Baltimore Orioles executive vice president and GM Mike Elias promised long-term extensions for players who would make up the core of a team that would compete year in and year out.
With a new ownership group, apparently willing to spend money, Birdland has been waiting for the first feather to drop and see a Baby Bird remain in the nest beyond their initial contract.
Amongst a lost season that has seen 29 players (34 total stints) land on the injured list, the Orioles have underachieved in various areas, including the win column.
Most expected Adley Rutschman to be the first Bird to roost in the nest, possibly Gunnar Henderson or even Jackson Holliday. Fans have clamored for Jordan Westburg and/or Colton Cowser, thinking that if one them signed, it might begin a trend where the new era of Birds would remain together, to win together and finish what they started.
With injuries still mounting, right-handed rookie Brandon Young started an exciting week off with a near perfect game, followed by the major league debut of outfielder and Orioles No. 3 prospect, Dylan Beavers.
The week got even more exciting when the Orioles’ No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 8 prospect, catcher Samuel Basallo, would debut and become the first Oriole rookie to reach base in his first at-bat by a hit-by-pitch.
Suddenly, excitement had returned to the nest, and the end of the season was going to have some fun times ahead.
Five days after Basallo would make his major league debut, media outlets began to report that the Orioles and the 21-year-old agreed to an eight-year, $67 million contract with a $5 million signing bonus and escalators that could make the contract max out at $88.5 million. This locks Basallo up in Baltimore from 2026 to 2033, with a club option for 2034.
The Orioles held a press conference on Saturday to announce the signing. Joining Elias and Basallo was majority owner David Rubenstein, VP of international scouting and operations Koby Perez and former top prospects and All-Stars Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson.
Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo, Jordan Westburg and many others would also fill the room. Top members of the organization and players on the field showed a unified front that also left hope for something more to come together.
“We’ve had a tradition of having players who spent their entire careers here, and we hope Samuel will as well.” Rubenstein explained to the crowd. “We’ve got a lot of other talented people on the team who we hope will ultimately want to spend their entire career here, or spend long-term arrangements with us, and we’re committed to doing more of these as soon as we can.”
Career players: It’s a nice thought, and one many fans would love to see exist in the game today. It’s rare, and unfortunately, as fans see it as a game, the players, owners and agents see it as a business.
So, as Rubenstein expresses a desire to keep players for the entirety of their careers or for long-term arrangements, Birdland wonders when the business aspect takes over.
“I don’t know what the future has to hold,” Jackson Holliday said to the media later that afternoon. “But I know I enjoy playing with these guys a whole lot in this clubhouse and would love to for a long time.”
As the core group looked on as Elias and Rubenstein spoke, they listened closely to the words, pondering what they meant, considering their own paths and what the Basallo signing could mean for the future of the Baltimore Orioles.
“We work very hard at this, and any time we think there’s an opportunity to line up and have it make sense for both parties, it’s something that we discuss and explore,” Elias said during yesterday’s press conference. “It’s never easy to push deals across the finish line in this business, so we celebrate when that’s the case.”
While Birdland will wait and see what this means going forward, the newly-extended Basallo summed up everything better than anyone else, and it also shows just how mature he is at 21.
“It feels really good and really special to have all my teammates here, coaches, trainers,” Basallo said. “I know I just got here, but having them here really does mean a lot to me. I think over the next eight years, we’re all going to try to do our best as a group to give everything that we have to try and win as much as possible.”
For Birdland, it’s an exciting time. For Baltimore, it’s the beginning of a new era, one with more promise than what has existed in a while.
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