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Orioles Place Adley Rutschman On Injured List With Oblique Strain

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For the second time in three months, an oblique strain has sent Adley Rutschman to the injured list. Baltimore placed the switch-hitting catcher on the 10-day IL, retroactive to August 18, due to a right oblique injury. Outfielder Daniel Johnson is up from Triple-A Norfolk to take the vacated roster spot.

Rutschman missed five weeks between mid-June and the end of July with a left oblique strain. He’s now dealing with an injury to the opposite side. Interim skipper Tony Mansolino told reporters (including Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun) that it’s a “mild” strain. That’d seem to give Rutschman a shot to return this season, but even minor oblique strains usually cost a hitter a few weeks.

This has been a career-worst season for the two-time All-Star. Rutschman is batting .227/.310/.373 in 348 plate appearances. It’s his first subpar offensive showing in his four-year career. Last season’s .250/.318/.391 line was only narrowly better than average. Rutschman’s bat has fallen off since his excellent first two seasons.

The declining production comes as top catching prospect Samuel Basallo reaches the big leagues. Baltimore promoted the 21-year-old on Sunday. Basallo has started one game apiece at catcher and designated hitter. The initial plan was for Rutschman and Basallo to split catching work with a decent amount of DH at-bats for the rookie. Basallo will now be the #1 catcher while Rutschman is on the shelf. The youngster’s bat has long been ahead of his glove. A few weeks of regular reps behind the plate won’t entirely wipe away concerns about Basallo’s defense, but it should be a good developmental opportunity.

Baltimore was already operating with three catchers on the active roster. They didn’t want to lose the out-of-options Alex Jackson when they called up Basallo. Jackson will back him up for the time being. That meant they could add an extra outfielder, Johnson, in the corresponding move rather than bringing up another catcher.

Orioles Claim Josh Walker

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The Orioles have claimed left-hander Josh Walker off waivers from the Phillies, according to announcements from both clubs. The O’s have optioned the southpaw to Triple-A Norfolk. They already had a 40-man vacancy from outrighting outfielder Jordyn Adams a few days ago, so no corresponding move was required. The Phils designated Walker for assignment earlier this week.

Walker, 30, has a limited amount of big league experience. He has thrown a combined 27 1/3 innings over the three most recent seasons. In that time, he has a 6.59 earned run average, which is obviously not strong. His 10.9% walk rate is also a bit high. However, his 24.2% strikeout rate is a good figure. His ERA has seemingly been inflated by a .380 batting average on balls in play and 59.4% strand rate. His 3.99 FIP and 2.70 SIERA paint a more optimistic portrait.

Ultimately, it’s a small sample of work and the O’s are probably putting more stock in his minor league numbers. From 2022 to the present, Walker has thrown 125 innings on the farm with a 3.96 ERA. His 12% walk rate is a bit high but his 30.6% strikeout rate is very intriguing.

For the O’s, they are playing out the string on a lost season, so they are making moves focused on the future. They sold at the deadline and have grabbed a number of players off waivers since then. Walker is in his final option season. That means he can be kept in the minors for the rest of this year but will be out of options going into 2026. He has less than a year of service time, so he is still a ways away from arbitration and even further away from free agency. If he can carve out a role in Baltimore’s bullpen, they can cheaply retain him well into the future. It also wouldn’t a surprise if they try to pass him through waivers at some point in order to keep him as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Félix Bautista Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Expected To Miss 12 Months

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The Orioles announced today that right-hander Félix Bautista has undergone surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum in his right shoulder. He is expected to miss the next 12 months. Jake Rill of MLB.com was among those to relay the news.

The news is obviously brutal for the O’s and Bautista. He just missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He got back on the mound this year and showed some flashes of his old self. However, he’s now going to miss the remainder of the 2025 season and a huge chunk of 2026 as well. Given the estimated timeline, any kind of setback could lead to him missing another entire season.

Prior to the injury setbacks, he had established himself as one of the most dominant relievers in the game. Over the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, he gave the O’s 126 2/3 innings with a tiny 1.85 earned run average. His 10% walk rate was a bit on the high side and his 39.9% ground ball rate wasn’t special but he punched out a massive 40.4% of batters faced.

As mentioned, he showed some hints of that form in 2025, though also with some rust. He logged 34 2/3 innings this year with a 2.60 ERA. His 35.2% strikeout rate was technically a drop-off but still a great figure. Meanwhile, his grounder rate jumped to 50.7%. On the worrying side, his walk rate spiked to 16.2%.

Perhaps he would have continued refining things as he got more innings and shook off the rust, but that won’t happen now. He landed on the 15-day IL in July due to shoulder discomfort. It was announced by the team in August that his injury was “significant” and that he wouldn’t be coming back this year. Today’s news provides more clarity on how dire the situation is. It’s possible that Bautista eventually throws less than 40 innings for the 2024-26 stretch. If he returns late next year, he could push a bit beyond that number, but likely not by much.

Bautista is controllable through 2027. He is making just $1MM this year. He will be due a raise in arbitration for 2026 and 2027 but the missed time cuts into his ability to substantially increase his salary. Given his ceiling, the O’s will surely tender him a contract with the hope of him contributing late in 2026 and/or for the entire 2027 campaign.

For the O’s, it’s the latest kick to the nuts in a season that has seen them pummeled by injuries. They came into the year knowing that Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells would be rehabbing from last year’s surgeries, but then they have also seen guys like Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Andrew Kittredge, Albert Suárez and others miss significant time. On the position player side, Tyler O’Neill, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, Ryan Mountcastle and others missed chunks of time.

Those injuries helped push the O’s down in the standings. Though they came into the year with clear postseason aspirations, they wound up deadline sellers. Cedric Mullins, Kittredge, Gregory Soto, Seranthony Domínguez, Bryan Baker, Charlie Morton, Ramón Urías, Ramón Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn were all flipped prior to the deadline.

The club is now playing out the string on the 2025 season, so the Bautista injury is fairly moot for the short term. But his extended timeline obviously hurts for 2026. As mentioned, the O’s already flipped four relievers last month, putting a big dent in the bullpen. Bautista is an even bigger loss.

Though they sold at the deadline, it’s assumed that the club intends to rebound and compete again in 2026, as they have a young and exciting core to build around. Presumably, the Orioles already planned on making a few bullpen moves in the coming offseason. This news should only enhance the need.

For Bautista personally, it’s another delay in him unlocking a notable paycheck. The late bloomer didn’t crack the big leagues until he was in his age-27 season. Despite his excellent results, he’s now 30 and hasn’t made more than $1MM in a season, which is barely above the league minimum. The two lengthy surgery absences will dampen his earning power in arbitration. He’s not slated to reach free agency until after his age-32 campaign. It’s possible he’s healthy by that point but the injury track record will be still be noted by clubs.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images

Orioles Outright Jordyn Adams

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The Orioles announced that outfielder Jordyn Adams has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. He had the right to elect free agency but has accepted the assignment. It wasn’t previously reported that Adams had been designated for assignment, so this move drops Baltimore’s 40-man count to 39.

Adams, 25, signed a minor league deal with the Orioles in the offseason and has been on and off the roster this year. He was selected to the 40-man in late May but was designated for assignment and outrighted a few days later. He was added back to the roster August 1st, after the O’s made a number of deadline trades.

Around those transactions, he has appeared in ten big league games but mostly as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He has only been sent to the plate five times, going hitless in those with two strikeouts.

He has received more playing time in the minors with his speed being his biggest asset. He only has 11 steals this year but has gotten that figure as high as 44, which came back in 2023. He has slashed .252/.332/.405 in 1,272 minor league plate appearances since the start of 2023.

Photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images

Greg Allen Elects Free Agency

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The Orioles announced that outfielder Greg Allen declined a minor league assignment in favor of free agency. He’d cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment on Saturday when the O’s called up prospect Dylan Beavers.

Allen had a brief stay with Baltimore. He’d signed a big league contract on August 8, a couple days after being granted his release from a minor league deal with the Cubs. He made seven appearances but went 0-14, striking out five times while grounding into a pair of double plays. Allen probably wouldn’t have been long for the roster even if he’d played well in a tiny sample.

The O’s were planning to promote Beavers around the middle of August. At that point, he’d spend fewer than 45 days on the MLB roster and would remain rookie eligible next season — potentially allowing the team to recoup a draft pick if they carry him for a full service year and he plays well enough to earn awards consideration. Baltimore also welcomed Colton Cowser back from a minimal injured list stint on Sunday. Allen was always going to be a stopgap outfielder.

This marked Allen’s first MLB action in two years. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Yankees, suiting up 22 times during the ’23 season. Allen’s speed and ability to cover all three outfield positions has gotten him to the majors in parts of eight seasons, almost always as a fourth or fifth outfielder. He was hitting .270/.355/.440 in Triple-A with the Cubs earlier in the year and should land elsewhere on a minor league deal.

Orioles Notes: Eflin, Bradish, Wells, Mountcastle

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The Orioles announced this morning that right-hander Zach Eflin underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure. The season-ending back surgery was announced last week, and this morning’s procedure went as expected, per the team. Eflin is hopeful of having a “normal” offseason after about 12 weeks, but recovery from this type of procedure can take anywhere from four to eight months. Every instance is different, of course, and there’s no real way to tell just how long Eflin will be down until he begins the rehab process.

This was a disaster season for the 31-year-old Eflin, who’s been limited to 14 starts and 71 1/3 innings by a lat strain and this back issue — an injury he revealed has bothered him on and off for several years. He posted a dismal 5.93 ERA when on the field — miles away from the 3.54 mark he posted in 343 innings for the Rays and Orioles during the first two seasons of his current three-year, $40MM contract (2023-24).

Eflin said last week that he was very open to a return to the Orioles. Whether the team pursue that option remains to be seen, but the O’s will clearly be in the market for arms this offseason. Eflin is a free agent, as is righty Tomoyuki Sugano. Fellow right-hander Charlie Morton was traded to the Tigers (and is a free agent at season’s end, too). Grayson Rodriguez won’t pitch this season after undergoing a debridement procedure in his elbow. The O’s have Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer, Cade Povich and Brandon Young all controlled through next year. Righties Tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish can hopefully contribute down the stretch after they wrap up their rehab from last year’s UCL procedures, but a return to full health and prior levels of performance can’t simply be assumed.

Bradish, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, is expected to make one final rehab start before he returns from what will end up being about a 14-month absence due to Tommy John surgery. He’s made five minor league starts and pitched to a 4.67 ERA with a 28.6% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate in 17 1/3 innings thus far. Wells, who had internal brace surgery around the same time as Bradish had his own operation, has made four rehab starts and pitched 13 innings of 2.03 ERA ball with nearly identical strikeout and walk rates to those of his teammate (28.3%, 7.5%). Bradish is controlled three more years beyond the current season. Wells is controlled for two more years.

Elsewhere on the roster, Ryan Mountcastle is facing some roster uncertainty of his own. The longtime Baltimore first baseman missed more than two months with a hamstring injury, and he returned to a very different roster. The O’s sold off veterans Morton, Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto at the trade deadline. Prospects Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo are now getting legitimate auditions to show they can be long-term contributors at Camden Yards.

The presence of both Mayo and Basallo has and will continue to cut into Mountcastle’s playing time. The 28-year-old Mountcastle chatted with Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner about his reduced role, stating that he took it in stride and will be eager to help Mayo or Basallo with any questions or insight they might seek down the stretch. “Whatever they need, whatever I can do to help, I’m willing to do it,” Mountcastle said.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino told Kostka that he’ll try his best to be “creative” and get at-bats for Mayo, Basallo, Mountcastle and catcher Adley Rutschman to the extent possible. Basallo will be backing up Rutschman behind the plate but also factor in at first base and designated hitter — Mountcastle’s two positions.

From a bigger-picture standpoint, it’s increasingly fair to wonder about Mountcastile’s future outlook with the team. He’s eligible for arbitration for the final time this winter and will get a raise north of $7MM. He’ll be a free agent after the 2026 season. The O’s, as previously mentioned, are going to need to invest in the rotation this winter and, in Mayo and Basallo, now have younger pre-arbitration options to step in at first base and DH. It’s easy enough to see Mountcastle being traded or, depending on how he finishes, perhaps even non-tendered.

Mountcastle struggled tremendously prior to landing on the injured list, hitting just .246/.280/.348 in exactly 200 plate appearances before his injury. He’s had limited playing time but looked excellent upon his return. He hit .387/.486/.806 in nine rehab games (31 plate appearances) and, since returning, is 8-for-29 with two homers, a double, a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch. He’s slashing .276/.333/.517 in his first 33 plate appearances back on the big league roster and has even stolen a pair of bases (despite stealing just three in each of the past two seasons).

So far, anyway, the hamstring looks to be rehabilitated, and Mountcastle looks far better than he did early on. It bears reminding that from 2021-24, Mountcastle was a key factor in a terrific Baltimore lineup, hitting .260/.312/.447 with 86 home runs, 102 doubles and five triples. He’s a right-handed hitter who’s beat up left-handed pitching throughout his career and turned in slightly better-than-average results versus righties. He’s also a sound defensive first baseman. With a 2026 salary likely in the vicinity of $8MM, Mountcastle could be a nice short-term pickup for a team looking for a stopgap option at first base — if the Orioles elect to go with their up-and-coming bats at the position.

Orioles Promote Samuel Basallo

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The Orioles announced a flurry of roster moves this morning, highlighted by the club’s decision to select the contract of top prospect Samuel Basallo. Basallo will take the 40-man roster spot of right-hander Zach Eflin, who was transferred to the 60-day injured list and was already known to be done for the 2025 season. In addition, Baltimore activated outfielder Colton Cowser from the 7-day concussion-related injured list. Ryan Noda and Daniel Johnson were optioned to the minor leagues to make room for Basallo and Cowser on the active roster.

Basallo, who celebrated his 21st birthday just last week, entered the year as a consensus top-15 prospect in baseball and has more than proved himself worthy of that status with his work at Triple-A this year. The Santo Domingo native was signed as an international amateur by the Orioles back in 2021 and, after struggling in his first taste of Triple-A late last year, has slashed an incredible .270/.377/.589 (151 wRC+) in 76 games for the club’s Norfolk affiliate this year. He’s crushed 23 homers in that time, and while his 23.7% strikeout rate is the highest he’s posted in a full season so far that’s more than made up for by his aforementioned power and a strong 13.7% walk rate.

Those numbers would be impressive for any player, but they become all the more incredible with the context that Basallo is a catcher in the midst of his age-20 campaign. Basallo’s aforementioned 151 wRC+ is the fourth-highest figure in Triple-A’s International League this year, and he’s done that despite being the youngest qualified hitters at the level. Just ten hitters in their age-22 season or younger have qualified, and among them only four others (Justin Crawford of the Phillies as well as Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros, and Kevin Alcantara of the Cubs) have posted above-average numbers. All four of those youngsters are top-100 prospects in their own right, and only Caissie’s 142 wRC+ comes within spitting distance of Basallo’s elite numbers.

All of that is to say that Basallo has absolutely nothing left to do offensively at Triple-A. The youngster’s defense behind the plate has been the subject of some questions both from outside evaluators and even from the brass within his own organization, however. GM Mike Elias suggested back in June that Basallo’s defense needed some work before he could be called up to the majors, but it appears the youngster has either assuaged those concerns about his glove or simply done so much with the bat that the Orioles can’t justify holding him back for the sake of his glove any longer.

It will be worth watching how the Orioles use Basallo in the coming weeks. He’s only played catcher, first base, and DH in the minor leagues. That should leave him limited to those three positions at the big league level as well, but the O’s already have starters at all three positions at the moment. Adley Rutschman is back in the lineup behind the plate after missing some time earlier this year and figures to remain the primary option at the position for now even in the midst of a middling season. Youngster Coby Mayo is in the midst of his own long-awaited tryout at first base, and it makes little sense for the Orioles to limit the 23-year-old’s playing time as they look to decide if he can serve as their first baseman of the future headed into 2026. That’s left Ryan Mountcastle to shift off first base and take the lion’s share of playing time at DH in recent days. The 28-year-old has struggled to a .250/.285/.373 (81 wRC+) this year, but spent most of the season on the injured list due to a hamstring strain and has slashed an excellent .276/.333/.517 with two homers, two steals, and a double in eight games since being activated.

Perhaps everyone in that quartet will be able to start four or five games a week with pinch-hitting opportunities on days they aren’t starting. It’s also possible that Mayo could get some occasional looks at third base (currently held down by Jordan Westburg) to help create more vacancies at first base. Mountcastle even has some experience in the outfield, although he hasn’t played on the grass since 2021 so it’s unclear if he’s still capable of handling the position. If making an occasional appearance in left wouldn’t be an injury risk for Mountcastle, it would be fair to say that his bat could make up for whatever defensive miscues he might be vulnerable to after a long layoff at the position.

Now that Cowser is back from the injured list, Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun notes that (according to interim manager Tony Mansolino) the 25-year-old will slide into center field upon his return. Cowser’s been entrenched as the club’s regular left fielder since his excellent rookie campaign last year, and while injuries and ineffectiveness have limited him to an 89 wRC+ in 56 games he’ll still be a substantial offensive upgrade over the players tasked with holding down the position since Cedric Mullins was traded to the Mets last month like Johnson and Greg Allen.

That leaves two outfield spots for the taking. One figures to be left to Dylan Beavers, another one of the club’s top prospects who made his big league debut just yesterday and went 1-for-5 with a double and two strikeouts. Like Basallo, he clearly has nothing left to prove in the minors after hitting .304/.420/.515 (152 wRC+) at the level with a 16.3% walk rate, 23 steals, and 18 home runs in 94 games this year. Beavers should get regular playing time in one corner going forward, but the short-term solutions at the other corner don’t inspire confidence.

Jeremiah Jackson and Dylan Carlson are the options available on the roster at present now that Noda and Johnson are ticketed for Triple-A, but both come with questions. Carlson has a meager 56 wRC+ this year and hasn’t been an above-average player since 2021. Jackson, meanwhile, is a 25-year-old who only just reached the Triple-A level earlier this year and was promoted primarily due to a scorching hot stretch of 40 games at the level where he bashed 11 homers and hit .377. That sort of performance is surely unsustainable at the big league level, and while his 107 wRC+ at the big league level so far is decent, a .435 BABIP and a 31.4% strikeout rate don’t appear likely to be sustainable.

That could leave room for Mountcastle to pick up occasional reps in left field, health permitting. Even if he can patrol left without risk of re-injuring his balky hamstring, however, it’s worth noting that would surely be a temporary solution to the logjam Basallo’s promotion creates given that the Orioles have two options for regular at-bats in left field on the injured list at present. Tyler O’Neill has been sidelined by wrist inflammation in recent weeks but should be a fixture of the club’s lineup once he returns. The 30-year-old has the opportunity to opt out of the final two years of his contract with Baltimore but seems unlikely to exercise that option after appearing in just 43 games and posting a pedestrian 98 wRC+ when on the field.

Heston Kjerstad is another option to get reps in the outfield at some point, but seems less certainty to be called upon than O’Neill. Kjerstad was placed on the minor league injured list due to what was described at the time as fatigue in late July and hasn’t appeared in a game since, but the former top prospect has struggled badly this year with a .192/.240/.327 (56 wRC+) slash line. Even in spite of those brutal numbers, however, the club’s commitment to playing youngsters like Basallo, Beavers, and Mayo down the stretch could suggest that they’ll try to get Kjerstad another look in the majors during these final weeks of a lost 2025 season.

Orioles Select Dylan Beavers, Designate Greg Allen

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The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of outfield prospect Dylan Beavers from Triple-A Norfolk.  In the corresponding move, outfielder Greg Allen was designated for assignment to create space on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters.

Beavers will be making his MLB debut whenever he appears in a game, and he figures to get regular playing time for a Baltimore team that is well out of contention.  The promotion is a nice late birthday present for Beavers, who turned 24 earlier this week.

Selected 33rd overall in the 2022 draft and with the first pick of Competitive Balance Round A, Beavers hit really well in his first two pro seasons before taking a step back in 2024.  He crushed Double-A pitching in 2023 but posted more modest numbers (.756 OPS over 509 PA) at the same level last season, and didn’t hit much during a brief six-game Triple-A cameo.

Beavers has spent the entire 2025 season in Norfolk and gotten back on track in a big way, hitting .304/.420/.515 with 18 homers over 418 PA, and he has stolen 23 bases in 28 attempts.  He missed a couple of weeks due to a shoulder sprain, but it didn’t slow Beavers down during a year that has seen him greatly increase his hard-contact numbers and walk rate while cutting back on his strikeouts.  Beavers has struck out only 76 times this season, while walking 68 times.

This surge earned Beavers the 83rd spot on Baseball America’s August update of its top 100 prospects list.  MLB Pipeline has kept Beavers out of its top 100, but like BA, also ranks Beavers as the third-best prospect in the Orioles’ farm system.  Both scouting reports note how Beavers has spent much of his pro career altering his swing to gain more power and become more productive against high velocity, and it would seem like those swing adjustments are paying off.  His solid speed and baserunning ability adds to his offensive value as a stolen-base threat.  Defensively, Beavers is viewed as a corner outfielder, with a chance to stick in right due to an above-average throwing arm.

The specific timing of Beavers’ promotion isn’t surprising, as coming up on August 16 means that Beavers will be spending less than 45 days on the MLB roster, and the Orioles will surely make a point of keeping him under the 130 at-bat threshold.  This means that Beavers will retain his rookie eligibility into 2026, and thus he could remain eligible for Prospect Promotion Incentive status assuming he makes at least two of the preseason top-100 prospect rankings from Baseball America, Pipeline, or ESPN.com.  Eligible PPI rookies can deliver an extra draft pick for their teams, should they qualify for a full year of service time and then either win Rookie of the Year honors or record a top-three finish in MVP voting or Cy Young Award voting during their pre-arbitration years.

Late-season callups of top prospects have long been part of baseball, though the PPI system has now put something of a specific timeline on how teams approach some promotions of their top minor leaguers.  GM Mike Elias more or less admitted earlier this week that the PPI rules were a factor in the Orioles’ plans for Beavers and top prospect Samuel Basallo, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Basallo also made his MLB debut before the 2025 season is over.

Allen signed with the O’s just on August 8, as the team needed some quick depth due to a spate of outfield injuries.  Allen’s seven games with Baltimore marked his first big league playing time since the 2023 season, though it was a rather ignominious stint, as he didn’t reach base in any of his 14 plate appearances.  Prior to joining the Orioles, Allen was playing for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate, and was hitting .270/.355/.440 over 231 PA.

A veteran of eight MLB seasons, Allen is known for his speed and his ability to play all three outfield positions, even though he has never produced much at the dish.  He is out of minor league options, and since he has been previously outrighted in his career, he’ll have the ability to elect free agency if he clears waivers.  It is possible a team in need of outfield depth may bring Allen board on a waiver claim, but it seems likelier that he’ll enter free agency and land elsewhere on a minors contract.

Zach Eflin Interested In Returning To Orioles In 2026

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Zach Eflin made his three-year, $41MM contract look like an absolute bargain in 2023 and ’24. The right-hander produced a 3.54 ERA and 3.62 SIERA over 59 starts in the two most productive seasons of his career. Unfortunately, the final year of that deal has been nothing short of disastrous. He has taken three trips to the injured list, the first with a lat strain and the latter two with back discomfort. On Tuesday, Orioles manager Tony Mansolino announced that Eflin would undergo a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure, ending his season. In and around his three IL stints, the righty stumbled to a 5.93 ERA. His 16.2% strikeout rate was his worst since 2017, while his 40.2% groundball rate was his lowest since his rookie season the year before. Meanwhile, he gave up home runs at the highest rate of his career.

If Eflin had returned to free agency last winter, he could have commanded something like the three-year, $75MM deals that Nathan Eovaldi and Sean Manaea signed. Considering his age (he’s still only 31), perhaps he could have earned even more. Now, he will most likely have to settle for a single-year pillow contract – one that might not even reach eight figures – as he looks to rebuild his value.

Exactly what kind of contract he ultimately signs will depend on his timeline to recover from the lumbar microdiscectomy procedure, which is scheduled for Monday (per Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner). Eflin told reporters (including Allentuck) that he’s hopeful he can have a relatively normal offseason after 12 weeks; that timeline would have him resuming his regular offseason activities right around the GM Meetings. However, he acknowledged that recovery from this particular procedure can take anywhere from four to eight months. An eight-month recovery would put his return sometime in mid-April. 

Regardless of when exactly he’s back to full strength, whichever team signs Eflin will be taking a risk on an injury-prone starter. The payoff could be substantial; at his best, Eflin is the kind of pitcher who can start game two of a playoff series, like he did for the Rays in 2023 and the Orioles in 2024. On the other hand, the downside is just as plain to see: He could have another season like this one.

Could the Orioles be the team that takes that risk? It feels unlikely. They could certainly use the help in their starting rotation, but they already have three injured starters they’re hoping will contribute significantly in 2026: Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, and Tyler Wells, as well as swingman Albert Suárez. If they’re going to add a starter, it would make sense for GM Mike Elias to make a safer choice. That said, if the Orioles do reach out, it seems like Eflin would be interested in a reunion.

“Absolutely,” Eflin replied when asked if he could see himself back in Baltimore for 2026 (per Allentuck). It’s not uncommon for a pending free agent to express loose, noncommittal interest in re-signing with his current team. Yet, Eflin’s language was direct, and the reporters he spoke to conveyed the impression that he genuinely hopes to return. It would be hard to blame him if he were ready to move on after such a disappointing season for both himself and his team, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Says Eflin, “I told pretty much everyone that we’ve had a conversation about that, I told them I love this place and I’d love to be here.”

Orioles Outright Houston Roth

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Houston Roth has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. He had been designated for assignment earlier this week when the O’s claimed Daniel Johnson and selected right-hander José Espada.

Roth, 27, was selected to Baltimore’s roster on July 29th. As part of their deadline selloff, the O’s had already sent out Gregory Soto and Seranthony Domínguez at that time. Andrew Kittredge was also traded a couple of days later.

That allowed Roth to stick on the big league roster for a few days but he was optioned back to the minors before getting into a game. A week after being optioned, he was bumped off the 40-man and no club grabbed him off waivers. This is his first outright and he has less than three years of service time, so he doesn’t have the right to reject the assignment.

In his minor league career, he has often been able to get strikeouts but has also given out walks at a notable pace. This year, he has thrown 39 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with 2.08 earned run average, 26.1% strikeout rate and 11.8% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Mitch Stringer, Imagn Images

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