Orioles stocking up on players with major league experience for camp invites

While the signings of players with major league experience to minor league contracts might not excite Oriole fans, it’s important for the team.

Each spring training, the Orioles bring perhaps two dozen players who aren’t on the 40-man roster to the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota. Some are young players who don’t have the service time necessary to place them on the 40-man roster, others are players they’ve signed to minor league contracts who hope they can return to the major leagues.

In 2023, the Orioles acquired first baseman Ryan O’Hearn from the Kansas City Royals, quickly took him off the 40-man roster and passed him through waivers. He went to spring training as a non-roster player and after starting the season with Triple-A Norfolk, has become a vital part of the team.

Last year, veteran right-hander Albert Suárez, whose signing went unnoticed, came into camp and impressed enough that he got an early call from Norfolk in April and became an essential part of the pitching staff.

Others with major league experience who were in camp — pitcher Tucker Davidson and outfielder Daniel Johnson — got brief looks by the Orioles late in the season.

Top prospects Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Chayce McDermott, Connor Norby and Cade Povich also were in camp on minor league contracts.

On Friday, the Orioles reportedly agreed on minor league contracts with two other experienced major leaguers. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported that the Orioles and outfielder Jordyn Adams had an agreement while the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported that right-handed reliever Matt Bowman, who finished the 2024 season with the Orioles, agreed on a $1.1 million contract if he makes the team, with $400,000 in incentives.

Bowman, who’s a native of Chevy Chase and studied economics at Princeton, was 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA in 15 games with the Orioles. He was the opener for the penultimate game of the season in Minnesota and allowed only one run in his first 12 appearances (13 innings). After the season, the Orioles passed Bowman through waivers, but he refused an outright assignment to Norfolk and was granted free agency.

The Orioles are the 33-year-old Bowman’s seventh major league team, but he’s appeared in more games with the Orioles than the four previous teams he’s pitched for. Bowman has an outside shot to make the Opening Day roster even though he wasn’t chosen for the Wild Card Series roster in October.

Adams was the 17^th overall pick in the 2018 draft and played in 28 games the last two seasons for the Los Angeles Angels, the team that drafted him first. He hit .176 with a home run and five RBIs in 2023 and 2024 for the Angels. Adams struck out 28 times in 74 at-bats.

It will be harder to make the Orioles as an outfielder than a reliever. The Orioles have left-handed hitters Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and Cedric Mullins, and just signed right-handed hitting Tyler O’Neill to a three-year contract with an opt-out after the 2025 season.

They also have Daz Cameron, another right-handed hitting outfielder with major league experience, on the 40-man roster.

Since the season ended, the Orioles have acquired three other players with major league experience who should also receive invitations to major league camp — infielder Vimael Machin, outfielder Franklin Barreto and right-handed pitcher Thad Ward.

Barreto hit .207 in 101 games with Texas and Oakland from 2017-2020. In 2024, Barreto hit .343 with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs and a 1.006 OPS in the Mexican League.

Machin also starred in the Mexican League, hitting .401 with seven homers and 54 RBIs and a 1.073 OPS. In 112 games with the Athletics from 2020-2022, Machin hit .208.

Ward was claimed off waivers from Washington in November and earlier this month was outrighted to Norfolk. In 26 games with the Nationals in 2023, Ward had a 6.37 ERA.

The Orioles also will invite catcher David Bañuelos to camp. He spent some of last season with Norfolk and while serving as a taxi squad catcher was hurriedly activated for a game when right-hander Tyler Wells unexpectedly went on the injured list. He flew out in his only major league at-bat.

The biggest name among the non-roster invites is likely to be catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo, MLB Pipeline’s 13^th-rated prospect, who was also in camp last season.

It’s also likely that outfielders Enrique Bradfield Jr., the Orioles’ top draft pick in 2023 and their fourth-rated prospect, and Dylan Beavers, their sixth-rated prospect, will be among the minor leaguers invited to major league camp.

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