Wrapping up our free agent series, we have five position players we expect the Baltimore Orioles to be in on this offseason.
Pitching remains the top priority for the O’s, but if this team is serious about maximizing the window of its young core, there are certainly improvements to be made to the lineup.
There are some big names we expect the Orioles to be interested in, but we know president of baseball operations and acting-GM Mike Elias likes to use the bargain bin as well, so that will be a factor in some of our targets.
Without any further ado, here are our five free agent position players you just might see wearing orange and black in 2026.
RAMÓN URÍAS
Let’s get this one out of the way. Kicking off this list, we have a familiar face for Birdland, infielder Ramón Urías.
Urías was with the Orioles as recently as last season before being shipped off to the Houston Astros prior to the trade deadline. Last season, Urías slashed .241/.292/.384/.675 with 11 home runs in 112 games.
Our expectation is for Urías to sign a one-year deal in the $3 million range. While he is far from a needle-mover, it is a deal that makes sense for Baltimore. Here is why.
Versatility: You can never have enough roster flexibility over the course of a 162-game season. Urías is not the defender he used to be, but he provides serviceable defense at both second and third base, with the ability to play first base in a pinch. His 74th percentile fielding run value in 2025 is also a good sign that he has more in the tank defensively.
Familiar Face: Good clubhouse vibes absolutely matter in baseball, and sometimes all it takes is one guy to throw those off. With Urías, we know that is not the case, as he spent the better part of six seasons and played in over 500 games with the Orioles since his debut in 2020. We have seen some of the young guys go on record praising Urías in the past, so having him back could bring some moral.
With that being said, Urías has really only ever been a utility player in his career and was even DFA’d by the Astros this winter, despite them giving up prospects for him at the deadline. Here is our view on why that might be.
xwOBA Trends: Expected weighted on-base average is a sabermetric statistic that attempts to measure player performance based on their batted ball trends, doing its best to take luck and poor defense out of the equation and painting a more accurate picture of true offensive ability. Over the last three years, this is where Urías stacks up:
2023: .281 (9th percentile)
2024: N/A
2025: .287 (9th percentile)
Urías does have a career 104 wRC+, which would suggest that he is an average to slightly above average hitter. However, he did post a career-worst 87 wRC+ in 2025, and based on these xwOBA trends, he is very likely to continue to be a below average hitter going forward.
Power Woes: In an era of baseball where hitting home runs is more important than ever, Urías is trending in the wrong direction. His most home runs in a season, which came in 2022, was 16. He has hit just 26 over the last three seasons combined, which comes out to less than nine per year. With just a 2.7% HR rate in his career, the offensive upside with Urías is not enough to warrant consistent playing time.
AMED ROSARIO (UPDATE: RE-SIGNED WITH YANKEES – ONE YEAR, $2.5 MILLION)
Next up for our position player free agency targets, we have yet another utility option in Amed Rosario.
Rosario has bounced around the league for a few years now, but he continues to be productive. In 2025, he posted a slash line of .276/.309/.436/.745 with six home runs in 63 games.
Rosario was on a one-year, $2 million contract in 2025, so his 2026 deal will likely be right in that range, which does make sense for the Orioles for a few reasons.
Versatility: We hate to be boring, but just like Ramón Urías, Rosario offers flexibility, playing second base, third base, shortstop and right field in 2025.
Speed: Another asset Rosario brings to the table is speed. Admittedly, 2025 looked a little different, with Rosario clocking in at just a 51st percentile speed and stealing just one base, so that is worth monitoring. However, in the three years prior, Rosario was 91st, 95th and 96th percentile, respectively, so we will give him the benefit of the doubt. Assuming Rosario gets his speed tool back, he could slot in as the perfect utility man for new O’s manager Craig Albernaz.
However, there is a reason Rosario continues to sign one-year deals, so let’s dive into some of his shortcomings.
Allergic to Walks: Rosario is one of the worst in the game when it comes to drawing walks. Over the last five seasons, the data is as follows:
2021: 5.3% BB rate (8th percentile) 2022: 3.7% BB rate (2nd percentile) 2023: 5.3% BB rate (10th percentile) 2024: 2.6% BB rate (1st percentile) 2025: 3.7% BB rate (N/A)
Barrel Rate Trends: If you recall from our pitching free agency articles, we touched on barrels. If you need a refresher, barrels are generally required to be hit at least 98 mph with a launch angle between 26-30 degrees, with the ideal launch angle expanding 1 degree for every extra mph (Ex: 98 mph/26-30 degrees, 99 mph/25-31 degrees, etc.).
These are relevant again because of Rosario’s inability to generate them. It is likely to do with his poor swing decisions, but here is the data:
2021: 2.8% barrel rate (8th percentile)
2022: 4.5% barrel rate (18th percentile)
2023: 3.4% barrel rate (8th percentile)
2024: 4.6% barrel rate (16th percentile)
2025: 6.0% barrel rate (N/A)
MIKE YASTRZEMSKI (UPDATE: SIGNED WITH BRAVES – TWO YEARS, $23 MILLION)
Up next in our position player free agency piece, we have a former Oriole draft pick in outfielder Mike Yastrzemski.
Yastrzemski brings experience, playing all three outfield positions, and continues to be productive at the plate, slashing .233/.333/.403/.736 with 17 home runs in 147 games in 2025.
After signing a one-year, $9.25 million contract with the San Francisco Giants to avoid arbitration last year, reports have Yastrzemski landing a one-year, $11 million contract in 2026. That timeline works well for the Orioles, and here is why.
CF experience: With Cedric Mullins officially a thing of O’s past, center field will be a position to watch for the team in 2026. It does not seem like Enrique Bradfield Jr. is close to major league ready as of yet, so expect the bulk of the work to go to Colton Cowser. Behind Cowser, it gets thin. The only other player on the major league roster with experience in center is Leody Taveras, who is a career 82 wRC+ hitter. Yastrzemski is not a natural center fielder but does have 70 games played at the position since 2023, which could help provide the O’s some cushion until EBJ is ready.
Patient: Yastrzemski is quietly one of the better platoon bats in the game, posting a 126 wRC+ against right-handed pitching in 2025, and perhaps his best offensive attribute has become his patience at the plate. He consistently draws walks, without leaving the strike zone. Here is a year-by-year breakdown of his chase and BB rates since 2022:
2022: 10.9% BB rate (83rd percentile), 22.2% chase rate (85th percentile) 2023: 11.8% BB rate (84th percentile), 20.2% chase rate (90th percentile) 2024: 8.0% BB rate (51st percentile), 23.8% chase rate (80th percentile) 2025: 12.9% BB rate (90th percentile), 22.0% chase rate (87th percentile)
Despite the promising track record, there are a few concerns we have with Yastrzemski as well.
Left-Handed: This is no fault of Yastrzemski’s, but he is another left-handed bat, which is the last thing the Orioles need more of right now. The bulk of Yastrzemski’s success also comes against right-handed pitching, which also holds true for Cowser. It would be difficult to make that platoon work. The best course of action might be to platoon Taylor Ward and Yastrzemski, as they excel against opposite handedness.
KYLE SCHWARBER (UPDATE: RE-SIGNED WITH PHILLIES – FIVE YEARS, $150 MILLION)
It is time to get into the big fish on the market, starting with one of baseball’s best sluggers, Kyle Schwarber.
The 2025 campaign was another monster season for Schwarber, as he slashed .240/.365/.563/.928 with an NL-best 56 home runs, good enough to finish second in NL MVP voting.
Spotrac projects Schwarber will land a four-year, $99.6 million ($24.9M AAV) deal with his next team, and if that is accurate, the Orioles will certainly be involved.
Schwarber has turned himself into one of baseball’s best players in Philadelphia. Here is how.
Bona Fide Slugger: You hear a lot about three true outcome baseball nowadays, and Schwarber embodies that sentiment to a tee. He has surpassed 30 home runs in each of his last five seasons, including his monster 56-homer campaign in 2025, making him an immediate injection of power for a team that finished 11th in home runs hit this past season.
Elite BB Metrics: If you watched Phillies games last season, you may have been confused as to why Schwarber, a power hitter, was frequently batting leadoff. That would be due to his ability to get on-base, a lot of the time via base on balls. For a visual, here are Schwarber’s walk rates over the last five seasons.
2021: 13.6% (94th percentile)
2022: 12.9% (94th percentile)
2023: 17.5% (99th percentile)
2024: 15.3% (99th percentile)
2025: 14.9% (97th percentile)
Obviously, signing Schwarber would be nothing short of a home run for the O’s front office, but there are a few concerns as well.
Long-Term Fit: The Orioles undoubtedly get better if Schwarber is on the team, but his fit with the roster is questionable. For starters, he is another left-handed bat, in which the Orioles already have a surplus. He is also a 32-year-old full-time designated hitter who really can not play the field. If signed, the Orioles would essentially be locking in their DH spot for the duration of the contract, which could get the organization into a similar position the New York Yankees are in with Giancarlo Stanton.
Strikeouts: The walks and the homers are great, but like any three true outcome player, Schwarber does strike out at a higher clip than you would like. In 2025, Schwarber was in the 11th percentile in K rate and the 5th percentile for whiff rate. Throughout his career, he has never finished higher than the 23rd percentile in K rate. Clearly, he more than makes up for this, but the high frequency of unproductive outs, especially for a player slated to make over $100 million, is alarming.
PETE ALONSO (UPDATE: SIGNED WITH ORIOLES – FIVE YEARS, $155 MILLION!!!)
Capping off the position player portion of our free agency series, we have yet another one of the market’s biggest bats, first baseman Pete Alonso.
Over the last few seasons, Alonso has really made a case for himself as one of the top first basemen in the game, slashing .272/.347/.524/.871 and launching 38 long balls in 2025.
Alonso signed a two-year deal with a player option after the first season with the New York Mets last year. After betting on himself, Spotrac has Alonso slated to land a four-year, $113.2 million ($28.3M AAV) deal with his next club. That is a lot of cash, but the Orioles should not be scared, and here is why.
Elite Power: Just like Kyle Schwarber, Alonso has made his money by way of the long ball, crushing at least 34 home runs in six of his seven seasons. We have seen Alonso reach the 40-homer threshold twice and even join the 50-homer club in his rookie season. We have all seen his home run derby performances as well. As mentioned earlier, we saw a huge power regression with the Orioles in 2025, so Alonso would be another great option to right that ship.
Barrel Chaser: We have already touched on what a barrel is and why they are a great indicator of high quality contact, but Alonso is amongst the best in the game at generating them. Alonso has finished no lower than the 86th percentile in barrel rate every year since 2021, including being in the 98th percentile in 2025, a promising sign that his offensive success is very sustainable.
Of course, like every player, Alonso does have flaws, which we will get into right now.
Defense: Alonso has built a reputation as a plus defender at first base. Unfortunately, it simply is not true. In 2025, Alonso was good for -9 OAA (outs above average), which was just in the second percentile in baseball. In 2024, Alonso was in just the third percentile. The only season in his career in which he had a positive OAA was in 2022, when he was at four outs above average. There has been a steady decline since.
That will wrap up our 2025 free agency series. We greatly appreciate the support that we have been shown by our readers and look forward to all of the content to come this offseason.
Which position player would you like to see in Baltimore this coming season? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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