Reviewing a busy day of moves by the Orioles

As Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias and new general manager Jared Banner quickly try to remake the team’s roster ahead of the expected December 1^st lockout, there were some expected moves, and some that weren’t.

It wasn’t a surprise that the team declined the $7.5 million option on Ryan Mouncastle, one of the few players remaining who was in the organization before Elias came to Baltimore eight years ago.

Nor was it necessarily a surprise that Leody Taveras, who played 139 games, fourth most on the team and led all outfielders with 56 RBIs, was let go. Taveras was eligible for arbitration, and the Orioles didn’t think he was worth the estimated $3.7 million he could receive, so he joins the free-agent parade. The Orioles signed him to a one-year, $2.1 million contract a year ago.

The Orioles extended a one-year, $23.15 million qualifying offer to left-hander Trevor Rogers, who must decide by November 17^th if he’ll accept it.

MLBTradeRumors rates Rogers as the second most attractive free agent, and they see him getting a five-year, $115 million contract. The Orioles won’t be offering him anything close to that.

While Heston Kjerstad, the overall No. 2 pick in 2020, didn’t seem to have a future with the Orioles after playing in just 11 games in September, it is somewhat surprising that there was no market for him. He passed through waivers and is now a free agent.

So are catcher Yohel Pozo and right-hander Yosver Zueleta. Pozo was in just 19 games in the last two months of the season, hitting .259, and Zueleta was never called up by the team after he was claimed off waivers from the Chicago Cubs on June 28^th.

Left-hander Dietrich Enns, who had a $3.5 million option for 2027, instead receives a $125,000 buyout.

Mountcastle had a great start to his Orioles career. In the 60-game 2020 season, he hit .333 with an .878 OPS, five home runs and 23 RBIs in 35 games. He had 126 at-bats, keeping him eligible for rookie status in 2021. Because of the pandemic-shortened season, Mountcastle, who played in more than half the games, was considered a contender for Rookie of the Year and finished in eighth place.

In his first full year, Mountcastle hit 33 home runs, a record for Oriole rookies, and finished in sixth place in voting for the 2021 Rookie of the Year.

Mountcastle was the 36^th overall pick in the 2015 draft, and played shortstop and third base in the minor leagues.

It wasn’t until 2019 that he played first base and the outfield. He continued at first and left field in 2020 and 2021 with the Orioles, and moved to first fulltime in 2022. ‘

Mountcastle’s home run and RBI total dropped each year from 2022-2026 as he battled both injuries and the left-field fence, which was moved out ahead of the 2022 season and closer to home plate head of 2025.

He missed time with vertigo, shoulder and left wrist injuries in 2023 and 2024, and in 2025, a hamstring injury limited him to 89 games. This year, he broke his left foot running out a double on April 11^th and in late July, suffered an oblique injury rehabbing it at Norfolk, appearing in only eight games.

Kjerstad’s Orioles career comprised just 117 games from 2023-2026. After myocarditis, an enlarging of the heart muscle and a hamstring injury delayed his debut in pro ball, he never displayed the power numbers expected of the No. 2 pick in the draft.

He was finally getting his first extended look in the major leagues and hitting .314 when the New York Yankees’ Clay Holmes hit him on the helmet with a pitch on July 12^th, 2024, and he never really recovered from that.

With the trades of the overall No. 1 pick in 2019, Adley Rutschman in August, and the Orioles’ top pick a year later, they’re currently left with just two No. 1 picks — centerfielder Colton Cowser (2021) and second baseman Jackson Holliday (2022) who were first-round selections.

The Orioles restored four players — right-handers Kyle Bradish and Ryan Helsley, outfielder Tyler O’Neill and infielder Jordan Westburg — from the 60-day injured list to the 40-man roster, which has 37 players.

Four players were added off waivers –right-hander Josh White (Marlins), left-hander Philip Abner (Mets), catcher Zach Morgan (Giants), and right-hander Chase Hampton (Cardinals).

Those four could have short stays on the 40-man roster. The Orioles could swap them out when they acquire other players and hope they pass through waivers, adding to their minor league stash.

With a compact free-agent market upon us, the Orioles are likely to be busy over the next four weeks, and the only logical prediction is that the projected team for 2027 a month from now will be much different from the one that ended the season in New York on September 25^th.

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