Ramon Laureano

Padres Acquire Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano

By Steve Adams | July 31, 2025 at 11:15pm CDT

The Padres’ frenetic trade deadline continued today, as they bolstered their offense by trading for first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn and outfielder Ramon Laureano from the Orioles. Six 2024 Padres draft picks will head to Baltimore in return: Boston Bateman, Cobb Hightower, Tyson Neighbors, Brandon Butterworth, Victor Figueroa and Tanner Smith.

O’Hearn and Laureano stood as two of the more obvious trade candidates on the Orioles’ roster. The former is a pure rental earning an $8MM salary in 2025, while the latter is owed $4MM this year and has a $6.5MM club option for the 2026 season. Both are in the midst of productive seasons at the plate, and both will provide noted upgrades to San Diego’s lineup.

The 32-year-old O’Hearn was acquired from the Royals for peanuts three years ago. His stock was low enough after the acquisition that Baltimore even succeeded in passing him through waivers. O’Hearn was selected back to the majors mid-April in 2023 and never looked back. He hit .289/.322/.480 that season and has now slashed .277/.342/.454 in three years as an Oriole. Along the way, he’s radically improved his plate discipline and hit tool. O’Hearn walked in only 4% of his 2023 plate appearances while fanning at a 22.3% clip. He’s up to an 11.6% walk rate in 2025 and has fanned at a 14% clip and 17.5% pace, respectively, in the past two seasons.

O’Hearn doesn’t hit lefties well, despite holding his own in 2025, so the Friars will likely platoon him to the extent possible. Adding a right-handed bat like Laureano makes that goal easier. The 31-year-old is in the midst of a career year at the plate, hitting .290/.355/.529 (144 wRC+) with 15 home runs in 290 plate appearances. He handles lefties well enough to take some at-bats off O’Hearn’s plate, but Laureano’s production in right-on-right matchups this year (.305/.368/.563) should be robust enough that he’s in the lineup on a daily basis.

The Padres can plug Laureano in as their primary left fielder and install O’Hearn at first base or designated hitter versus right-handed pitching. O’Hearn and Luis Arraez give the Friars a pair of lefty-swinging first base/DH options with plus contact skills (though Arraez is in a class of his own in that regard). Gavin Sheets likely loses some playing time as a result of this, though pushing him to the bench with Laureano and O’Hearn in the starting lineup makes for a much deeper group of hitters all around. Sheets being pushed into a limited role probably reduces the opportunities for Bryce Johnson and Trenton Brooks.

Laureano has played primarily in the outfield corners for the Orioles this season, though he’s no stranger to center field, either. He’s drawn plus marks in both corners both this year and throughout his big league career. That’s an important element of the acquisition in and of itself; the Padres have been a roughly average team defensively in left field this year, but that’s due primarily to early contributions from the since-released Jason Heyward. Sheets has seen plenty of time in left field and posted below-average marks there. Laureano should be a boost both with the bat and with the glove.

Given next year’s $6.5MM option, Laureano seems quite likely to be more than just a short-term rental. He’ll give the Padres an option in left next year — and an affordable one at that.

For a Padres club that is bogged down by major financial commitments to Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jake Cronenworth, Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish and Nick Pivetta (among others), that’s a notable perk. The Padres already have $166MM on next year’s payroll, not including arbitration raises to Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon and new acquisitions Freddy Fermin and JP Sears.

The Orioles will receive a heavy volume of lower-level prospects in exchange for the latest pair of veterans they’re shipping out. Bateman was the Padres’ second-round pick one year ago and took home an over-slot $2.5MM bonus. He’s a huge 6’8″ southpaw selected out of a California high school and has spent the 2025 season in Class-A, where he’s posted a 4.08 ERA with a 25.8% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate.

Baseball America ranked Bateman sixth in San Diego’s system. The lefty garners praise for a heater he runs up to 96 mph — which surely seems faster given the extension he can generate with his long levers — as well as an upper-70s curve with plus spin. He’ll have more work to do on his command as he continues to face more advanced hitters, and he’s still working to add a develop an average third pitch.

The 20-year-old Hightower was last year’s third-round pick by the Friars. He’s spent the season in Class-A and batted .239/.363/.314 in 190 plate appearances. BA had him eighth in the Padres’ system. Despite this year’s pedestrian output, he’s regarded as a bat-first infielder who may have to move off shortstop down the road.

Neighbors is a 6’1″, 220-pound righty whom San Diego selected in the fourth round out of Kansas State last year. He’s already climbed to Double-A and has pitched 43 2/3 innings with a 1.85 ERA, 37.6% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate in that time. Much of that success has come against younger competition, it should be noted. Baseball America calls Neighbors a no-doubt reliever with plus stuff and shaky command. He ranked 20th in the Padres’ system.

Butterworth was the Padres’ 12th-round pick last summer. The 22-year-old NC State product is having a nice year in High-A, slashing .267/.327/.455 with 11 homers, 17 doubles, seven triples and a 13-for-15 showing in stolen base attempts. He didn’t rank among the system’s 30 best prospects on BA’s most recent update. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen listed Butterworth as No. 38 among the 38 prospects he ranked in their system last month.

Smith was a 15th-rounder out of Harvard. He’s pitched out of the bullpen in the Padres’ system this year and logged a 3.46 ERA in 26 frames between the Rookie-level Complex League and their Low-A affiliate. The 6’6″ righty has missed plenty of bats but also walked 11.6% of his opponents. He’s not a ranked prospect in the system, nor is the 21-year-old Figueroa, whom the Padres took in last year’s 18th round. Figueroa is a first baseman and corner outfielder who’s hitting .318/.420/.588 between the Complex League and Low-A — impressive numbers on the surface that were primarily compiled against teenaged opposition in the low minors.

Mets Have Considered Ramón Laureano

By Leo Morgenstern | July 29, 2025 at 8:48pm CDT

8:48pm: Heyman posts that Laureano appears to be behind Robert and Mullins on the Mets’ priority list, presumably because of the positional fit. Heyman adds that a few other teams are more likely suitors in the event that Laureano gets moved.

8:25pm: With the trade deadline fast approaching, the Mets have already been linked to some big bats, namely Eugenio Suárez and Brandon Lowe, and a handful of outfielders, including Harrison Bader, Luis Robert Jr., and Cedric Mullins. Now, you can add Ramón Laureano to both lists. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported this afternoon that the Mets have “considered” trading for Laureano, as well as noting their continued interest in Robert and Mullins.

In his eighth big league season, Laureano is on pace for a career year at the plate. Entering play today, his strikeout rate (25.1%) had never been lower, his isolated power (.247) had never been higher, and his .866 OPS, 139 wRC+, and .369 xwOBA were all career-bests. As for the other half of his game, he’s certainly not going to win a Gold Glove, but his elite throwing arm helps him make up for poor range, and he can more than hold his own in a corner spot. He is no longer well-suited for center field, but he has enough experience out there that he can play the position in a pinch. Indeed, that could be one reason why the Mets are interested. With Jose Siri out since April and Tyrone Taylor struggling badly at the plate, the club has been asking Jeff McNeil to play more center field lately. McNeil is well known for versatility, but he had only played three career games in center prior to this season. What’s more, every inning that McNeil plays in center is an inning that either Brett Baty or Luisangel Acuña plays at second base, and neither Baty nor Acuña is having a strong year at the plate. It’s hard to know whether Laureano would be a better defensive center fielder than McNeil, but there is little doubt that New York’s offense would be stronger with Laureano in center field and McNeil at second base. Ultimately, neither McNeil nor Laureano (nor Taylor nor Brandon Nimmo) is a great option in center field, but without a good solution, at least it helps to have depth.

Starling Marte and Mark Vientos have both come up in trade rumors recently, and if either one is dealt, that could also allow the Mets to slot in Laureano as their designated hitter as needed. Prior to this year, it would have been strange to suggest Laureano play DH; from 2020-24, he produced a perfectly mediocre .709 OPS and 101 wRC+. However, it’s impossible to argue with his production so far in 2025. He ranks 11th among AL batters (min. 200 PA) in OPS and 12th in wRC+. His hard-hit rate, barrel rate, and xwOBA all place him within the top quartile of Statcast qualified hitters. Perhaps most impressive, the righty-batting Laureano has done most of his damage against same-handed pitching. He has a 111 wRC+ against southpaws this year compared to a remarkable 154 wRC+ against right-handers. He’s likely due for some regression against righties, but that wouldn’t be the worst thing for the Mets, considering they already rank fifth in MLB with a 115 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. Conversely, they rank 17th with a 91 wRC+ against lefties. Laureano, who has a career 122 wRC+ with the platoon advantage, could help boost that number.

While payroll is obviously not a huge concern for the Mets, they are third-time luxury tax payers in the top tier of penalties, which means there is a 110% tax on all salary they take on. So, they surely like the fact that Laureano’s $4MM contract is significantly cheaper than those of other impact bats like Suárez and Lowe. His deal also includes a $6.5MM team option for 2026, which would be an absolute bargain if he keeps hitting like he has been for the rest of the year.

Laureano is not a perfect fit for the Mets’ roster. He is primarily a corner outfielder, and the team already has fixtures in both corner spots: Nimmo in left and Juan Soto in right. Still, he’s enjoying a tremendous season, and there is little doubt that the 2025 Mets would be a better team with Laureano in their lineup than they would be without.

Padres Interested In Luis Robert Jr., Ramón Laureano

By Darragh McDonald | July 25, 2025 at 10:04am CDT

The Padres have been looking for left field solutions for a while. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that they are interested in Steven Kwan of the Guardians, Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox and Ramón Laureano of the Orioles. Their interest in Kwan was reported earlier this week.

Robert has been one of the clearest trade candidates for a while now. The Sox have been aggressively rebuilding and he’s not in their long-term plans. He’s in the final guaranteed year of his contract. There are a pair of $20MM club with $2MM buyouts. However, his mercurial production and frequent injury issues have made those seem less attractive.

He is at least in a good stretch now. In early June, he sat out a few games to focus on some adjustments to his approach. He had a .177/.266/.286 batting line at that time. Since then, he has hit .266/.349/.457 for a 122 wRC+. Even when he was struggling, he was still hitting lefties, stealing bases and fielding well. His improved offense of late won’t totally erase the memories of his slumps but it should help somewhat.

There have been some rumblings that the Sox could hold Robert and exercise the option if they don’t get an offer to their liking but that feels like an unwise path. They have already missed chances to sell him when his value was presumably higher. He had a great 2023 season but the Sox didn’t trade him at that time, when they could have felt they had four affordable years of club control. But in 2024, he was largely hurt and underperforming, which cut into his value. Holding him at that point and hoping for a bounceback was defensible, but then he his struggles carried over into the early parts of 2025.

Though he’s been better lately, he’s been inconsistent enough that it would be a real risk to hold him. It’s entirely possible that more injuries or slumps pop up in the second half, which would make it harder to justify picking up the option.

Laureano is also a logical candidate to move in the next week. The Orioles are in the midst of a disappointing season and are clear sellers. They’re not going to move controllable core pieces but general manager Mike Elias has admitted they will be looking to move guys who are “coming towards the end of their contracts.”

That should include Laureano, though he’s not strictly a rental. His one-year deal contains a club option for 2026. The O’s could keep him but he’s not a foundational piece for them, so they should be open to offers.

It also makes sense to sell him now since his career has been up-and-down but he’s been hot lately. He has 14 home runs and a .277/.337/.521 line this year, which translates to a 137 wRC+. He was sitting on a tepid .188/.216/.438 line at the end of April but has gone off since then with a .300/.366/.542 line.

For a few years now, the Padres have been dealing with a tight budget and various roster concerns. They traded Juan Soto ahead of the 2024 season, saving some money and adding rotation depth. They backfilled some of Soto’s production by signing Jurickson Profar for $1MM, which worked surprisingly well, though that also priced him out of San Diego’s range for this year.

The Friars tried to find low-cost solutions again. The first plan was a platoon of Jason Heyward and Connor Joe, who both got $1MM deals. However, both struggled and were off the roster before the end of June.

Another low-cost move is working out well. Gavin Sheets signed a minor league deal with the Padres ahead of this year. He has 14 home runs, a .253/.314/.424 slash line and a 109 wRC+. However, he’s not a strong defender in the outfield and would be better utilized at first base or in the designated hitter slot.

The trio of Sheets, Luis Arráez and Jake Cronenworth could cover first base, second base and DH if Sheets is no longer needed in left field. That would mean fewer plate appearances for Jose Iglesias, who is hitting .238/.297/.277. Tyler Wade and Trenton Brooks aren’t playing as often as Iglesias but are hitting .206/.309/.252 and .150/.190/.275, respectively.

Laureano has experience at all three outfield spots. Robert has only ever played center field. The Padres have Jackson Merrill in center, who is a strong defender. Since he’s signed through 2034, the Padres presumably wouldn’t move him for a short-term addition. Center fielders usually move to a corner spot with ease, so there shouldn’t be any real concern about Robert’s lack of experience in left.

With the Padres, the budget is an ongoing concern, as mentioned. Their offseason moves clearly showed a lack of financial wiggle room. In addition to Heyward and Joe, they gave small guarantees to Elias Díaz and Kyle Hart. They did give Nick Pivetta $55MM over four years but that deal is heavily backloaded, with the righty only making a $1MM salary this year, in addition to a $3MM signing bonus.

In addition to the financial concerns, the Padres have traded away a lot of prospects in recent years and their farm system isn’t well regarded. They have two strong pieces in Leo De Vries and Ethan Salas but all reporting has suggested the Friars want to hold those two.

It seems that president of baseball operations A.J. Preller is considering all kinds of scenarios in order to work around his constraints. Despite a questionable rotation, there have been a number of Dylan Cease rumors recently, though the Padres have also been connected to other starters such as Sandy Alcantara. It’s possible that Preller engineers a sort of musical chairs approach where he could trade Cease away for prospects or big league talent while saving some money and also bringing in other players. There have also been rumors that the Friars could subtract from or add to their bullpen.

That’s not unprecedented for the Friars. As mentioned, they flipped Soto ahead of last year for younger players, one of them being Drew Thorpe. Shortly thereafter, they used Thorpe as part of a package to get Cease. It’s possible that Preller again cooks up a number of trades that relate to each other.

Robert is making $15MM this year. About $5MM of that will be left to be paid out at the deadline, plus at least the $2MM buyout on his option. The Sox are reportedly willing to include cash in trading Robert, though that would be a way to extra prospect capital. The Padres would obviously welcome that financial arrangement but may not have the prospects, unless they get some in a Cease deal or some other trade.

Laureano is far more affordable, as he’s only making $4MM, which will leave roughly $1.33MM left to be paid out at the deadline. His 2026 club option is for $6.5MM with no buyout. If he stays hot through the end of the year, it’s possible that option looks like a good deal. In that scenario, the Padres could keep him for 2026 or flip him to another club in the winter.

The Padres have also been connected to Kwan and Jarren Duran of the Red Sox, though those are more long-shot candidates. Both of those players are affordably controlled beyond this season and their respective clubs are both still playoff contenders. Still, the Padres seem to be going over dozens of different trade permutations, so there are lots of different ways things could play out in the next week.

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

Elias: Orioles’ Trade Talks Focused On Players “Towards The End Of Their Contracts”

By Steve Adams | July 20, 2025 at 10:01pm CDT

The Orioles managed to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Rays earlier today but are still 10 games under .500 with a -99 run differential. They’re 13.5 games out of first place in the American League East and 8.5 games back of an AL Wild Card spot — with seven teams they’d need to leapfrog to get there. They already traded righty Bryan Baker to the Rays earlier in the month, and general manager Mike Elias suggested in an interview on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that further players are likely to be shipped out. The GM made clear, however, that he’s focused on trading short-term pieces and not players who are under club control well beyond the current season.

“When we’re at this point in the standings and 11 days away from the trade deadline, we’ve got to be realistic about our situation,” Elias said. “The conversations I’m having right now are more oriented toward what’s out there for some of our available major league players. We’re not blowing up the team. We think we’re going to be very good again in 2026 and have that intention. We’re not interested in changing the foundation of the team, but to the degree that we have players that interest other clubs, who are coming towards the end of their contracts, we’ve got to listen to that. That’s what we’re spending our time on now.”

Whether it’s Elias who has an aversion to long-term contracts or the two ownership groups under which he’s worked — the Angelos family sold the Orioles to a group led by David Rubenstein prior to the 2024 season — the Orioles don’t have many players signed long-term. Elias has only signed one free agent (Tyler O’Neill) to a multi-year contract and has not brokered extensions with any of the team’s young core. They have a very appealing group of young players who are still controlled via arbitration, but Baltimore’s proclivity for one-year contracts gives them plenty of players to market in the next couple weeks.

First baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn, center fielder Cedric Mullins and corner outfielder Ramon Laureano are all in their final guaranteed seasons in Baltimore. (Laureano does have a reasonable $6.5MM club option for 2026). Catcher Gary Sanchez is also on a one-year deal, although he’s likely out until September due to a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

On the pitching side of things, starters Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano are all free agents at season’s end, as are relievers Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez. Right-hander Andrew Kittredge, like Laureano, is on a one-year deal with a club option for the 2026 season. His is valued at $9MM.

O’Hearn, earning $8MM this season, is hitting .282/.378/.458 with a dozen homers. He’d be one of the best rental bats on the market. Mullins is earning $8.725MM and hitting just .218/.300/.4o5 with 13 homers and 14 steals, but he’s one of very few center field options who could be available. The resurgent Laureano is having a career-best year at the plate, hitting .276/.340/.498 through 247 plate appearances while earning just a $4MM salary.

Eflin has been out for nearly a month due to a back injury, which presumably contributed to him surrendering 17 runs in his final nine innings before being placed on the injured list. That ugly stretch ballooned his ERA all the way to 5.95, but he had a 4.08 mark prior to that stretch and is coming off a 2023-24 run in which he tossed 343 innings with a 3.54 ERA and terrific strikeout/walk rates. He’s making $18MM this season. Eflin has posted a 1.50 ERA in three minor league rehab starts, and he told Jake Rill of MLB.com yesterday that he feels like he’s ready to rejoin the rotation.

Morton’s struggles earlier this season were in many ways emblematic of the team’s struggles as a whole. He’s righted the ship after being dropped to the bullpen for a few weeks, though. While the 41-year-old righty is still sporting a grisly 5.58 ERA, he has a 3.47 mark in his past 47 innings. Morton was trounced for seven runs in his most recent outing versus Tampa Bay, but he’d pitched 51 2/3 innings of 2.61 ERA ball prior to that. Even with the ugly last start, he looks largely back on track, though his $15MM salary is another impediment.

Sugano, 35, is in his first big league season. A longtime star in Japan’s NPB, his year has been the inverse of Morton’s: a terrific start followed by an extended rough patch. Sugano carried a 3.04 ERA into June despite possessing one of the lowest strikeout rates in the sport (14.2%), but his lack of missed bats has caught up to him. He has a 7.94 ERA and has been torched for seven home runs over his past six starts (28 1/3 innings). He’s on a $13MM salary.

The left-handed Soto and right-handed Dominguez both miss plenty of bats and have shaky command, although Soto has his walk rate down to a more passable 10.1% this year. Both average better than 97 mph on their heaters, and their ERAs (3.67 for Soto, 3.72 for Dominguez) are nearly identical. Fielding-independent metrics grade them similarly as well, pegging them both in the mid-3.00s. Soto is making $5.35MM to Dominguez’s $8MM. The 35-year-old Kittredge missed the first two months of the season due to a knee procedure he required during spring training but has been solid since returning: 3.86 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate, 5.7% walk rate.

It’s not clear from Elias’ comments whether the Orioles will at least entertain offers on players controlled beyond the current season. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported last week that Elias has at least heard out other teams who’ve called on lefty Trevor Rogers and closer Felix Bautista, but that could be mere due diligence. Bautista, controlled two more seasons via arbitration, would be a particular shock if moved. The Dodgers are among the teams who’ve called, but a deal feels decidedly unlikely.

The O’s have some buy-low bats, but it’s hard to imagine anyone taking on even a portion of O’Neill’s contract when he’s signed through 2027 and hitting just .182/.270/.327. Ryan Mountcastle is an interesting buy-low option, but he hit just .246/.280/.348 before a hamstring tear sent him to the 60-day IL. He’ll begin a rehab assignment soon and could be a non-tender candidate with a poor finish, so perhaps there’s more willingness to listen there. Baltimore’s core seems unlikely to be available in any capacity, however. It’d be a true stunner if any of Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser or Jackson Holliday wound up being seriously discussed.

Orioles Acquire Scott Blewett

By Darragh McDonald | June 6, 2025 at 3:00pm CDT

The Orioles announced that they have acquired right-hander Scott Blewett from the Braves in exchange for cash considerations. Outfielder Jordyn Adams has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot. Fellow outfielder Ramón Laureano has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and takes the active roster spot vacated by Adams. Blewett has not yet reported to the team and is therefore not on the active roster yet, so a spot will have to be opened for him when he does link up with the O’s.

It was reported yesterday that Atlanta was going to designate Blewett for assignment but it seems they lined up a trade before even getting around to that DFA. Blewett played a key role in yesterday’s heartbreaking loss in Atlanta. He entered the game in the top of the eighth, with Atlanta leading 9-3. He got through that inning while allowing one run, but Atlanta got that back in the bottom of the eighth. That left them with a 10-4 leading starting the ninth. Blewett stayed in and retired the first batter of that inning but the next four reached. Closer Raisel Iglesias was drawn into the 10-7 game and it quickly became 11-10 for the Diamondbacks.

Blewett was charged with five earned runs in an inning and a third. The sting of the loss seems to have prompted a bit of a shakeup, with Atlanta calling up Craig Kimbrel from the minors. That bumped Blewett off the roster but he’s actually been having a pretty decent season on the whole.

Even including yesterday’s unpleasantness, Blewett has a passable 3.91 earned run average in 2025. His 21.8% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate are close to average while his 56.3% ground ball rate is quite strong.

Blewett is out of options but is clearly valued around the league, as he keeps passing from club to club. He started this year with the Twins on a minor league deal. He was called up in April but designated for assignment a few days later. He was claimed by the Orioles but received another DFA a few days after that. He was sent to Atlanta in a cash deal, which led to him holding a roster spot for more than a month, though he’s now on the move again.

Adams, 25, signed a minor league deal with the O’s in the offseason. He was called up to the big leagues a week ago as the O’s were dealing with a number of position player injuries. He’s essentially been used as a defensive replacement since then, getting into five games but only making one plate appearance.

A former first-round pick of the Angels, Adams is considered an excellent athlete but he hasn’t been able to handle pitching since reaching the higher minor league levels. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has stepped to the plate almost 2,000 times on the farm with a .247/.326/.377 line and 84 wRC+. He has enough speed to steal 20 to 40 bases annually and run balls down in the outfield.

He’ll now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the O’s could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. He does have one option year remaining.

Photo courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images

AL East Notes: Kim, Rays, Orioles, Red Sox, Dalbec

By Mark Polishuk | May 26, 2025 at 11:26pm CDT

Ha-Seong Kim began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham today, marking both his first official on-field appearance with the Rays organization and the first minor league game of his four-plus years in North American baseball, as Kim never saw any time in the minors when he was a member of the Padres from 2021-24. Kim underwent shoulder surgery last October, which chilled his free agent market and allowed Tampa to swoop in for a two-year, $29MM guarantee that allows the infielder to opt out after the 2025 campaign.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that Kim and four other injured Rays players (Jonny DeLuca, Jake Mangum, Travis Jankowski, Kevin Kelly) are all scheduled to be activated from the IL over the next few weeks, which might make for a bit of a roster crunch as the Rays figure out how to make room for everyone. Some holes will be created when some current players are optioned to the minors, though Topkin figures the Rays will at least check out the trade market to see if any of their surplus players could potentially draw interest from other teams.

Orioles Select Terrin Vavra

By Anthony Franco | May 24, 2025 at 12:09pm CDT

The Orioles announced that they’ve selected Terrin Vavra onto the big league roster. Ramón Laureano lands on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 21, with a left ankle sprain. Baltimore also brought up Trevor Rogers as their extra man for today’s doubleheader at Fenway Park. The O’s had two openings on the 40-man roster, which now sits at 39.

Vavra joins the roster just before the start of Game 1. If he makes it into a game, it’ll be his first big league action in two seasons. He made 67 appearances for Baltimore between 2022-23. Vavra hit .254 with a solid .331 on-base percentage, but he managed just one home run with an underwhelming .304 slugging mark. The O’s dropped him from the 40-man roster after the ’23 season.

Baltimore reselected Vavra’s contract last summer on the day of the trade deadline. He was only on the active roster for a day and did not make an appearance. The O’s briefly lost him on waivers to Seattle. Vavra’s tenure with the Mariners comprised three Triple-A games before they also placed him on waivers. He went unclaimed and has since circled back to the Orioles on a pair of minor league contracts.

The Minnesota product provides a left-handed bat and some multi-positional flexibility off the bench for interim skipper Tony Mansolino. Vavra has played more second base than any other position in his career, but he has started games at all four infield spots and in both corner outfield places this year with Triple-A Norfolk. He’s having a nice year offensively, hitting .317 across 22 minor league games. He’s out of options, so the O’s would need to expose him to waivers if they try to send him back to Norfolk.

Looking Ahead To Club Options: AL East

By Anthony Franco | May 6, 2025 at 7:29pm CDT

MLBTR wraps our division by division look at next year’s team/mutual option class with the AL East. Virtually all of the mutual options will be bought out by one side. Generally, if the team is willing to retain the player at the option price, the player will decline his end in search of a better free agent deal.

Previous installments: player options/opt-outs, NL West, AL West, NL Central, AL Central, NL East

Baltimore Orioles

Andrew Kittredge, RHP ($9MM club option, $1MM buyout)

Baltimore signed Kittredge to a one-year, $10MM free agent deal over the winter. He’s making $9MM this season and has a matching club option or a $1MM buyout for 2026. Kittredge was supposed to be a key setup man in front of Félix Bautista, but he suffered a left knee injury early in camp and required a debridement surgery. He began a rehab stint at High-A Aberdeen on Sunday. While there’s plenty of time for Kittredge to turn things around, it hasn’t been the start to his O’s tenure that he envisioned.

Ramón Laureano, OF ($6.5MM club option, no buyout)

Laureano, who was non-tendered by the Braves, signed a $4MM contract with Baltimore in February. That came with a $6.5MM team option without a buyout, giving the Orioles an extra season of club control. Injuries to Tyler O’Neill and Colton Cowser have pressed him into everyday work, mostly in left field. He hasn’t provided much through his first 24 games. Laureano is hitting .185 with a .237 on-base percentage through 59 plate appearances. He has hit a trio of home runs but struck out 18 times while drawing only four walks. Laureano has generally been a below-average hitter since being suspended following a positive PED test in 2021. He’ll need much better production over the next few months for the Orioles to exercise the option.

Boston Red Sox

Walker Buehler, RHP ($25MM mutual option, $3MM buyout)

Buehler signed a one-year, $21.05MM free agent deal to match the price of the qualifying offer — which the Dodgers had declined to issue when he hit the market. It’s a relatively expensive pillow contract. Buehler was coming off a dismal regular season, in which he’d posted a 5.38 ERA with a career-worst 18.6% strikeout rate over 16 starts. He finished his Dodger tenure on a high note, though, closing out the World Series while pitching to a 3.60 earned run average in 15 playoff innings.

An ace-caliber pitcher early in his career, Buehler hasn’t looked the same since undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career in August 2022. His stint in Boston has gotten out to a shaky start. While his 4.28 ERA through 33 2/3 innings is serviceable, he’s striking out just 20.7% of opponents while averaging a personal-low 93.5 MPH on his fastball. Shoulder inflammation sent him to the injured list last week. The mutual option was always an accounting measure designed to push the $3MM buyout to the end of the year rather than disbursing it throughout the season as salary. The team seems likelier to decline its end than the pitcher does.

Lucas Giolito, RHP ($14MM club option, $1.5MM buyout)

Giolito signed a two-year, $38.5MM deal during the 2023-24 offseason. He negotiated an opt-out clause after the first season and hoped to retest the market after one strong year. Instead, Giolito’s elbow gave out during Spring Training and he required UCL surgery that cost him the entire season. The veteran righty made the easy decision to stick around for year two.

By exercising his player option, Giolito unlocked a 2026 option for the team. It’s valued at $14MM and comes with a $1.5MM buyout. If Giolito pitches 140 innings this year, it’d convert to a $19MM mutual option (still with the $1.5MM buyout). That’d give him a chance to test free agency if he wants. Giolito has an uphill battle to 140 frames. A hamstring strain cost him the first month of the season. He finally made his team debut last week, working six innings of three-run ball with seven strikeouts in a no-decision against Toronto. The Rangers tagged him for six runs on 10 hits in just 3 2/3 frames tonight.

Liam Hendriks, RHP ($12MM mutual option, $2MM buyout)

The Red Sox added Hendriks on a two-year, $10MM deal over the 2023-24 offseason. They knew they wouldn’t get much in year one, as Hendriks had undergone Tommy John surgery the prior August. He attempted to make a late-season return last year but was shut down after a minor flare-up of elbow discomfort. Elbow inflammation shelved him for a couple weeks to begin this season, though he made his team debut in mid-April.

Hendriks allowed two runs on three hits in one inning during his first appearance. He has rattled off five straight scoreless outings since then, albeit with four walks in five frames. His 95 MPH average fastball is solid but below the 97-98 range at which he sat during his elite seasons with the White Sox.

Note: Jarren Duran’s arbitration deal contains a ’26 club option with an $8MM base salary. He’d remain eligible for arbitration if the Sox decline the option.

New York Yankees

Tim Hill, LHP ($3MM club option, $350K buyout)

Hill finished last season with the Yankees after being released by the White Sox in June. He’d allowed nearly six earned runs per nine with Chicago but managed a tidy 2.05 ERA over 44 frames for New York. He’s out to a similarly productive start to the ’25 season. Hill has surrendered five runs through 17 1/3 innings (2.60 ERA).

While the soft-tossing lefty has managed just 11 strikeouts, his game has always been built around ground-balls. He’s getting grounders at a massive 81.6% clip thus far. Only nine of the 40 batted balls he’s allowed have been hit into the air. It’s easily the highest grounder rate in the majors. The Yankees value this skillset as much as any team, and the $2.65MM option decision is a drop in the bucket for them.

Jonathan Loáisiga, RHP ($5MM club option, no buyout)

Loáisiga is still working back from last April’s elbow surgery. The righty has generally been a productive reliever when healthy, but he’s only once managed even 50 MLB innings in a season. He’s on a rehab stint with Low-A Tampa and will need another few weeks before he’s built into MLB game shape. Loáisiga is making $5MM this season. The option has a matching base value and could climb by another $500K if the Yankees exercise it. He’d earn $100K each at reaching 50, 55, 60, 65 and 70 innings in 2026.

Tampa Bay Rays

Pete Fairbanks, RHP ($7MM club option, $1MM buyout)

Fairbanks is in the final guaranteed season of the three-year, $12MM extension that he signed before the 2023 campaign. That includes a $1MM buyout on a club option that comes with a $7MM base value. That’s a bargain for a quality high-leverage reliever, but the deal includes various escalators that could push the option price above $12MM.

The option value would climb by $500K if he gets to 125 combined appearances between 2023-25 and another $1MM apiece at 135, 150 and 165 combined outings. Fairbanks made it into 95 games over the first two seasons. He’d trigger the first $500K escalator at just 30 appearances this year and would max it out if he makes it into 70 games. He can boost the option price by another $2MM based on this year’s games finished total: $500K apiece at 25, 30, 35 and 40.

Fairbanks has never reached 50 appearances in a season because of various injuries, but he’s already at 14 games through this season’s first six weeks. Fairbanks has finished 11 of those contests while working as Kevin Cash’s primary closer. He has recorded 13 strikeouts against six walks while allowing three runs over 13 1/3 innings. The option price should remain solid value, though the escalators might eventually push it to an area where Tampa Bay would rather explore deadline or offseason trades rather than having a reliever projecting as one of the highest-paid players on the roster.

Danny Jansen, C ($12MM mutual option, $500K buyout)

Jansen seemed to be pulling away from the rest of a weak free agent catching class early last season. His production tanked from June onwards, leaving him to sign an $8.5MM pillow contract with Tampa Bay. He’s making an $8MM salary and will collect a $500K buyout on a $12MM mutual option at year’s end. Last summer’s offensive drought has carried into 2025. Jansen has only one home run with a .147/.301/.221 batting line through 83 plate appearances. He remains a very patient hitter, but the Rays would have an easy decision to decline their end of the option if he doesn’t find the double-digit home run power he showed during his best seasons in Toronto.

Brandon Lowe, 2B ($11.5MM club option, $500K buyout)

Lowe has had a rare extended run with a Tampa Bay team that is almost always willing to trade any player. He’s in his eighth big league season and in year seven of the extension he signed in Spring Training 2019. Lowe collected $24MM for what would have been his standard six seasons of team control. The Rays exercised a $10.5MM option for this year and can retain him once more at an $11.5MM price. It’s an $11MM decision after accounting for the $500K buyout.

While injuries have been a recurring issue, Lowe has been one of the better offensive middle infielders in the sport when healthy. His 39-homer season in 2021 is an outlier, but he has tallied 21 longballs in each of the past two seasons. He’s out to a much slower start this year, batting .203/.258/.305 with four homers across 128 plate appearances. The batted ball metrics are still solid, but his career-worst 20.1% swinging strike rate is the fifth-highest among hitters with at least 50 PAs.

This one can still go a few different ways. If Lowe hits like this all season, he’d be bought out. If he finds something like his 2023-24 form (.238/.319/.458), then $11MM is reasonable. It’d keep him as one of Tampa Bay’s highest-paid players, though, so there’s a decent chance he’ll be traded at some point this year. The 16-18 Rays look like fringe Wild Card contenders for a second consecutive year. They could again try to walk the line between buying and selling come deadline season.

Jacob Waguespack, RHP ($1.5MM club option, no buyout)

The Rays signed Waguespack to a restructured deal early last offseason. He’s making $1.3MM this season and has a $1.5MM club option for next year. That’d escalate to $2MM if he reaches 20 “points” this season. Waguespack would receive one point for each MLB relief appearance and two points per big league start. He has spent the ’25 season to date on optional assignment to Triple-A Durham.

Working as a pure reliever for the Bulls, Waguespack has reeled off 14 innings of two-run ball. He has fanned 15 hitters against three walks while getting ground-balls at a lofty 60% clip. It hasn’t earned him a major league call yet, but he should be up before too much longer if he keeps performing at that level. Waguespack spent the 2022-23 seasons with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan. He made four MLB appearances with Tampa Bay last year but lost a good portion of the season to a rotator cuff injury.

Note: Taylor Walls’ arbitration deal contains a ’26 club option with a $2.45MM base salary. He’d remain eligible for arbitration if the Rays decline the option.

Toronto Blue Jays

None

Orioles Sign Ramón Laureano

By Darragh McDonald | February 4, 2025 at 3:20pm CDT

The Orioles announced that they have signed outfielder Ramón Laureano to a one-year deal. It reportedly comes with a $4MM guarantee for the the VaynerSports client and there’s also a $6.5MM club option for 2026. Infielder Luis Vázquez has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Laureano, now 30, once looked like a star in the making in Oakland. But since returning from a PED suspension, he’s settled in as more of a solid role player. He had a career batting line of .263/.335/.465 and a 119 wRC+ in August of 2021, when it was announced that he tested positive for Nandrolone and had been given an 80-game suspension.

Since returning from that absence, he has slashed .230/.300/.392 for a wRC+ of 96. That includes 98 games in the 2024 season, split between Cleveland and Atlanta. He started with the Guardians but hit just .143/.265/.229 through 31 games. By the end of May, he had been designated for assignment, released and then landed a minor league deal with Atlanta.

He turned his fortunes around with that latter club, who had seen Ronald Acuña Jr. go down with a season-ending ACL tear. They brought Laureano in for some extra depth then added him to the roster when Michael Harris II hit the injured list. Laureano got into 67 games and put up a strong line of .296/.327/.505, production that translated to a 129 wRC+.

Although that was an impressive turnaround, there was also reason to suspect it wasn’t sustainable. He had a .380 batting average on balls in play during his time with Atlanta, well above last year’s .291 league average. Presumably, Atlanta was leery of that batted ball luck. They could have retained Laureano for the 2025 season via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $6.1MM salary. Instead, the club decided to non-tender him, sending him to the open market.

Even if Laureano’s offense regresses a bit closer to league average, he can still be a solid player. His sprint speed was in the 63rd percentile last year, according to Statcast, and he’s been able to swipe about ten bags per full season in his career. Reviews on his outfield defense are mixed. He has 21 Defensive Runs Saved in his career, including three last year, whereas Outs Above Average gave him -6 last year and has him at -14 for his career overall.

The O’s will also likely try to optimize his performance by limiting him to a platoon role. For his career, the righty-swinging Laureano has hit .274/.343/.460 against lefties and .236/.309/.418 against righties, leading to respective wRC+ numbers of 123 and 102. His split was even more extreme in 2024, as he had a .305/.343/.526 line and 139 wRC+ against southpaws, but a .236/.295/.393 line and 92 wRC+ otherwise.

The outfield mix in Baltimore leans left-handed, as does the lineup in general. Tyler O’Neill swings from the right side but Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad are lefty-swinging outfielders. Infielders Gunnar Henderson, Ryan O’Hearn and Jackson Holliday also swing from the left side.

Laureano will likely slot into a part-time role for the O’s. He can occasionally spell those lefties to shield them from tough southpaws or just give them a day off. He can serve as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He also gives them a bit of insurance for the oft-injured O’Neill, who has never played more than 138 games in a season and only topped 113 once.

Acquiring Laureano crowds the club’s bench mix. They have Gary Sánchez set to be the backup catcher and Ramón Urías backing up the infield. Jorge Mateo should have a spot if he’s recovered from last year’s elbow surgery by Opening Day. Laureano, Daz Cameron and Dylan Carlson are candidates for bench outfielder roles, though Carlson has options and could wind up playing regularly in Triple-A. Kjerstad could be down in Norfolk with him, if the regular outfield will feature O’Neill, Mullins and Cowser, with O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle in the first base/DH spots.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported that the O’s and Laureano had agreed to a one-year, $4MM deal. Jake Rill of MLB.com first reported the presence of a 2026 club option, with Jon Heyman of The New York Post reporting the $6.5MM value.

Five Non-Tendered Hitters To Keep An Eye On This Winter

By Nick Deeds | November 30, 2024 at 10:55pm CDT

Every year, MLB’s non-tender deadline sees clubs allow some of their players who remain under team control to test the open market early, whether it be due to an increasing price tag in arbitration or a need for additional space on the club’s 40-man roster. Previous seasons have seen a number of high-profile players wind up non-tendered, including Brandon Woodruff last winter and Cody Bellinger the year before that. Kyle Schwarber and Kevin Gausman are among a handful of other star players who have found themselves non-tendered for one reason or another during their careers, and all except Woodruff (who is expected to return to the mound next year after missing the 2024 season due to shoulder surgery) have gone on to enjoy big league success following their respective non-tenders.

While players of that caliber reaching free agency by way of a non-tender are extremely rare, plenty of players find themselves cut loose early by their clubs only to make an impact elsewhere down the line, whether as a regular in the lineup or rotation or simply as a solid contributor off the bench or out of the bullpen. With the majority of teams in the game signalling on some level or other that they hope to compete in 2025, clubs who get outbid in free agency or on the trade market this winter will surely be incentivized to try and uncover a diamond in the rough this winter as they hunt for offensive upgrades. Let’s take a look at five hitters who hit free agency following last week’s non-tender deadline and could be worth keeping an eye on throughout the coming offseason. Players are listed in alphabetical order, with their age for the 2025 season in parentheses.

Austin Hays (29)

Hays is perhaps the most surprising non-tender on this list, as he was an All-Star for the Orioles just last year and has been a reliable league-average bat capable of playing all three outfield spots throughout his career. That steady production is what convinced the Phillies to trade Seranthony Dominguez and Cristian Pache to the Orioles in order to acquire him over the summer. While he didn’t live up to those expectations in 22 games with Philadelphia down the stretch, his lackluster .256/.275/.397 slash line during that time comes with a massive caveat: Hays spent the second half of the year battling through a kidney infection that seriously hampered his ability to play, as was discussed at length in a recent article from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

Given the serious illness that afflicted Hays during his time as a Phillie, it seems prudent to examine his free agency in the context of his career overall. By that metric, the outfielder would be a valuable addition to virtually any outfield mix in the big leagues. Over his three seasons as a full-time player with the Orioles from 2021 to 2023, Hays slashed a solid .261/.313/.439 (108 wRC+) in 420 games for Baltimore. During that time, he generated 6.1 fWAR, a number that placed him ahead of a number of solid regulars during that time such as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Orioles teammate Anthony Santander. What’s more, Hays has continued to put up excellent numbers against left-handed pitching even during this year’s illness-plagued season that saw his role reduced to more of a part-time player: in 49 games against lefties this year, he hit an excellent .354/.407/.537, even better than his career line of .277/.331/.469 against southpaws. If Hays can rebound to the form he showed from 2021 to 2023, he could be a solid regular for a team with a vacancy in the corner outfield, especially one that struggles against left-handed pitching.

Ramon Laureano (30)

Early in his career, Laureano appeared to be a key piece of the Athletics’ core alongside Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Marcus Semien, Sean Manaea, and Frankie Montas. Over his first two seasons in the big leagues, Laureano hit a phenomenal .288/.345/.508 (128 wRC+) in a combined 657 trips to the plate while playing solid defense in right field. After that, however, Laureano’s career was thrown off course by three shortened seasons: the 60-game shortened campaign in 2020 and the 2021 and ’22 campaigns that were truncated for Laureano by an 80-game PED suspension. Across those three seasons, Laureano hit just .225/.310/.400 with a wRC+ of 103 and noticeably less impressive defense in the field. That lackluster production continued throughout the 2023 season, as he posted a 90 wRC+ overall between stints with the A’s and in Cleveland. His second season with the Guardians got off to an atrocious start in 2024, as he hit just .143 in 31 games before the club cut bait.

If that’s where Laureano’s story for the 2024 season ended, he’d be a fairly unremarkable name relegated to hoping for a minor league deal this winter. That’s not the case, however, because he joined the Braves lineup to fill in for Ronald Acuna Jr. after the reigning MVP suffered a torn ACL. He looked like the hitter he was earlier in his career during his time with Atlanta, hitting an excellent .296/.327/.505 (129 wRC+) in a part-time role that saw him collect 226 plate appearances across 67 games. While that performance wasn’t enough to convince the Braves to bring him back in spite of Acuna’s pending return early next year, plenty of teams could benefit from a solidly above average corner outfielder who crushes lefties (.305/.343/.526 in 102 PA this year) and puts up decent enough numbers against righties to be a passable regular.

Brendan Rodgers (28)

The youngest player on this list, Rodgers seemed to be coming into his own as a player during the 2021 and ’22 seasons. As the primary second baseman for the Rockies, Rodgers hit a respectable .274/.326/.434 (95 wRC+) while improving enough on defense to win the Gold Glove award at the position in 2022. Unfortunately, what should have been an opportunity to follow up on that strong performance was cut short when he underwent shoulder surgery in March of 2023, which left him sidelined until the end of July. He received regular playing time with Colorado upon returning, but didn’t look quite as good as he had previously. In 181 games since returning, he’s hit just .265/.314/.402 (85 wRC+). His defense has also fallen from the Gold Glove-caliber showing he flashed in 2022, with him posting relatively average defense by the metrics over the past two seasons.

While the red flags in Rodgers’s profile post-surgery are obvious, his youth, pedigree as a former top-20 prospect in the sport, and the thin infield market this winter seem likely to earn him some real consideration on the market. After all, if getting another year removed from his shoulder injury can help him rediscover the form he flashed in 2022, it’s easy to imagine him posting a strong season as a regular second baseman for a team without a clear answer at the position such as the Mariners, Yankees, or Giants. Unlike the outfielders on this list, Rodgers’s competition on the infield market is similarly flawed, with only a handful of players likely to land multi-year deals.

Josh Rojas (31)

Rojas was a somewhat surprising non-tendered, given his status as one of the Mariners’ better internal infield options headed into 2025. Evidently, the club wasn’t willing to pay a projected $4.3MM salary for his services next year after an up-and-down 2024 campaign that saw him slash a decent .204/.304/.336 (91 wRC+) overall. That slash line doesn’t tell the whole story, however, as Rojas hit just .192/.273/.301 (72 wRC+) after all the All-Star break this year. That’s an untenable slash line for an everyday player, particularly given the fact that Rojas is a rather pedestrian defender at both second and third base.

With that being said, Rojas figures to be benefit from a lackluster infield market just as Rodgers does. Over the past four seasons, Rojas has been a roughly league average hitter (97 wRC+) with the Diamondbacks and Mariners. It’s also worth noting that he stands out as a solid candidate for a platoon role; left-handed hitting infielders are somewhat scarce, and Rojas made the most of his platoon advantage by posting an above-average 104 wRC+ against right-handed pitching this year. With a lefty-mashing platoon partner or in a bench role that helps to limit his exposure to same-handed pitching, it’s easy to imagine Rojas enjoying a solid season in 2025. Another notable factor in Rojas’s free agency should be that he figures to remain arbitration-eligible next winter, meaning his next club could retain him for a second season if the first one goes well.

Mike Tauchman (34)

Tauchman is the oldest player on the list, but he’s noteworthy for being the only player here to post an above-average wRC+ in each of the past two seasons. After a brief sojourn to South Korea to play in the KBO during 2022, Tauchman latched on with the Cubs and excelled in a fourth outfielder role with the club. In 217 games with Chicago over the past two years, he’s slashed .250/.360/.372 with a wRC+ of 110 and an excellent 13.7% walk rate that even earned him a stint as the club’s regular leadoff hitter. Tauchman found himself non-tendered despite that solid production thanks in large part to his shrinking role with the club in the second half last year; the Cubs have Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, and Pete Crow-Armstrong all penciled into the lineup for regular playing time, and youngsters like Alexander Canario, Owen Caissie, and Kevin Alcantara on the 40-man roster as depth options.

That made Tauchman expendable to Chicago, but he should be an interesting free agent option for a team in need of a steady, high-OBP veteran presence in their outfield mix. While he’s a pedestrian defender at all three outfield spots, Tauchman’s ability to play a passable center field should further add to his value, and like Rojas he comes with an additional season of team control after 2025 should the club that signs him have interest in his services the following year. Just 11 clubs posted a 110 wRC+ of higher in the outfield in 2024, and 15 clubs got below-average offensive production on the grass overall, meaning Tauchman could be a relatively inexpensive fit for a number of clubs in need of outfield help this winter.

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