BALTIMORE — After spending the first seven seasons of his MLB career with Tampa Bay, Andrew Kittredge has a strong knowledge of the recent history between the Rays and Orioles, a pair of American League East rivals.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think it was in 2021, when I was with Tampa, we won 18 out of 19 against the Orioles,\u201d Kittredge said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s correct. The rebuilding O\u2019s had their share of struggles with the Rays that season.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then, two years later, they\u2019ve got the best record in the American League,\u201d Kittredge said.<\/p>\n
Get Orioles tickets for the 2025 season<\/strong><\/p>\n Also correct. Baltimore went an AL-best 101-61 while winning the AL East in 2023, and it has won an AL-high 192 games over the past two seasons.<\/p>\n That success is why Kittredge is looking forward to joining the Orioles, who signed the 34-year-old right-hander to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $10 million on Jan. 13. On Tuesday, Kittredge expressed his excitement during an introductory Zoom call with the media.<\/p>\n \u201cPretty cool to watch the turnaround that the organization has made, and just competing for the American League every year,\u201d Kittredge said. \u201cHopefully, this year, we\u2019re competing for the American League again, and then beyond that.\u201dKittredge had already thought Baltimore was a good landing spot for him earlier this month, hence why he signed the contract (which features a club option for 2026). Then, he heard more positive things about the O\u2019s from a fellow pitcher.<\/em><\/p>\n Veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson, who played for the Orioles in 2023, contacted Kittredge, his Cardinals teammate in \u201824, shortly after the news broke.<\/p>\n \u201cHe reached out, congratulating me on the deal, and had nothing but great things to say about the organization,\u201d Kittredge said. \u201cI was excited hearing from someone who\u2019s been here recently, to kind of know that the clubhouse is in a good spot and there\u2019s a strong desire to win here, and there\u2019s an expectation to win here. A lot to be really excited about.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n There\u2019s plenty for the O\u2019s to be excited about as well. Kittredge is coming off an impressive 2024 campaign in which he recorded a 2.80 ERA in 70 2\/3 innings over a career-high 74 appearances for St. Louis. He\u2019s also a former All-Star, earning a nod in \u201821, when he set career bests in ERA (1.88), innings pitched (71 2\/3) and WHIP (0.98).<\/p>\n The back end of Baltimore\u2019s bullpen should feature returning All-Star closer F\u00e9lix Bautista — who missed all of last season following Tommy John surgery — and a trio of right-handed setup men in Yennier Cano, Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez and Kittredge. The top options from the left side will be Keegan Akin, Cionel P\u00e9rez and Gregory Soto.<\/p>\n \u201cI did talk to [manager] Brandon [Hyde] a little bit, and I think there’s just a lot of excitement for the bullpen in general, the arms that we’re going to have down there,\u201d Kittredge said.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve always kind of just had the attitude of, \u2018Use me where you want to, and I’ll try to do my best to be ready in any situation.\u2019 I expect to be in the mix there late in games, but also, I’m willing to do whatever is needed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Kittredge\u2019s predominant pitch is his slider, which he threw 49.4% of the time last year. He also has a sinker (37.5%) and a four-seam fastball (12.5%) that he plays off his breaking offering.<\/p>\n The results have been sensational. According to Baseball Savant, Kittredge\u2019s chase rate has ranked in the 100th percentile in MLB three times — 2019, \u201821 and \u201824. Those are also the three seasons in which he\u2019s thrown at least 49 2\/3 innings during his big league career.<\/p>\n \u201cI trust that [the slider\u2019s] going to be there even more so than the sinker. So when in doubt, that\u2019s what I want to get beat with,\u201d Kittredge said. \u201cI think they pair really well together.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Much like the O\u2019s and Kittredge, who is eager to get going (and start winning) with his new club.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this point in my career, I want to win. I want to contend,\u201d Kittredge said. \u201cAnd this was a really good opportunity for me to do that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BALTIMORE — After spending the first seven seasons of his MLB career with Tampa Bay, Andrew Kittredge has a strong knowledge of the recent history between the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":28206,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n