Mailbag

Could Orioles sign multiple players to extensions? | MAILBAG

SCROLL DOWN TO READ ARTICLE

Question: Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday are all represented by Scott Boras, who has said that he wants his young, talented clients to go into free agency. How will the Orioles deal with the potentially very large salaries in 2026, 2027? It seems to me that they will have to offer these three players very large contract extensions to mitigate Boras’ modus operandi. From: Carl LaVerghetta Annapolis

Answer: That would be a happy problem to have, Carl. Other than outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who’s also a Boras client and has an opt-out after the 2025 season, the Orioles don’t have any players signed to contracts beyond this season. Relief pitcher Andrew Kittredge, whose contract is not yet official, reportedly has a $9 million option for 2026.

While the team’s payroll is currently $155.8 million, much of that money is allocated to players who will be free agents after 2025, so there’s great flexibility to sign multiple young players to extensions.

Question: At arbitration hearings, does a team attorney criticize a player in front of them? Is the player there, either physically or via video? From:  Timothy Morris, Butchers Hill

CONTINUE READING BELOW

Answer: Tim, always good to get questions from Butchers Hill, a great neighborhood. The press doesn’t cover arbitration hearings, but from my understanding, teams try not to make the cases personal, although it’s understandable that players feel that way.

It’s my understanding that it’s more of presenting cases of comparable players rather than focusing on if a player has, for example, a poor average with runners in scoring position.

Jorge Mateo is the only Oriole slated for an arbitration case this year. He’s asked for $4 million, and the Orioles have offered $3.1 million. His agent will try to make the case why he’s worth $4 million by finding examples of players similar to him, and the team will do the same. The players are present for the hearings.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.

 

Rich Dubroff

Rich Dubroff grew up in Brooklyn as a fan of New York teams, but after he moved to Baltimore, quickly adopted the Orioles and Colts. After nearly two decades as a freelancer assisting on Orioles coverage for several outlets, principally The Capital in Annapolis and The Carroll County Times, Dubroff began covering the team fulltime in 2011. He spent five years at Comcast SportsNet’s website and for the last two seasons, wrote for PressBoxonline.com, Dubroff lives in Baltimore with his wife of more than 30 years, Susan.

Share
Published by
Rich Dubroff

Recent Posts

  • Rich Dubroff

Orioles need more from their starting pitchers

In their first 10 games, the Orioles have just two quality starts, and both were…

April 7, 2025
  • Rich Dubroff

Poor defense, lack of offense equals a 4-1 Orioles loss to Royals

What happened? Cade Povich allowed four runs on 12 hits in six innings as the…

April 6, 2025
  • Rich Dubroff

Observations on what we’ve seen from the Orioles

The Orioles are 4-5 in their first nine games, and there really aren’t many conclusions…

April 6, 2025
  • Rich Dubroff

Sugano gets 1st win, Oriole bats strong in 8-1 win over Royals

What happened? Tomoyuki Sugano recorded his first major league win, pitching into the sixth inning…

April 5, 2025
  • Rich Dubroff

Henderson returns but Orioles lose sloppy game to Royals, 8-2; Hyde: ‘Pretty poor game played overall’

What happened? Gunnar Henderson played his first game of the season, going 1-for-4, making an…

April 5, 2025
  • Minors

Orioles’ affiliates Chesapeake, Aberdeen, Delmarva open season on Friday

While Triple-A Norfolk has been playing for a week, Friday marks the beginning of the…

April 4, 2025