Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles have officially lost their two star free agents this winter. Anthony Santander was always seen as the player most likely to depart since the Orioles have a tons of offensive talent coming up through the pipeline and he was coming off his career-best year. In the past, there would have been no chance that Corbin Burnes would have been re-signed, but the new ownership group allowed the front office to make a real run at retaining him. Baltimore looks worse on paper at this point in time, but there's a chance they have a higher ceiling than they've had before considering their top prospects are virtually all going to be contributors this year and the pitching staff is deeper than it's been the past few seasons.

Santander put up career numbers as a pending free agent in 2024, slugging 44 home runs with Baltimore.

A Baltimore Orioles franchise legend made his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot this year, but is not expected to be nominated and could get removed from it entirely. If a player doesn't appear on at least five percent of ballots, they do not get put on it again next year. Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter recently went through the 2025 ballot to find the players that he expects will meet that fate. Longtime Orioles outfielder Adam Jones was named one of the most likely players.

I started off the new year heading to one of my local card shows. The last couple of Colonial Heights shows have been sparsely attended by sellers and buyers so that was why I was going to skip it and just spend a Saturday at home. I've sort of stopped buying base cards at shows unless they are in the quarter and dime boxes. I did a bit of dime box diving and was able to find a few Orioles I liked but also these rookies from 2022 Topps Heritage High Numbers.

Starting pitching seems to be what everyone is focused on for the Baltimore Orioles during the remainder of the offseason, but after they signed Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano to short-term deals, it seems like they are set on that front. When it comes to their lineup, the young players seem poised to take over contributing roles, and with the additions of Tyler O'Neill and Gary Sanchez, they were able to plug the holes left by the departures of Anthony Santander and James McCann.

The Baltimore Orioles had nearly $7 million to spend in its international signing bonus pool earlier this week. Among the 22 players they signed was José Peña, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic, who took home a $1 million bonus. The O's have invested heavily in the international market the past several years, including opening their own academy in the Caribbean last year. Baltimore signed players from Cuba, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela.

The Baltimore Orioles seem ready to turn the keys over to some of their star prospects. It was going to come at some point in time during their rebuild, but when exactly all of their highly-touted youngsters would be filling out this roster at once was unknown. Following the sudden success that saw them surprisingly finish with the best record in the American League to secure an AL East title in 2023, the organization was a little hesitant to give true reps to some of the prospects coming up since this team was in win-now mode all of a sudden.

Roansy Contreras must feel like he's in a nightmare that he can't wake up from. The former Los Angeles Angels right-hander was designated for assignment again Thursday, this time by the Baltimore Orioles. On Oct. 31, 2024, the Texas Rangers claimed Contreras off waivers. The Cincinnati Reds claimed Contreras on Dec. 19, but he was again designated for assignment on Jan. 6, 2025.

The Baltimore Orioles almost made a splash free agency signing. The two sides reportedly had agreed to a multiyear contract, something that would have been the first handed to a reliever by Baltimore since 2018. Hoffman then signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, the team he initially began his professional journey with when he was taken ninth overall in the 2014 draft. Baltimore will now have to face him multiple times per season as part of an AL East rivalry.

Brooks Robinson spent his entire 23-year major league career with the Baltimore Orioles, a record in terms of longevity with only one team. While I'm personally partial to Mike Schmidt, Robinson is considered to be one of the best defensive third baseman in the history of the game and he won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves during his career.

The Seattle Mariners have bolstered their bullpen depth by signing hard-throwing right-hander Shintaro Fujinami to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Fujinami, who turns 31 in April, brings a mix of untapped potential and previous struggles to the Mariners' pitching staff.

The Milwaukee Brewers announced the signing of Elvin Rodriguez to a one-year deal with a club option for 2026.

The Ed Smith Stadium will open its box office and team store starting Tuesday, Jan. 21 for the 2025 Baltimore Orioles Spring Training season.

The New York Yankees seem determined to trade away Marcus Stroman. Last winter, Stroman was brought in to stabilize the Yankees' rotation amid some injury question marks and underwhelming stars. This time around, so many good pitchers are in front of him that New York may have no choice but to dump him. Would the Yankees consider moving Stroman within the division just to get rid of him?

The Philadelphia Phillies’ roster is nearly rounded out as Spring Training steadily approaches. Nevertheless, there’s an outfielder up for the

The Kansas City Royals have made a few key moves this offseason. India and Wiemer certainly help, but another piece certainly can't hurt. Jeff Passan of ESPN listed several veteran outfielders who remain free agents, including former Baltimore Orioles All-Star Austin Hays.

The Baltimore Orioles continued turning over the bottom of their 40-man roster on Thursday with another transaction. As shared by Roch Kubatko of MASN, the Orioles have claimed infielder Jacob Amaya off of waivers from the Chicago White Sox. The versatile infielder, who has experience playing second base, third base and shortstop, was designated for assignment by the White Sox on Jan. 8 when the team added Jose Rojas and needed to open up a roster spot. Chicago originally claimed Amaya off waivers from the Houston Astros during the 2024 season last August.

For two straight seasons, Zach Eflin has pitched his way to the front end of his team's rotation. Eflin finished just outside the top five of American League Cy Young Award voting in his own right with Tampa Bay and he made a case for the best starter moved at last season's trade deadline with his stellar stretch run in Baltimore. “He's been great for us,” manager Brandon Hyde said in September.

After a relatively successful 13-year career in the minor leagues as a second baseman in the Cardinals, Pirates and Orioles organizations, Earl Weaver began his second career as a full-time manager, leading the Orioles to a World Series title in 1970, and earning enshrinement in Cooperstown in 1996. Weaver was a minor league player-manager with the Orioles between 1956 and 1960, retiring as a player in 1961.

The Seattle Mariners have re-acquired catcher Blake Hunt in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations.

The reliever gets a $9 million salary this year and the agreement includes a $9 million team option for 2026 with a $1 million buyout. Kittredge can earn $250,000 in performance bonuses for games and $250,000 for games finished: $50,000 each for 35, 40. Kittredge gets a hotel suite on road trips.

The OKC Metro High School Sports Awards are back with a live show on June 10 at Young Family Athletic Center in Oklahoma City.

Matusz, a former first-round pick, played for the Orioles from 2009 to 2016.

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