per Jake Rill of MLB.com, Hyde said Jackson Holliday will be getting some shortstop reps and possibly Jordan Westburg as well, with the O’s looking to build contingency plans for the event Henderson misses time. Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball adds that Liván Soto and Luis Vázquez are also possibilities.

Both Holliday and Westburg played lots of shortstop in the minors and should be relatively fine in moving over there to cover for a bit, though they would create holes elsewhere. Holliday projects as the regular second baseman and Westburg the third baseman. Coby Mayo or Ramón Urías could perhaps cover third if Westburg is at short, though it sounds like Hyde might have a slight preference for Holliday, which would create a hole at the keystone. Urías has lots of second base experience, but roughly a quarter of the time he’s spent at third.

As for Soto and Vázquez, neither is on the 40-man roster at present. They both have plenty of minor league experience at second, third and short but they have played just 46 major league games between the two of them.

Orioles Notes: Baker, Rodriguez, Burnes

By Steve Adams | March 6, 2025 at 1:42pm CDT

Orioles righty Bryan Baker stands as one of the more interesting out-of-options players in spring training this year. The 30-year-old righty is on the roster bubble in Baltimore after an ugly 5.01 ERA in 23 1/3 big league innings last season, but Baker averaged better than 96 mph on his heater and posted sharp strikeout and walk rates even amid that rocky showing. He’s thrown three perfect innings so far this spring and, despite last year’s ERA blip, carries a career 3.76 ERA in 139 MLB frames.

Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes that scouts around the league have been “tracking” Baker throughout the spring and that the “market for him is developing.” However, Andrew Kittredge’s health status could create a clearer path to the roster for Baker. The veteran Kittredge, who inked a one-year deal worth $10MM in Baltimore this offseason, has been dealing with a knee issue and is seeking multiple opinions.

Baker is one of six potential Orioles relievers who can’t be optioned to Triple-A, but he’s the least established of the bunch. None of Kittredge, Seranthony Dominguez, Gregory Soto, Cionel Perez or Albert Suarez is a candidate to be sent to the minors or jettisoned from the 40-man roster. The other spots in Baltimore’s bullpen are earmarked for Keegan Akin, Yennier Cano and returning closer Felix Bautista. Akin and Cano both enjoyed strong 2024 seasons. Bautista was one of the sport’s top relievers prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2023. If Kittredge requires an IL stint, that’d give the O’s an easy way to delay any tough decisions on Baker, but if the entire relief corps is healthy come Opening Day, Baker could be in a tough spot.

Elsewhere in camp for the O’s, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez downplayed his struggles and diminished velocity in his most recent start. Via Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun, the right-hander averaged just 93.2 mph on his heater in yesterday’s start against the Twins — three miles per hour shy of his 2024 average. Weyrich notes that Rodriguez hit 100 mph in his first spring outing last year, and the right-hander explained that he felt he came out too strong last year and felt some soreness as a result, so he’s building up more gradually.

Rodriguez noted that he felt “sluggish” and “flat” and struggled to spin the ball as he normally can, but he wasn’t concerned about the dip in velocity. That’s reassuring for Orioles fans, as Baltimore can ill afford any type of step back from the 25-year-old. Rodriguez started 20 games last year and recorded 116 2/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball, fanning 26.5% of opponents against a 7.3% walk rate. The O’s, of course, lost Corbin Burnes in free agency and didn’t add a big-name arm to replace him, instead opting to fill those innings with one-year deals for 41-year-old Charlie Morton ($15MM) and 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano ($13MM). The Orioles’ rotation of Zach Eflin, Rodriguez, Morton, Sugano and Dean Kremer could be solid, but there are plenty of question marks among the group as well.

Burnes discussed his decision to sign with the D-backs earlier in the offseason, but the right-hander chatted with Jack Vita for the Baltimore Sun earlier this week and spoke highly of the Orioles organization, touting their long-term outlook and noting that the club made a strong effort to re-sign him.

The former Cy Young winner described the O’s as “definitely pretty aggressive early on” as his free agency process began. While Burnes has previously stated that the Orioles didn’t submit a formal offer — just “some verbal stuff” — his comments this week strongly imply he still knew where they were willing to go in order to keep him. He suggested the O’s were “in the ballpark” and “competitive” in their pursuit, but Burnes again was clear in stating that the D-backs were his preference all throughout free agency, given his family residence in Arizona and the ability to be home with his wife and three young children.

Gunnar Henderson Diagnosed With Intercostal Strain

By Darragh McDonald | March 5, 2025 at 3:40pm CDT

Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson has been diagnosed with a mild right intercostal strain. Manager Brandon Hyde relayed the information to reporters today, including Jake Rill of MLB.com. Hyde says the club is still “very, very hopeful” of Henderson being on the Opening Day roster, which is now just over three weeks away.

Henderson was removed from a Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays last week, with the O’s announcing that he had lower right side discomfort. After that contest, Hyde downplayed the concern, framing the removal as precautionary and saying that Henderson would not even require an MRI.

A week later, it seems the issue has lingered enough that his readiness for Opening Day is a question mark. Though Hyde still thinks Henderson could be ready by the opener, he also suggests they won’t be aggressive with him just for that one game. “I’m very, very hopeful,” Hyde said today, per Rill. “But we’re going to not push a strain there, and we want to make sure that he gets it taken care of. It’s one of those sensitive areas where we don’t want anything to reoccur.”

Whether Henderson is in the lineup on Opening Day or not, it’s a situation worth monitoring, given his importance to the team. Henderson won American League Rookie of the Year honors in 2023 and vaulted to a new level last year. He hit 37 home runs, stole 21 bases, slashed .281/.364/.529 and got strong grades for his shortstop defense. FanGraphs credited him with 8.0 wins above replacement on the year. That would have been good enough for an MVP award in many years but Henderson finished fourth in the voting, thanks to outrageous seasons from Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr. and Juan Soto.

The O’s will likely have to consider some contingency plans, even if they ultimately expect Henderson to get healthy in the next three weeks. Jorge Mateo played a lot of shortstop before Henderson took over that spot but he’s currently recovering from elbow surgery and likely to start the season on the injured list. Jackson Holliday has shortstop experience but the club has largely moved him to second base.

Jordan Westburg has plenty of shortstop experience in the minors but just ten big league innings there. He has his own health situation since he’s been dealing with back soreness/spasms this spring. He hasn’t played in a while but Hyde said to Rill it’s possible he could play in Thursday’s game, depending on how he feels in the morning. If Westburg were to cover short, it would create a hole a third, which could be filled by Coby Mayo or Ramón Urías. The O’s also have a few infielders in camp as non-roster invitees, such as Terrin Vavra, Liván Soto, Luis Vázquez, Emmanuel Rivera and Vimael Machín.

There are many moving parts and the situation will surely change in the coming weeks before Opening Day. Ideally, Henderson will just be back in action and everything would be back in its proper place, though Baltimore fans will likely be keeping a keen eye on developments between now and then.

Elsewhere on the roster, reliever Andrew Kittredge has some left knee soreness. Hyde tells reporters, including Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner, that he’s undergone an MRI and will seek multiple opinions. The O’s signed Kittredge to a one-year, $10MM deal in January to bolster their bullpen. He posted a 2.48 earned run average over the 2021 to 2024 seasons. Tommy John surgery wiped out most of the middle two seasons of that span but he tossed 70 2/3 innings last year with a 2.80 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 45.2% ground ball rate.

Orioles, Nationals Announce Resolution Of MASN Dispute

By Steve Adams | March 3, 2025 at 11:58pm CDT

The Orioles and Nationals announced Monday morning that their yearslong dispute regarding television rights fees from the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) has reached a final resolution.

Per this morning’s press release, MASN and the Nationals have come to terms on a one-year agreement for the team’s 2025 television broadcasts. The Nats are free to explore alternative broadcast opportunities for the 2026 season and beyond. Further, this morning’s announcement plainly lays out that “all disputes related to past media rights between the Nationals, Orioles, and MASN have been resolved, and all litigation will be dismissed.”

The dispute between the two franchises spans nearly two decades, dating back to the network’s establishment in 2005. While MASN is technically co-owned by the Orioles and Nationals, the Baltimore franchise has had the controlling stake in the network since the network was established in 2005.

As part of the then-Expos’ relocation to Washington D.C., the franchise agreed to tie its television rights to the newly created MASN, with the Orioles controlling the majority stake of the network. That split was gradually set to become more balanced over the years, with the O’s currently holding about a three-to-one stake in the network. The arrangement was brokered as compensation for the Expos/Nationals franchise moving into the Orioles’ geographic territory. The two parties have never seen eye to eye on how rights fees should be divided, leading to multiple rounds of litigation over the past decade-plus. Under the relocation agreement, the Nationals have been barred from selling their broadcast rights to another regional network. That’s no longer the case.

That ugly legal battle and the fiscal uncertainty inherently tied to negotiations loomed large over the sale process for both the Nationals and the Orioles. The Angelos family eventually came to terms on a $1.725 billion sale of the Orioles to a group led by Baltimore native and billionaire David Rubenstein anyhow. The Lerner family, who own the Nationals, explored a sale of the team for more than a year but never came to terms with a potential buyer. Uncertainty regarding the team’s broadcast future was reportedly an impediment in the Lerner family’s sale efforts — understandably so.

The MASN saga has been a constant subplot for both franchises for the better part of two decades. There have been legal battles throughout. The first seven years saw the Nats’ television rights locked in at a fixed rate that they’ve since called heavily favorable to the Orioles. Subsequent rights fees were to be brokered between the two parties in five-year periods. None has proceeded smoothly.

The 2012-16 period was still wrapped up in litigation as recently as 2023. An arbitration panel ruled in favor of the Nationals as they sought unpaid rights fees for those seasons, but various waves of negotiations and an eventual elevation of the case to the New York Court of Appeals continually delayed the process. The two teams also went to court over rights distributions for the 2017-21 seasons. As of this January, the Nats had filed a motion with the Supreme Court of New York asking that the court confirm a ruling from MLB’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee that the Orioles owed an additional $320MM in fees for the 2022-26 seasons. In essence, the two teams have been in a standstill over the exact amount of television rights to be paid out for more than a decade.

Today’s announcement serves as a watershed moment for both organizations, as messy and near-interminable legal proceedings will no longer be required to continue in perpetuity. Both will have more direct control over their payroll and more understanding of their long-term financial security. Arguments as to whether the MASN arrangement was “fair” to either party or as to which side ultimately came away in the more favorable position will persist among onlookers — particularly as further details surrounding this resolution come to light — but the end result will be greater autonomy over broadcast revenues for both parties moving forward.

AL East Notes: Varsho, Bello, Orioles

By Mark Polishuk | March 1, 2025 at 12:10pm CDT

Daulton Varsho underwent rotator cuff surgery in late September, with the expectation that he would likely start the season on the 10-day injured list, even if his absence wouldn’t stretch too far into April. That timeline isn’t much clearer now that Spring Training is well underway, but Varsho logged his first Grapefruit League action yesterday, going 1-for-3 with a homer while acting as the Blue Jays’ designated hitter in a 10-7 win over the Tigers. Getting back to regular hitting action is certainly a good sign for Varsho, and Jays manager John Schneider also provided reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) with some updates on Varsho’s defensive progress.

“There’s more boxes to check, like throwing to the bases on back-to-back days,” Schneider said. “This was another good day for him, throwing out to 120 feet, so I think it’s more about how he’s rebounding from those once he does start throwing to the bases and getting into games….We’re trying to take this in three- or four-day buckets. He’s progressing well. I don’t want to put anything past him or say [Opening Day is] not a definite possibility. It will go right down to the end as long as he doesn’t have any setbacks. If he’s there, great. If he’s not, we know he’s going to be soon.”

The defense is the biggest factor in Varsho’s recovery, as the Gold Glove winner is one of baseball’s best defensive players. Matheson figures Joey Loperfido is the top candidate to fill in for Varsho in center field if an IL stint is indeed required, though these early results provide some optimism that Varsho could be ready to go for March 27.

10 Out Of Options Players To Watch This Spring

By Steve Adams | February 28, 2025 at 11:59pm CDT

One of the most interesting elements of spring training every year, at least for those of us who feast on roster construction minutiae, is the collection of players who are out of minor league options. MLBTR just released a full list of such players earlier today.

In many instances, a player being out of minor league options is inconsequential. Justin Steele, Isaac Paredes and Evan Phillips are among the players who fit that description but are in no risk of losing their MLB roster spot. They're all key players on big league rosters who'd never be in danger of being sent down to the minors anyhow.

However, there are typically a handful of players every spring who are on the roster bubble with their current club but who could be a better fit on a team with less competition in their current position. Most of these players have already had big league opportunities with their current club but whether due to injury or poor performance (or both) have yet to firmly seize hold of a roster spot. As players exhaust their minor league options, they'll tend to face increased competition from younger players progressing through the minor league ranks and/or external additions made via trade or free agency. An out-of-options player who doesn't fit his current roster can still go on to find a more solid role and some success elsewhere. Joey Bart was in just this spot last year and after being squeezed out in San Francisco has emerged as Pittsburgh's starting catcher. The Yankees didn't have a spot for Ben Rortvedt, but he's the Rays' clear No. 2 catcher now.

Let's run through 10 names to keep an eye on this spring. Not all of these players will lose their roster spots, and even some who do might not wind up making an impact elsewhere. But each of the names listed here has some reason to hold a bit more intrigue than many of their out-of-options brethren (players listed alphabetically)...

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Orioles Building Up Roansy Contreras As Potential Starter

By Anthony Franco | February 28, 2025 at 5:53pm CDT

The Orioles intend to build Roansy Contreras back up as a starting pitcher this spring, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun). The 25-year-old righty worked in a multi-inning relief role between the Pirates and Angels last year.

It’s not clear how long this will last. Contreras is certainly not a lock to stick on Baltimore’s roster through the end of camp. He has changed teams via waivers five times this offseason alone. The O’s have claimed him twice, most recently grabbing him from the Yankees in early February. Contreras is out of options, so teams cannot send him to the minors without running him through waivers. No one has successfully snuck him through the wire unclaimed.

There’s no real path for Contreras to begin the season in Baltimore’s rotation. Hyde confirmed this morning (link via Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner) that he’d have a mostly settled starting five if everyone gets through camp healthy: Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Dean Kremer. Hyde added that righty Albert Suárez and southpaw Cade Povich project as his top two depth arms, in that order.

Even with Trevor Rogers and Chayce McDermott delayed by injuries (knee and lat, respectively), Contreras would be no higher than eighth on the rotation depth chart. He could settle into a long relief role, but even that’d probably require at least one injury to Baltimore’s top eight relievers.

Andrew Kittredge, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto, Cionel Pérez and Suárez (who’d start the season as a long reliever) cannot be sent down — either because of their service time or out-of-options status. Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin are locks. That’s a full bullpen already and would exclude both Contreras and Bryan Baker, neither of whom can be optioned. There’s a decent chance the O’s waive Contreras closer to Opening Day. If he goes unclaimed, they could have him work from the rotation at Triple-A Norfolk.

A former highly-regarded prospect, Contreras pitched 68 1/3 innings of 4.35 ERA ball a year ago. He recorded a modest 18.8% strikeout rate while walking 10.4% of batters faced. He’d mostly worked as a starter over two prior seasons in Pittsburgh. He combined for an ERA just south of 5.00 in 163 1/3 frames between 2022-23. He throws six distinct pitches, per Statcast, so it’s a relatively deep arsenal. His command has been problematic, though, and none of his top four offerings (four-seam, slider, changeup, sinker) were huge weapons last season. The slider was the only of those pitches to miss bats at an above-average rate.

Eddie Fisher Passes Away

By Anthony Franco | February 21, 2025 at 11:17pm CDT

Former All-Star Eddie Fisher passed away on Monday at 88. His obituary was provided by an Oklahoma funeral home.

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Fisher moved to Oklahoma as a child. He attended OU before signing with the Giants in 1958. A knuckleballer, Fisher reached the majors within a year of signing his pro contract. He pitched sparingly over three seasons with San Francisco. The Giants included the 6’2″ righty in a trade package to the White Sox for veteran pitchers Billy Pierce and Don Larsen during the 1961-62 offseason.

Fisher spent parts of five seasons in Chicago. Working primarily as a long reliever, he rattled off four straight years with at least 120 innings and a sub-4.00 earned run average. Fisher had his best season in 1965, when he turned in a 2.40 ERA while leading the American League in appearances (82) and WHIP (0.974). He made his lone All-Star appearance, where he tossed two scoreless innings. Fisher finished fourth in AL MVP balloting behind Zoilo Versalles and future Hall of Famers Tony Oliva and Brooks Robinson.

It was more of the same in ’66. Fisher carried a 2.29 ERA over 35 1/3 innings for the White Sox, who swapped him to the Orioles for middle infielder Jerry Adair that June. Fisher tossed 71 2/3 frames with a 2.64 mark down the stretch for Baltimore. The O’s went on to win the World Series, getting Fisher the only ring of his career. He didn’t make an appearance in the Fall Classic. Baltimore’s sweep of the Dodgers included complete game shutouts from Jim Palmer, Wally Bunker and Dave McNally, so they had little need to use their bullpen.

Fisher continued to soak up innings out of the ’pen for multiple teams into the 1970s. He pitched one more season with Baltimore and spent four years with the California Angels, for whom he turned in a 3.22 ERA. He had a brief second stint with the White Sox and wrapped his career with the Cardinals in ’73.

He concluded a 15-year big league run with a 3.41 earned run average in more than 1500 innings. Fisher won 85 games and recorded 812 strikeouts. He finished 344 contests and was credited with 82 saves (most of them retroactively because the stat wasn’t officially tracked by MLB until 1969). MLBTR sends condolences to Fisher’s family, friends and loved ones.

Richard Bleier Announces Retirement

By Mark Polishuk | February 15, 2025 at 2:32pm CDT

Left-hander Richard Bleier announced his retirement earlier this week, as the 37-year-old Bleier wrote on his Instagram page that he is hanging up his cleats after eight Major League seasons.

“It’s been an incredible journey with plenty of highs and lows that ranged from spending six years in Double A to pitching in the playoffs with the Marlins, the team I grew up watching,” Bleier wrote. “Looking back on my career I don’t think I would have done anything differently. I’m incredibly proud of what I accomplished. I tried to go into every day remembering my childhood memories of interactions with players and recalling how special those times were for me at such an impressionable age. I hope I also positively impacted fans throughout the country and paid forward what was shown to me.”

The Miami Beach native began his pro career as a sixth-round pick for the Rangers back in the 2008 draft, though he didn’t make his MLB debut until just after his 29th birthday, breaking into the Show as a member of the Yankees in 2016. That first season in the Bronx and his 2023 season with the Red Sox were sandwiched around longer runs with the Baltimore and Miami, in almost equal fashion — Bleier appeared in 143 games with the Orioles from 2017-20 and then 142 games with his hometown Marlins from 2020 until the end of the 2022 season.

Besides a pair of pseudo-starts working as an opener, Bleier came out of the bullpen for almost all of his 335 career games in the majors, and delivered a very solid 3.27 ERA over 330 1/3 innings. This success was powered by outstanding control (3.9% career walk rate) and a knack for keeping the ball on the ground, as Bleier had a 60.9% grounder rate. Among all pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched between the 2016-23 seasons, only T.J. McFarland and Framber Valdez had a better grounder rate.

Like most groundball specialists, Bleier’s success was somewhat dependent on batted-ball luck, though he finished his career with roughly average .298 BABIP. The bigger issue was a lack of missed bats (13.6% strikeout rate) and velocity, which kept Bleier in something of a specialist role despite his good bottom-line numbers. Bleier also did a very good job of avoiding the long ball, but that changed in his final MLB season, when he allowed five homers in 30 2/3 innings with the Red Sox en route to a 5.28 ERA in 2023. Boston released Bleier in August of that season, and subsequent minor league deals with the Cubs and Nationals didn’t result in a return to the Show.

We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Bleier on a fine career, and we wish him all the best in his post-playing endeavors.

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