Orioles seem likely to bring back arbitration-eligible players

This week, Mike Elias marked his sixth anniversary as the Orioles’ executive vice president/general manager. During that time, he’s made over the roster, coaching and front office staffs, and consistently surprised observers with his moves.

A year ago, the Orioles sent contracts to each of their 17 arbitration-eligible players, a move that seemed to be unlikely. Earlier this month, he decided not to pick up the $4 million option on 35-year-old left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe, one of the team’s most effective relievers over the last two seasons.

The Orioles added three minor leaguers to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. One is their minor league pitcher of the year, Brandon Young, which was expected, and two who weren’t — 32-year-old career minor league left-hander Luis González, who is in his second stint in the Orioles’ organization; and right-hander Kade Strowd, who was drafted by the Orioles in the 12^th round in 2019 and, like González, has never appeared on any top prospect lists.

On Friday, the Orioles must decide whether to send contracts to their 13 arbitration-eligible players, and the easy call is to think they’ll again bring them all back.

Most of them are givens: starting pitchers Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells, catcher Adley Rutschman, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, left-handed reliever Keegan Akin, infielder Ramón Urías and centerfielder Cedric Mullins.

Left-handed reliever Gregory Soto should be a given, too. The Orioles probably will have to pay him $5.6 million, according to MLBTradeRumors.com, but he was effective after a rough start, and they sent pitching prospects Seth Johnson and Moíses Chace to Philadelphia at the trade deadline.

So should 31-year-old right-handed reliever Jacob Webb, who could be brought back for $1.7 million. Webb appeared in 60 games, fourth most on the team despite missing six weeks with right elbow inflammation.

Left-handed starter Trevor Rogers could cost the Orioles $2.8 million. That seems to be a lot for a pitcher who had a 7.11 ERA in four starts before he was sent to Triple-A Norfolk. But the Orioles gave up infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers for Rogers, and it seems hasty to give up on him.

A week ago, it seemed that Jorge Mateo was a possible non-tender, but in last week’s video conference call to discuss the new left-field dimensions, Elias brought up Mateo.

“I think he was an underrated absence for us in the second half,” Elias said. “He had a reconstructive elbow surgery. Whether he’s 100 percent full-go on the first day of spring training is still TBD, but suffice to say, he’s going to have a very full, if not 162 games, something close to that season. He’s really somebody that we’re able to plan around fully more or less in 2025, and that hasn’t changed.”

Since the Orioles have Gunnar Henderson at short, and Urias, Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg to handle second and third, the thinking was that Mateo, who hit just .229 and had an on-base percentage of .267, was expendable, but he’s apparently not–even at the estimated price of $3.2 mllion.

Mateo also can be a backup shortstop and centerfielder and is the fastest player on the team.

That leaves Emmanuel Rivera, who was picked up from Miami on waivers in late August after Mateo and Westburg were injured. He came in handy after Urías landed on the injured list for three weeks in September. Rivera hit .313 with a .948 OPS with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 22 games, and though the Orioles seem stocked at first and third, he could be insurance, and his estimated 2025 salary is just $1.4 million.

The Orioles need to find a place for Coby Mayo to play. Like Rivera, he plays the corner infield positions. But, Mayo had a rough indoctrination to the big leagues, going just 4-for-41 (.098) with 22 strikeouts.

After another review of the 13 arbitration-eligibles, the guess is that all will be Orioles after the 6 p.m. Friday deadline, but Elias is always capable of a surprise.

Henderson finishes 4^th in MVP voting

Gunnar Henderson finished fourth in voting for American League Most Valuable Player.

He trailed New York’s Aaron Judge, the unanimous winner, Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr., who received all 30 second-place votes, and the Yankees, Juan Soto.

Henderson, who was named on all 30 ballots, received six third-place votes, 16 fourth-place votes and eight fifth-place votes.

Anthony Santander finished 14^th with an eighth- and 10^th-place vote.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.