Earlier this month, Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias\u00a0said\u00a0his team is open to signing free agents who have rejected a qualifying offer, and would\u00a0therefore cost\u00a0the O\u2019s their third-highest selection in the 2026 draft in addition to whatever the free agent would command in salary.<\/p>\n
Of the nine players who rejected the QO,\u00a0Jon Heyman of the New York Post\u00a0reports that Baltimore has shown some interest in\u00a0Framber Valdez,\u00a0Kyle Schwarber, and\u00a0Dylan Cease\u00a0(before Cease signed with the Blue Jays yesterday).<\/p>\n
In addition to qualified free agents, the Orioles have \u201cchecked in on\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0Tatsuya Imai, as part of the team\u2019s explorations of the upper tiers of the pitching market.<\/p>\n Heyman also\u00a0linked\u00a0Baltimore to\u00a0Pete Alonso\u00a0a couple of weeks ago, but now notes that the chances of a signing may have dimmed since the Orioles retained\u00a0Ryan Mountcastle\u00a0past the non-tender deadline.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean that Mountcastle couldn\u2019t still be traded or cut loose entirely if a premium bat became a realistic option for Baltimore, though Elias\u00a0said earlier this week\u00a0that the team thinks Mountcastle can rebound after a hamstring strain hampered his production in 2025.<\/p>\n Signing Alonso or Schwarber would further deepen what is already perhaps an overcrowded mix of position players in Baltimore.<\/p>\n Schwarber can play a corner outfield spot on an occasional basis but is largely a DH-only player at this stage of his career, further reducing the Orioles\u2019 flexibility in trying to find at-bats for the rest of its current players.\u00a0 A trade or two might ease up this logjam, of course, and the Orioles could then acquire pitching via the trade market rather than free agency.<\/p>\n Even if a Schwarber or an Alonso creates some questions about lineup construction, the Orioles would happily accept that as a proverbial \u201cgood problem to have\u201d<\/strong> if it means adding an elite power bat.<\/p>\n Schwarber and Alonso are also both known to be clubhouse leaders, and adding a veteran mentor to a young O\u2019s team might carry benefits beyond just what either player can provide at the plate.<\/p>\n There is a widespread belief that the Phillies will pay top dollar to re-sign Schwarber, but naturally that hasn\u2019t stopped other teams from looking into his market.<\/p>\n The Orioles join the Red Sox and Pirates as teams known to have shown interest in Schwarber\u2019s services, and clubs like the Reds and Yankees have been more speculatively linked.\u00a0 Alonso\u2019s market hasn\u2019t been as robust in terms of public interest, though the Mets remain in the mix for another reunion with their longtime slugger.<\/p>\n The Orioles have already added one prominent bat this offseason by acquiring\u00a0Taylor Ward<\/strong>\u00a0from the Angels for\u00a0Grayson Rodriguez<\/strong>, in a move that surprised some pundits since it further reduced the Orioles\u2019 list of rotation options.\u00a0 This could indicate that if the O\u2019s do break the bank on a big-ticket signing, it will be for a starting pitcher to help stabilize the rotation.\u00a0 Cease\u2019s rather quick departure from the market (and to an AL East rival) only puts more pressure on the Orioles to find another frontline arm.<\/p>\n Valdez or Imai would certainly fit the bill, albeit in two different fashions.<\/p>\n Valdez is a proven commodity at the MLB level, and is particularly a known quantity to Elias since Valdez joined the Astros organization as an international signing and then broke into the majors when Elias was still working in Houston\u2019s front office.<\/p>\n Imai is over four and a half years younger than Valdez and perhaps has more pure upside based on his results in Japan, but it remains to be seen if Imai can translate that success over to the majors.<\/p>\n The O\u2019s also don\u2019t have a long track record in signing Japanese talent, though the club did add\u00a0Tomoyuki Sugano\u00a0last winter.<\/p>\n Tyler O\u2019Neill\u2019s three-year, $49.5MM contract remains the only multi-year free agent deal the Orioles have signed during Elias\u2019 seven years running the front office, though in fairness, much of Elias\u2019 tenure was spent either rebuilding or working under some ownership turmoil.<\/p>\n David Rubenstein\u2019s purchase of the franchise in early 2024 didn\u2019t immediately lead to a huge payroll boost, though the club did ink star prospect\u00a0Samuel Basallo\u00a0to an eight-year, $67MM extension this past summer.<\/p>\n Basallo and O\u2019Neill represent the only contracts on Baltimore\u2019s books beyond 2026, and while the Orioles certainly have interest in locking up other young stars to extensions, there is plenty of future financial room for the O\u2019s to make a splashy signing (or two) this winter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Earlier this month, Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias\u00a0said\u00a0his team is open to signing free agents who have rejected a qualifying offer, and would\u00a0therefore cost\u00a0the O\u2019s… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":126128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n