Checking in on Orioles with options for 2025

As Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said, an unwelcome benefit from early elimination from the postseason is the opportunity to plan for next season. Some of the decisions that must be made not long after the conclusion of the World Series are whether to exercise options of some of the players on the 2024 Orioles.

Let’s take a look at the players and their contracts:

Danny Coulombe

Coulombe has a $4 million option for 2025 and could earn up to $925,000 more if he appears in 65 games. The Orioles and Coulombe agreed on a 2024 salary of $2.3 million and the option and incentives to avoid arbitration last January.

The 34-year-old appeared in 61 games in 2023, and the left-handed reliever missed about half this season after surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow.

He had a 2.12 ERA in 33 games and allowed only 15 hits in 29 2/3 innings and didn’t allow any of his 13 inherited runners to score.

His chances of returning seem to be excellent.

Seranthony Domínguez

The Orioles surrendered outfielder Austin Hays to the Philadelphia Phillies on July 26^th for the 29-year-old right-handed reliever, who has an $8 million contract with a $500,000 buyout.

Domínguez has various award bonuses for the World Series Most Valuable Player, Reliever of the Year, League Championship Series MVP and All-Star.

Domínguez was 0-2 with a 3.97 ERA in 25 games with the Orioles. His two losses came on game-winning home runs within three days to the Mets at Citi Field. He saved 10 games in 11 chances.

It seems unlikely that the Orioles will spend $8 million on Domínguez next season, especially with the impending return of Félix Bautista as closer.

The guess here is the Orioles will pay Domínguez the $500,000 buyout and attempt to negotiate a cheaper contract.

Eloy Jiménez

Jiménez was acquired from the Chicago White Sox in the final minutes before the July 30^th trade deadline. The 27-year-old right-handed hitter concluded a six-year, $43 million contract that he signed with the White Sox in 2019. Chicago paid the Orioles an undisclosed amount of cash to pay part of Jiménez’s contract.

He has $3 million buyouts in 2025 and 2026.

Jiménez hit .232 in 33 games with a home run and seven RBIs. In September, he was 1-for-24 (.042).

He finished the season on the Triple-A Norfolk roster and won’t be returning to the Orioles.

Ryan O’Hearn

O’Hearn and the Orioles avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $3.5 million contract with a $7.5 million option for 2025. The 31-year-old left-handed hitter could earn $500,000 more if he plays in 120 and another $500,000 if he plays in 150. He played in 142 games in 2024.

The team had a rough offensive second half, and O’Hearn’s numbers weren’t as strong after the All-Star break.

O’Hearn hit .274 with a .790 OPS in the first half, 11 home runs and 37 RBIs. In the second half, he hit .250 with a .719 OPS, four home runs and 22 RBIs.

He played in 52 games at first base, 23 in the outfield and 54 as designated hitter. O’Hearn’s best numbers came as a DH when he hit .280 with an .820 OPS, seven home runs and 27 RBIs.

Like Coulombe, his chances of returning seem to be strong as well.

Cionel Pérez

Another left-handed reliever who avoided arbitration by agreeing to a 2024 contract, worth $1.2 million with a $2.2 million option. The 28-year-old can make $100,000 more if he pitches 70 innings and $850,000 more if finishes 50 games.

The most innings Pérez has pitched in his three seasons with the Orioles is 57 2/3 innings in 2022, and he topped out with 13 games finished in 2023.

If Pérez equaled his 57 2/3 innings in 2025, he’d earn another $25,000.

Pérez had a 4.53 ERA but didn’t allow a home run in 53 2/3 innings. His September was a rough one, allowing nine runs on 13 hits and five walks in nine innings.

His return seems unlikely under those contract stipulations.

League Championship Series and former Orioles

One of the more enjoyable parts of watching the Division Series is tracking former Orioles. With the elimination of the Philadelphia Phillies (Hays) and San Diego Padres (Manny Machado), there aren’t many players identified with the Orioles left to watch.

In the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have two former Orioles, right-handers Jack Flaherty, who spent the final two months of the 2023 season with the Orioles, and Evan Phillips.

Phillips, a former Uber driver, has a 2.28 ERA and 44 saves for the Dodgers since joining them in 2021. In 44 games with the Orioles from 2018-2021, Phillips was 1-3 with a 7.36 ERA. He came to the Orioles in July 2018 in the trade that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to Atlanta.

The Dodgers’ opponents, the New York Mets, have infielder Jose Iglesias, who hit .373 in 39 games in 2020, and right-handed reliever Reed Garrett, who pitched in two games for the Orioles in 2023.

In the American League Championship Series, the Cleveland Guardians have Alex Cobb, who started one game in the Division Series against Detroit. Cobb pitched for the Orioles from 2018-2020. No former Orioles  played for the New York Yankees in their Division Series win over Kansas City.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering Orioles questions. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.