The MLB offseason is underway as another deadline has hit its mark.
Today was the deadline for players to be either tendered a contract or non-tendered. But before we start breaking down what happened, let’s talk about what this deadline is.
Players with less than six years of service time at the major league level while under club control must be given either a mutually agreed up contract for the upcoming season or a tendered contract that goes for arbitration. If they are considered non-tendered, then that player will enter the free agency pool.
Heading into today, the Orioles had 13 players who were up for this deadline. In the end, 11 players were given tendered contracts, one player agreed on a contract and one player was non-tendered.
Let’s dive into the decisions made by the Orioles front office.
11 players tendered
The 11 players who were tendered contracts today are:
- LHP Keegan Akin
- RHP Kyle Bradish
- RHP Dean Kremer
- INF Jorge Mateo
- INF Ryan Mountcastle
- OF Cedric Mullins
- LHP Trevor Rogers
- C Adley Rutschman
- LHP Gregory Soto
- INF Ramón Urías
- RHP Tyler Wells
The predominant player to get tendered a contract is catcher Adley Rutschman. Despite the down season, Rutschman still put together a 19-home-run and 21-double season while collecting 79 RBIs.
Cedric Mullins was another key tender for his defensive glove, solid contact with 104 hits and illustrious speed, tallying 32 steals.
Ryan Mountcastle is another key tender, finishing as a 2024 Gold Glove finalist. While he only had 13 home runs, we should see more with the left field wall moving back in a bit next season.
Both Jorge Mateo and Ramón Urías are being brought back in the infield. Urías brings a Gold Glove Award and sneaky power to the third base position, and Mateo brings lightning fast speed and a cannon of an arm to the middle infield positions.
As for the pitchers, Dean Kremer is coming back after having a season where he held opponents to the lowest batting average since 2020 (.223).
Former CY Young candidate Kyle Bradish, who is coming back from Tommy John that sidelined him for a majority of the 2024 season, will hope to be back in the mix sometime after the All-Star break.
Tyler Wells is in the same boat as Bradish, as he was sidelined for the majority of the season with UCL surgery and looks to come back healthy sometime next season.
Gregory Soto, who was acquired at the 2024 trade deadline, showed potential, having an ERA of two in the month of September. The other left-hander in Keegan Akin had a career-high 97 strikeouts and held batters to a career-low .193 batting average.
The O’s also brought back left-hander Trevor Rogers, who was also acquired at the deadline. Despite his bad start, he finished the season with Triple-A Norfolk, holding batters to a .236 average while with the Tides.
One player mutually agreed to a contract
Only one player was given a mutually agreed contract, and it was utility player Emmanuel Rivera. This contract is a one-year, $1 million dollar deal to avoid arbitration.
Rivera earned this contract after his stint with the Orioles during the 2024 season after injuries took out both Jordan Westburg and Ramón Urías for an extended period.
Rivera played 27 games as an Oriole and slashed .313/.370/.578 with a .948 OPS. He collected 20 total hits, three doubles, a triple and four home runs while knocking in 14 RBIs.
Rivera is likely brought back as a depth piece, either on the O’s bench or as a starter in Triple-A Norfolk.
One player was non-tendered
After 12 players came back, one player would not be returning next season, right-hander Jacob Webb.
Webb’s 2024 season was solid to start until he went down with a right elbow injury in August and was out of action for a little over a month.
Webb pitched in 60 games last season and carried a 3.02 ERA in a career-high 56.2 innings of work. He gave up 40 hits, 19 earned runs, 27 walks and struck out a career-high 58 batters.
What are your thoughts on the roster moves made today? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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