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Latest Details On Sale Of Orioles

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The baseball world got a shocking development this week when it was reported that the Angelos family would be selling the club to an investment group led by David Rubenstein. The next day, the club confirmed the agreement with an announcement of the $1.725 billion sale.

Details continue to trickle out about the deal, with Pamela Wood of The Baltimore Banner looking backwards to the club’s negotiations with the State of Maryland. The Orioles and state officials were in contact for much of last year. The club’s lease of Camden Yards was set to expire after 2023 and the two sides took talks down to the middle of December before a new lease was approved.

There were plenty of speed bumps along the way. It was in early December that it was initially reported that Rubenstein was in talks to purchase the club. That seemed to delay the lease talks, with state senator Bill Ferguson expressing trepidation about giving out land development rights to an organization with an unclear ownership structure. The land development rights were part of the talks because John Angelos was reportedly attempting to leverage the negotiations into getting public land for a mixed-use project, combining Camden Yards with commercial and residential spaces.

Per Wood’s report, Angelos did not give Governor Wes Moore or other state officials any kinds of heads up about the sale agreement. Treasurer Dereck Davis said that Angelos “categorically denied that that they were for sale” before selling the team. “It wasn’t just that we weren’t told something. We were lied to,” Davis said.

“The transparency that was required — it was not there,” Gov. Moore said. “And it’s disappointing.”

“I do think that John’s behavior displayed an incredible lack of respect for the state and our role in working with the Baltimore Orioles and our role as the owners of the home of the Baltimore Orioles,” comptroller Brooke Lierman said. “It’s incredibly disappointing, although, frankly not surprising.” Despite the harsh words, it seems state officials suspected something was up and proceeded accordingly. “That said, we crafted an agreement in such a way that it would not matter who owned the Orioles because I think many of us believed that the Angelos family’s days as owners were numbered anyways,” Lierman said. “It was important for us to protect the state and taxpayers and our assets, no matter who the owners are.”

Though the two sides did eventually get a deal done, Angelos did not get the land he craved. The 30-year agreement does give the club a chance to opt out after 15 years if they don’t get a development deal within the next four years. Ken Rosenthal and Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic also reported on the sale this week, relaying that some people in baseball believe that the lack of a land deal was part of what motivated Angelos to sell. On top of that, the family is also looking to improve its liquidity. Rosenthal and Ghiroli relay that they are looking to sell various assets, including One Charles Center, a 22-story office tower in Baltimore.

Going forward, the sale still needs to be approved by Major League Baseball. The owners are having a scheduled meeting next week but Buster Olney of ESPN reports that the sale is not on the docket. Rosenthal and Ghiroli suggest it will likely take months for the league to conduct background checks on everyone in the ownership group. Per Wood and Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner, the full group includes New York businessman Michael Arougheti, his partners Mitchell Goldstein and Michael Smith, Orioles Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of Baltimore Kurt Schmoke, Washington Spirit majority owner Michele Kang and NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill.

There’s also the future of the MASN issue to be considered. The Orioles and Nationals share ownership of the network, which has the broadcast rights for both clubs, with the O’s currently owning 76% of the network but dropping to 67% by 2032. Those details were worked out as part of the agreement to move the Expos from Montreal to Washington almost 20 years ago. As a compromise for moving a club into Baltimore’s territorial range, the O’s got control of the Nationals’ TV rights and the two sides have been disputing the finances of that arrangement for quite some time.

The Lerner family has been trying to sell the Nats for almost two years now, announcing in April of 2022 that they would explore the possibility. There’s been little apparent progress towards a deal, however, with reporting from about this time a year ago suggesting the MASN dispute was a key factor. Rosenthal and Ghiroli suggest that Rubenstein might sell the O’s share of MASN to Ted Leonsis, with some in the industry expecting that to eventually happen.

Leonsis owns the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, and Washington Mystics, as well as the Monumental Sports Network, which broadcasts those three clubs. Getting the Orioles’ TV rights could enhance the programming options for Monumental. It was reported in November of 2022 that the Lerner family was hoping to get $2.5 billion in selling the Nats but the TV rights situation was preventing them from getting to that price point. Rosenthal and Ghiroli report today that Leonsis had offered $2.2 billion. It’s unknown whether Leonsis acquiring Baltimore’s MASN share would impact any future negotiations with the Lerners.

All told, there will be plenty of domino effects worth watching out for as the situation progresses.

Orioles Confirm Agreement To Sell Control Stake Of Franchise To Group Led By David Rubenstein

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The Orioles have confirmed yesterday’s reports on a sale of the team, announcing Wednesday that a group of investors led by billionaire David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group private equity firm has purchased the control stake of the team from the Angelos family for $1.725 billion. Notably, former control person John Angelos will remain a “major investor” in the club and will serve as a senior advisor to Rubenstein in his new role. The transaction values the Orioles franchise and assets at $1.725 billion dollars, per the team’s press release on the ownership shakeup.

“I am grateful to the Angelos family for the opportunity to join the team I have been a fan of my entire life,” Rubenstein said in a statement within today’s press release. “I look forward to working with all the Orioles owners, players and staff to build upon the incredible success the team has achieved in recent seasons. Our collective goal will be to bring a World Series Trophy back to the City of Baltimore. To the fans I say: we do it for you and can’t do it without you. Thank you for your support. Importantly, the impact of the Orioles extends far beyond the baseball diamond. The opportunity for the team to catalyze development around Camden Yards and in downtown Baltimore will provide generations of fans with lifelong memories and create additional economic opportunities for our community.”

The sale of the majority share in the Orioles is still subject to review and approval from the remaining 29 owners in Major League Baseball. A formal vote is expected to take place next week at the quarterly MLB owners meetings. Among the more recognizable names in the Rubenstein-led group are Orioles icon Cal Ripken Jr., NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill and Michael Bloomberg. Any concerns about a potential relocation following the sale should quelled; Rubenstein is a Baltimore native who’s already voiced his desire to keep the team in Baltimore long-term, and the recent 30-year lease extension at Camden Yards transfers to new ownership as well, per Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner.

“When I took on the role of Chair and CEO of the Orioles, we had the objective of restoring the franchise to elite status in major league sports, keeping the team in Baltimore for years to come, and revitalizing our partnership group,” Angelos said in his own statement. “This relationship with David Rubenstein and his partners validates that we have not only met but exceeded our goals.”

The Angelos family has owned the Orioles franchise since Peter purchased the team for $173MM. He served as the club’s control person into his 90s but eventually ceded that post to his sons, John and Louis. In the years that followed, a contentious battle for control of the organization emerged. Louis Angelos filed a lawsuit alleging that John took steps to seize sole control of the club against his father’s wishes and that his mother, Georgia, was making it a priority to sell and possibly even relocate the team. Georgia countersued, alleging that Louis had fabricated his claims in something of a powerplay of his own. The suits were dropped in 2023, nearly one year ago to the day, with the parties settling outside of court.

Between the infighting among the Angelos family and the long-running television rights fees drama with the Nationals, the Orioles have been embroiled in litigation for years. The Angelos family owned the majority stake in the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which broadcasts both Orioles and Nationals games, and the two franchises have been at odds for more than a decade over unpaid rights fees to the Nationals. An arbitration panel eventually ruled that the O’s owed the Nats $105MM in fees, which the Orioles appealed. An appellate court upheld the ruling last April. Now, Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun reports that Rubenstein’s group is also purchasing the control stake in MASN. Whether that will have significant ramifications regarding the arrangement between the Orioles and Nationals remain unclear.

As with any ownership change, the possibility for a major departure from baseball operations norms exists under new ownership. Since John Angelos was named control person in place of his ailing father, Peter, the Orioles have essentially sat out the free-agent market entirely. General manager Mike Elias has never signed a free agent to a guaranteed multi-year deal and hasn’t committed more than Craig Kimbrel’s $13MM to any individual player. That’s been in part due to the fact that the Orioles have been mired in a rebuilding process that spanned more than four years, but even on the heels of last year’s AL East title, they’ve been surprisingly quiet (much to the chagrin of Baltimore fans).

That rebuilding effort, of course, led the Orioles to develop one of the more enviable young cores in all of baseball. Catcher Adley Rutschman has already emerged as a superstar, and young infielder Gunnar Henderson isn’t far behind. Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez and top prospects like Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Joey Ortiz, Connor Norby, Heston Kjerstad, Colton Cowser, Samuel Basallo and many more create a favorable long-term outlook.

However, even as Orioles fans celebrated the emergence of their young core after so many noncompetitive years, Angelos put a damper on matters by casting doubt on the organization’s ability to sign anyone from that bunch to long-term deals. The now-outgoing Orioles control person told the New York Times in 2022 that in order to sign players like Rutschman and Henderson to the type of extensions they could rightly seek based on market precedent, the Orioles would need to “massively” raise prices for fans. Comments like that, paired with the general inertia that has embodied previous Orioles offseasons has led to frustration among the fan base.

Whether a change in ownership will bring about aggressive levels of spending remains to be seen. It’d be unwise to expect the Orioles to act with the same level of brazen aggression as, say, the Mets in the wake of the Wilpon family’s sale to current owner Steve Cohen. At the same time, the current levels of spending is practically the lowest of bars to be cleared. The Orioles ended the 2023 season with a $66MM payroll and project to open the 2024 season with just an $81MM payroll. Felix Bautista, the Orioles’ All-Star closer who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, is the only player who’s guaranteed even a single dollar in salary beyond the 2024 campaign. He’s promised all of $1MM for the 2025 campaign.

Time will tell the extent to which the Orioles’ recent market inactivity was colored by ongoing efforts to orchestrate this sale and whether Rubenstein’s group will be more willing to spend than the team has been under the watch of John Angelos. For the time being, the pending sale looms as a beacon of hope for an Orioles fan base that has become increasingly frustrated with the team’s ostensible unwillingness to supplement one of the brightest young cores of talent in the sport.

Reports: Angelos Family Agrees To Sell Orioles

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The Angelos family plans to sell the Orioles to a group led by two private equity billionaires, David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group and Mike Arougheti of Ares Management Corp., as first reported by Sportico and John Ourand of Puck News. Andy Kostka, Pamela Wood and Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner report that various others will have smaller ownership roles — including franchise icon Cal Ripken Jr.

Neither the Orioles nor MLB have yet commented on the news. The deal cannot be made official without league approval. Longtime O’s beat reporter Dan Connolly tweets that the owners will discuss the sale agreement at a previously scheduled owners meeting next week.

It was reported back in December that Rubenstein, a Baltimore native, was in talks to purchase the club. Rubenstein will eventually become the franchise’s “control person” assuming the deal is approved. Ourand reports the sale price will be $1.725 billion, about 10 times the $173MM for which the Angelos family purchased it in 1993.

The franchise will not be sold in its entirety right away. According to Ourand, the Rubenstein group will initially acquire roughly 40% of the ownership stake. The remainder of the Angelos’ family share will be transferred once longtime owner Peter Angelos, now 94, passes away. Previous reports have indicated the family would incur significant capital gains taxes if they sell the franchise in its entirety before Peter Angelos’ death.

It could be a franchise-altering piece of news for the Orioles and their fans. The Angelos family has owned the club since 1993. It was at that time that Peter Angelos was the principal investor of a group that bought the O’s. He collapsed in 2017 due to the failure of his aortic valve, leading his wife Georgia and sons John and Lou to take on more sizeable roles.

Reports emerged in June of 2022, highlighting infighting between the family members about control of the franchise. The league evidently approved John Angelos as the club’s “control person” in 2020, but multiple lawsuits between the family members were filed. The reporting surrounding those legal disputes revealed that Georgia hired Goldman Sachs to explore a possible sale. The various family lawsuits were dropped about a year ago as part of a reported settlement. “I would say that there’s not a plan to change the principal ownership or the managing partnership and there would be no reason to,” John said in February of last year.

As that drama has been playing out behind the scenes, there has also been a lot of public uncertainty surrounding the organization. Their lease agreement with the State of Maryland for Camden Yards was set to expire at the end of 2023. John Angelos was reportedly attempting to leverage the negotiations for a new lease to acquire public land. The idea seemed to be to transform the area based on the example set by the Braves with The Battery and Truist Park, allowing the O’s to develop a mixed-use area including various retail and commercial spaces.

A new lease agreement was eventually approved in mid-December, just before the previous deal was set to expire. As part of that deal, the O’s are committed to Camden Yards for the next 15 years, which can be expanded to 30 years if a new development plan is approved in the next four years. The discussions between Rubenstein and the Angelos family briefly held up government approval of the new lease. At the time, John Angelos reportedly assured Maryland governor Wes Moore there were no plans to sell a majority share of the franchise. That now seems set to change.

On top of the stadium situation, the Orioles and Nationals have an ongoing dispute concerning the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. The two clubs share ownership of the network but with the O’s in the majority, presently around 76% and dropping to 67% by 2032. Those details were part of the agreement between the O’s and MLB to facilitate the relocation of the Expos from Montreal to Washington and therefore into the Orioles’ territorial range. The two clubs have been battling each other over the rights free related to MASN for many years.

Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun reports that Rubenstein will also acquire the O’s share in MASN. It’s not yet clear if there’ll be any change in the relationship between the Orioles and the Nationals.

Then there’s the on-field product, which could perhaps be related to the ownership situation. The club has been rebuilding for much of the period after Peter Angelos’ health issues, but they quite clearly emerged from that rebuild in recent seasons. They posted terrible results from 2018 to 2021 but stockpiled young talent in the process. As their young players started graduating to the majors, they managed to go 83-79 in 2022. They followed that up with a 101-win campaign last year, winning the American League East.

Despite those better results of late, the club has made almost no moves that commit long-term money or give up their young talent in order to bolster the current roster. Their stacked farm system has led to plenty of speculation about a blockbuster deal involving someone like Dylan Cease, but nothing has materialized. Meanwhile, their free agent spending this winter has been limited to a one-year deal for reliever Craig Kimbrel.

Taken all together, there are plenty of questions to be answered about how the franchise will proceed. While many O’s fans will be happy to see the Angelos family depart, it’s unknown how different the new regime will be. If the deal is completed, a picture of the future for the franchise will gradually come into focus. As it does, it could have ramifications for the team and others such as the Nats, as well as the city of Baltimore and the State of Maryland.

Rubenstein, 74, is the co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group, a private equity company. He was born in Baltimore and Forbes estimates his net worth as $3.7 billion.

Orioles Sign Andrew Suarez To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles signed reliever Andrew Suárez to a minor league contract, the club announced. The team did not indicate if he’ll receive an invitation to big league camp.

Suárez, 31, saw a bit of major league action with the Cardinals last year. St. Louis had inked him to a minor league pact during the 2022-23 offseason. They selected his contract at the end of July. Suárez went on to make 13 appearances in low-leverage relief. He pitched 27 2/3 innings with a 7.16 ERA. The former second-round pick had a well below-average 13.1% strikeout rate and was tagged for seven home runs.

St. Louis took the lefty off the 40-man roster at the end of the season. He elected minor league free agency after clearing outright waivers. While his MLB work didn’t go well, he lands another opportunity thanks to his solid numbers in the minors. Suárez worked in a multi-inning capacity for the Cards top affiliate in Memphis, logging 64 frames through 28 appearances. He turned in a 4.08 ERA while striking out 24.5% of batters faced with a 45.1% ground-ball rate.

Suárez has allowed 4.27 earned runs per nine in parts of four Triple-A campaigns. He owns a 4.96 ERA through 230 1/3 career innings at the big league level, with the vast majority of that experience coming when he started 29 games for the Giants six years back. Suárez spent two seasons overseas between his stints in San Francisco and St. Louis. He had an excellent year in the KBO in 2021 but struggled in a small sample in Japan the following season.

Orioles Notes: Trade Market, Urias, Zimmermann, Akin, Hall

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Orioles fans have grown increasingly frustrated with a listless offseason on the heels of last year’s division title and quick playoff exit. The O’s entered the offseason with a wide-open payroll outlook and deep farm system, ostensibly setting the stage for either a major free-agent pickup and/or a splashy trade to address the starting pitching. Neither has transpired to this point, although general manager Mike Elias insists it’s not due to a lack of effort on his behalf. The Orioles are “probably being as aggressive as any team out there” on the trade market, Elias told reporters over the weekend (link via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner).

Options on the trade market this offseason have been few and far between — particularly if, as one would expect, the O’s are reluctant to part with their glut of top-ranked, near-MLB-ready infield and outfield prospects. Dylan Cease has long been connected to the O’s, but many have begun to express doubt that anyone will meet the White Sox’ asking price before the offseason is up. Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has spoken openly about his aversion to trading young starters like Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo. The Marlins are at least listening on a handful of starters (Jesus Luzardo, Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera among them), but the ask figures to be similarly steep there, as each has at least three seasons of control remaining.

The Orioles, meanwhile, are rife with young big league-caliber talents. Gunnar Henderson is locked in on the left side of the infield — likely as the long-term third baseman. Jackson Holliday, the former No. 1 overall pick who’s currently ranked as baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect, could debut as the team’s long-term shortstop this year at just 20 years old. Middle infielders Jordan Westburg, Connor Norby and Joey Ortiz have all been ranked among the game’s 100 best prospects within the past year. Ditto corner infielder Coby Mayo, who could be pushed across the diamond to first base, where the Orioles also have Ryan Mountcastle and former No. 2 overall pick Heston Kjerstad as options. Kjerstad can also play the outfield corners, while still yet another top prospect, outfielder Colton Cowser, is a deft center fielder.

Baltimore’s veritable embarrassment of riches on the prospect front has yet to lead to a trade, however. Fans might quibble with whether Elias is truly being as aggressive as he indicates, based on that lack of a move, but the top-ranking O’s baseball ops exec also exercised caution on the trade front.

“You can look back and teams make aggressive trades, and it can really set the franchise back if the guy shows up and he gets hurt, or if you trade guys and you miss out on their long careers,” Elias said, noting that there are just such examples in Orioles history.

Elias didn’t mention any specific examples, though as with any franchise, they’ve had their share of “ones who got away” (my words, not his). Eduardo Rodriguez and Jake Arrieta come to mind as one such pair (under prior leadership, before Elias was hired), while the Orioles’ acquisition of Adam Jones in exchange for Erik Bedard (also under the former front office regime) is perhaps the prime example of Baltimore being on the more favorable side of that proverbial coin.

Of course, the enviable stock of position-player depth the Orioles have cultivated under Elias could also be a catalyst for smaller-scale trades. The team might balk at the notion of trading someone of Westburg’s ilk, but the sheer volume of MLB-ready infielders could make current bench options like Ramon Urias available. MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko suggested as much on Monday, noting that a roster including each of Urias, Ortiz and Holliday would have some redundancy and could lead to Urias being squeezed out — though that scenario is framed in mostly speculative fashion. There’s no indication the Orioles are shopping Urias, but it stands to reason that other infield-needy clubs would have interest.

The 29-year-old Urias, who’s earning $2.1MM in 2024 and is under club control through 2026, has given the Orioles above-average offense and solid defense for much of the past three seasons. He’s a career .264/.330/.404 hitter (107 wRC+) who can handle any of second base, shortstop or third base.

Urias had plus defensive grades at the hot corner, in 2022 in particular, but has broadly rated as a capable defender at any of the three spots. The O’s also gave him 63 innings at first base in 2023. Though he bats right-handed, Urias has far better career numbers against righties (.278/.342/.416) than lefties (.237/.306/.380). That’s not ideal for a team seeking a righty bat to pair with a lefty around the infield, but a club that’s just looking for general infield help overall could well see its interest piqued by an affordable and versatile option like Urias. He alone wouldn’t fetch the Orioles the rotation upgrade they seek, but he could either be dealt as part of a package or could perhaps simply net the O’s some modest help for the farm system to help replenish depth after surrendering some prospects in a larger-scale deal.

On the depth front, the O’s did get some good news in recent weeks. Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann tells MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski that he’s in Florida for early workouts and expects to be a “full go” when spring training opens. Zimmermann underwent core muscle surgery in mid-October. He pitched to a 4.42 ERA in 21 Triple-A starts last season and has a lifetime 4.15 ERA in 229 2/3 innings at that level. He’s struggled to a 5.57 mark in 158 1/3 big league frames, but Zimmermann has a minor league option remaining and gives the O’s some experienced depth if injuries create an opening in the rotation.

Similarly, reliever Keegan Akin told Melewski and others that he’s “right on track” for spring training after missing the better part of three months last summer due to back troubles. Akin attempted to come back multiple times but experienced continued back issues each time. He’s since had the time to rest and rehab his way to full strength. The southpaw clearly wasn’t right in ’23, pitching to a 6.85 ERA in 23 1/3 innings, but he was a key bullpen member in 2022 when he piled up 81 2/3 innings with a 3.20 ERA, 23.4% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate and 49.3% ground-ball rate.

Assuming he’s healthy, Akin will give the O’s yet another southpaw option in the ’pen. Danny Coulombe and Cionel Perez are locked into spots after each avoided arbitration over the past week, and 25-year-old DL Hall seems likely to join them — if the Orioles don’t give him another look in the rotation. That decision could hinge on any future acquisitions; Elias said on Friday that the Orioles still view Hall as a starter in the long-term but was less clear about the southpaw’s role in the shorter term (X link via Kostka). Hall, a 2017 first-rounder and former top prospect, pitched to a 3.26 ERA with excellent strikeout and walk rates in 19 1/3 innings out of the bullpen in 2023.

Orioles, Danny Coulombe Avoid Arbitration

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6:25pm: Coulombe receives a $2.3MM salary, The Associated Press reports. That’s the midpoint of the respective filing figures. The 2025 option is valued at $4MM and comes without a buyout. Coulombe could push the option value as high as $4.925MM via escalators. The price would increase by $100K if he reaches 50 appearances this year, $50K apiece for his next five games, $55K each for his 56th-60th appearances, and $60K per game between 61 and 65 outings.

9:31am: The Orioles and left-hander Danny Coulombe have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with a club option for the 2025 season, the team announced. In doing so, the two sides avoided an arbitration hearing. Coulombe, a client of Elite Sports Group, had filed for a $2.4MM salary while the team countered at $2.2MM. He’d have been a free agent at season’s end, so the O’s are gaining an extra year of control over the southpaw with today’s agreement.

Coulombe, 34, proved to be an excellent low-cost pickup for Baltimore last winter. Acquired from the Twins in exchange for cash just days before the season began, he delivered 51 1/3 innings of 2.81 ERA ball in his first season with the O’s, striking out a strong 27.6% of his opponents against an outstanding 5.7% walk rate.

That marked the continuation of a late-career breakout that’s now seen the journeyman southpaw work to a collective 2.86 ERA over the past four seasons. It also represents a bounceback from an injury-marred 2022 campaign in which he posted a 1.46 ERA in a small sample of 12 innings with Minnesota but also walked an uncharacteristic 17% of his opponents. Coulombe missed the bulk of that season with a hip impingement but showed little to no ill effects in 2023.

Coulombe figures to slot back in as a setup man for manager Brandon Hyde, though he’ll be bridging the gap to a new closer in 2024. After star right-hander Felix Bautista underwent Tommy John surgery in October, the Orioles responded by signing free agent Craig Kimbrel to a one-year, $13MM deal. Kimbrel figures to close games for the O’s this season, with Coulombe, Yennier Cano and a healthier Dillon Tate among the current favorites for leverage spots in the seventh and eighth innings.

The option year being tacked on is significant for the Orioles. It’s relatively commonplace for teams to work out one-year deals with options of some kind even after figures are exchanged, but not necessarily with players who have five-plus years of service. Five-plus players tend to either prefer straight one-year deals or perhaps agree to a mutual option, which is largely a formality as mutual options are almost never exercised by both parties. It’s a compromise that effectively ensures the player he can reach the open market as was previously scheduled while also allowing the team to bend on a straight one-year deal that can then be used a data point in future arbitration cases. (The inclusion of an option of any kind disqualifies those agreements from being used in future negotiation of straight one-year arbitration deals.)

Coulombe, however, is older than the standard five-plus player and was perhaps more willing to surrender a free agent year as a result. He’ll lock in a salary that nearly doubles his modest career earnings of $2.89MM, and while next year’s option will surely be reasonably priced, it’ll give him the opportunity to remain in a setting where he clearly felt comfortable and where he’ll clearly have a good chance at being part of a competitive roster.

The Orioles exchanged arbitration figures with an MLB-high five players this year, but both Coulombe and fellow lefty reliever Cionel Perez have since agreed to one-year deals with options. Outfielder Austin Hays ($6.35MM vs. $5.85MM), first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn ($3.8MM vs. $3.2MM) and righty Jacob Webb ($1MM vs. $925K) are all still unresolved, but presumably the team will continue looking into similar arrangements  with that group in order to avoid a potentially contentious hearing.

Mariners Interested In Dylan Cease

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The Mariners have begun discussing a trade for right-hander Dylan Cease with the White Sox, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Nightengale suggests that the White Sox are seeking a package centered around one of Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo, Seattle’s pair of cost-controlled righty starters. There’s no indications that a deal is particularly close or even likely, with Nightengale noting that the White Sox appear likely to retain Cease through the start of the 2024 season if a deal with Seattle doesn’t come together. That sentiment echoes other recent reports regarding Cease’s trade candidacy that have cast doubt on the likelihood he changes uniforms before Opening Day.

The report marks the first time the Mariners have been connected to Cease this winter. The right-hander has been a frequent subject of trade rumors this offseason with the Yankees, Reds, Orioles, and Red Sox among the clubs rumored to have had interest at one point or another. Despite that widespread interest, teams have largely appeared to balk at the high asking price the White Sox have set for Cease’s services. A report last month indicated that the club requested a package of four of the Cincinnati’s top prospects in negotiations with the Reds earlier this winter, and Nightengale added that talks between the White Sox and Orioles regarding Cease have “stopped” at this point in the offseason.

In negotiations with the Mariners, it appears the White Sox have pivoted from their previous ask of a hefty prospect package to instead focus on big-league ready talent. It’s an understandable move for the club to make. Woo and Miller are entering their age-24 and -25 seasons, respectively, coming off solid rookie campaigns with six seasons of team control remaining. Either righty would not only be able to immediately replace Cease in the club’s rotation mix, but would give the club another long-term asset to build around alongside star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. Robert is under team control for the next four seasons.

As for Seattle, adding Cease to their starting staff would give the club perhaps the strongest rotation in the majors. Cease is coming off a relative down season on the mound where he posted a 4.58 ERA in 177 innings of work but is just one season removed from a 2022 campaign where he placed second in AL Cy Young award voting. Over the past three seasons, Cease sports a solid 3.54 ERA (121 ERA+) and 3.40 FIP with a 29.8% strikeout rate, numbers that paint him as a solid #2 starter. The 28-year-old would likely slot into the middle of the club’s rotation alongside Logan Gilbert behind ace Luis Castillo and young star George Kirby, with whichever of Woo or Miller remained with the Mariners rounding out the club’s starting rotation.

Replacing Miller or Woo with Cease in the rotation would provide the club with additional certainty in a rotation that figures to lean heavily on young players. The most experienced pitcher aside from Castillo who currently projects for the club’s starting rotation is Gilbert, who is entering just the fourth season of his career in 2024. Kirby has just two MLB seasons under his belt, while both Miller and Woo are entering their sophomore campaigns with just 25 and 18 big league starts respectively under their belts.

Cease, by contrast, has been among the most durable starters in the league in recent years with 97 starts over the past three seasons. For a team that has long valued starting pitching depth but parted with both Marco Gonzales while swapping Robbie Ray for Anthony DeSclafani earlier this offseason, bringing a durable veteran arm in place of a young player who has yet to make 30 starts in a big league season could provide the club with an opportunity to make up for the innings lost by parting with Gonzales and Ray.

On the other hand, it would nonetheless be something of a surprise to see Seattle part with one of their young, cost-controlled arms in a deal that wouldn’t address an area of greater need such as the club’s infield, where Josh Rojas and Luis Urias project to be the everyday starters at second and third base. In addition to shopping for another infielder to add to the club’s mix, the Mariners have expressed interest in fortifying their relief corps, which currently features Andres Munoz and Matt Brash as its back-end options after the club dealt closer Paul Sewald to the Diamondbacks last summer. Recent comments from president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto also seemed to cast doubt on the possibility of a deal involving Miller or Woo, as he suggested that retaining the duo was “Plan A” for their offseason.

Orioles Sign Ronald Guzmán To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles announced that they have signed Ronald Guzmán to a minor league deal. The lefty is represented by JP Sports Advisors.

Guzmán, 29, has 246 games of major league experience. He spent 2018 to 2021 with the Rangers and also had a brief showing with the Yankees in 2022, working primarily as a first baseman for those years. He hit .225/.302/.410 in his 823 plate appearances, launching 31 home runs but also striking out at a 29.2% clip.

Just over a year ago, he signed a minor league deal with the Giants for the 2023 season. It was reported in early February that he would be attempting to become a two-way player. He was apparently hitting 96 miles per hour on the radar gun around that time, as well as throwing a slider and changeup.

Unfortunately, the experiment hit a snag pretty quickly, as he left a Spring Training game with an injury. He was later diagnosed with pronator strain in his left forearm, telling Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle at that time that he expected to be out of action for about six to eight weeks. He didn’t return to official game action until August, making three rehab appearances before being released.

It appears he is healthy now, as he has recently been playing for Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League. He has played some first base, left field and made two appearances on the mound. The fact that the O’s listed him as a left-handed pitcher in their announcement suggests that they may be more interested in him for that role, though perhaps they will let Guzmán do both.

He still has effectively no experience as a pitcher to speak of, so it’s tough to know what to expect from him going forward, especially after last year being essentially wiped out by injury. But for the O’s, there’s no risk in bringing him aboard on a minor league deal to see if he can thrive in his new role with a bit of health.

Orioles Have Shown Interest In Michael Lorenzen

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The Orioles have been connected to various starting pitching targets all winter and that search is ongoing. General manager Mike Elias said so himself today, telling reporters such as Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner. Elias hasn’t ruled out a free agent addition but says the club’s farm system makes a trade more likely. In terms of free agent pursuits, Jon Morosi of MLB.com lists Michael Lorenzen as one they have shown interest in.

Pitching is a clear target area of the club’s roster. They are loaded with position players but the rotation is lacking in certainty. Kyle Gibson and Jack Flaherty each became free agents after last season and have since signed elsewhere.

Both Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez finished the year strong, but the former has less than two years of big league experience and the latter less than one. John Means will be in the mix but he hasn’t pitched much over the past two years due to Tommy John surgery. Dean Kremer should be in the back end somewhere after posting a 4.12 earned run average last year. Cole Irvin could be a factor but he struggled last year, getting moved to the bullpen and the minors throughout the year. Guys like Tyler Wells, Bruce Zimmermann or Cade Povich could factor in as well. Elias also said that DL Hall is still viewed as a starter in the long term, per Kostka, but may remain in the bullpen for the short term.

For a club that just won 101 games and is looking to compete again this year, there’s clearly room for upgrades there. They should have the ability to make any kind of move they want, due to their payroll and organizational situations. MLBTR’s Contract Tracker shows that they haven’t given a free agent a multi-year deal since signing Alex Cobb in 2018. That means their future ledger is wide open and their 2024 payroll is only at $81MM, per Roster Resource. That’s a jump from last year’s Opening Day figure but still bottom three in the league for this year, ahead of only the Athletics and Pirates.

They also have a stacked farm system, considered by many to be the strongest in the league. With that combination of an elite farm system and a clean payroll slate, the options are theoretically endless. Throughout the winter, they have been connected to all sorts of arms. That includes one of the top free agents in Aaron Nola, though he subsequently re-signed with the Phillies. It also includes the lower tiers of free agency, with guys like James Paxton and Domingo Germán having been connected to the O’s, though Paxton is now reportedly in agreement with the Dodgers. The Orioles have also been interested in trade candidates like Dylan Cease and Corbin Burnes.

Despite all of that interest, they have yet to pull the trigger on any move to address their rotation, with pitchers and catchers set to report to Spring Training in less than three weeks. Elias continues to insist that a trade is a likely path forward, though it remains to be seen if they can get anything done. The asking price on Cease is reportedly very high, with the White Sox asking for multiple top prospects. The possibility of the Brewers trading Burnes has seemingly faded as the offseason has progressed.

On the free agent side of things, Lorenzen is apparently another name they have considered. The 32-year-old spent much of his career as a reliever with the Reds but has been pursuing a return to starting work since reaching free agency. He signed with the Angels in 2022 and was able to make 18 starts and log 97 2/3 innings. His 4.24 ERA was passable in that time. His 20.7% strikeout rate and 10.7% walk rate were a bit worse than average, but his 50.2% ground ball rate was strong.

That wasn’t astounding production but a step in the right director in terms of workload. In 2023, he seemed to take another step forward after signing with the Tigers. Through midseason, he had already made 18 starts and thrown 105 2/3 innings. He had dropped his ERA to 3.58 and lowered his walk rate to 6.5%. He was traded to the Phillies and kept the good times rolling for a while. He allowed two earned runs over eight innings in his first start as a Phillie and then threw a no-hitter in his second.

From that point, things went off the rails. Lorenzen was shelled for 27 earned runs in his final 30 1/3 innings, getting bumped to the bullpen in the process. It’s fair to wonder if he simply ran out of gas. After years of working out of the bullpen, he pushed himself to almost 100 innings in 2022. After the no-hitter, which took him 124 pitches, he was at 122 2/3 innings in 2023 with a 3.23 ERA. The rough finish added almost a full run to his ERA, pushing it to 4.18 for the year overall.

Arguably, another year of pushing himself in terms of innings could lessen the late-season drop-off. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Lorenzen for a two-year, $22MM deal. His market has been fairly quiet this winter but he reportedly held a showcase for interested clubs earlier this week.

Elsewhere in Oriole news, manager Brandon Hyde says that righty Dillon Tate is healthy and looked “unbelievable” recently, per Kostka. Tate didn’t pitch in the majors in 2023, as he was diagnosed with a forearm/flexor strain in November of 2022 and wasn’t able to get healthy last year. He went on multiple rehab assignments but was never returned to the big leagues. When he was last healthy, he threw 73 2/3 innings for the O’s in 2022 with a 3.05 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 5.5% walk rate and 57.4% ground ball rate. If he is back in good form, it could be a boon for the bullpen.

Blue Jays, Orioles Have Shown Interest In Domingo German

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The Orioles and Blue Jays are among six teams that have shown interest in free agent starter Domingo Germán, reports Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post. Sanchez adds that the Mets have also checked in but casts doubt on the chance of the right-hander heading to Queens.

Germán has spent his entire MLB career with the Yankees, who acquired him as a prospect in a 2014 trade with the Marlins. At times, he looked like a key mid-rotation arm in the Bronx, yet his tenure was marred by off-field issues. After working as a depth arm between 2017-18, he tallied a career-high 143 innings over 27 appearances (24 starts) in 2019. Germán was having a productive season, working to a 4.03 ERA with a near-26% strikeout rate.

That September, MLB placed Germán on administrative leave after he reportedly assaulted his girlfriend at a charity event. MLB finished its investigation that offseason and suspended him for the first 81 games of the 2020 season. That year wound up being shortened by the pandemic, so MLB reinstated him after he missed the entire 60-game schedule.

Germán returned to the Yankees in 2021. He missed parts of the next two seasons battling shoulder issues, combining for a 4.17 ERA over 170 2/3 innings. He held a spot in the New York rotation for the early portion of last year. Germán’s start to the year was middling and he was suspended for 10 games in mid-May after failing a foreign substance inspection.

He carried a 5.10 ERA through his first 14 appearances into a late-June start in Oakland. Germán turned in a legendary performance at the Coliseum that night, throwing MLB’s 24th perfect game, the first since Félix Hernández’s outing in 2012. Germán followed that up with a 4.61 ERA over five starts in July.

On August 2, the Yankees announced they were placing Germán on the restricted list so he could report to an inpatient treatment facility for alcohol abuse. Lindsey Adler of the Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that an apparently intoxicated Germán had argued with teammates and coaches in the New York clubhouse and flipped a couch amidst those confrontations.

That ended Germán’s tenure with the Yankees. He spent the rest of the season on the restricted list. At year’s end, New York placed him on outright waivers. Once he went unclaimed, he elected free agency.

Sanchez writes that Germán has completed the requirements of his inpatient treatment and is seeking a return to the majors in 2024. According to Sanchez, his camp has received two formal contract offers (although it isn’t clear if those proposals have come from Baltimore and Toronto specifically). If he lands a major league deal, it’d surely be a cheap one-year pact.

Of the two AL East teams known to have shown interest, Baltimore has the greater need for rotation help. Aside from depth righty Jonathan Heasley, the O’s have yet to add a starting pitcher this offseason. They’re slated to begin the year with Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, John Means and likely Dean Kremer in the top four spots. Cole Irvin and Tyler Wells (each of whom worked out of the bullpen at points last year) would be the best options for the #5 job at present. The starting staff is the weakest point on an otherwise loaded roster coming off a 101-win season.

It’s unlikely Baltimore will come away from the offseason completely empty-handed. Yet they’ve thus far resisted dealing from the top of their vaunted farm system to add starting pitching via trade. While they seemed a candidate to at least play in the middle tiers of the free agent rotation market, the organization again hasn’t shown that kind of appetite for spending.

The O’s signed Craig Kimbrel to a $13MM guarantee to take the ninth inning after losing Félix Bautista to Tommy John surgery. They’ve otherwise sat out MLB free agency this winter. Roster Resource projects their 2024 spending around $81MM. That’s well above last year’s approximate $61MM Opening Day figure but puts them in the league’s bottom five in terms of estimated payroll.

Toronto took some early swings at the top of the free agent market. They’ve pivoted to the middle tiers in recent weeks, including a rotation acquisition. The Jays agreed to terms with Cuban right-hander Yariel Rodríguez on a four-year, $32MM deal last week. He’ll likely compete for the final spot with Alek Manoah, who is trying to bounce back from a dismal 2023 season. With Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos and Yusei Kikuchi occupying the top four positions, it’s unlikely they’d give Germán a look in the season-opening rotation. If Rodríguez doesn’t take them out of the market for Germán entirely, they’d probably view him as a long relief option.

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