Will Orioles’ payroll rise? / MAILBAG

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.

Question: What would be your guess of the total budget for players that the new regime would be comfortable with?  I’m guessing $150 million is where the Orioles might be willing to go. From: Dan Hudson, Brookeville, Maryland

Answer: Dan, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Orioles have a payroll of $94.7 million, and the Yankees have a $301.7 million payroll, which is the third highest in baseball, behind the Mets ($331.3 million) and Dodgers ($312.7 million).

David Rubenstein hasn’t said anything about where he projects the payroll, but I would guess the payroll won’t substantially rise in 2025 because the Orioles’ highest-paid players — Corbin Burnes, Craig Kimbrel, James McCann and Anthony Santander — are free agents and may not return.

Unless the team becomes more aggressive in the free-agent market and extends some of the current players, I don’t think the payroll rises much. Under the new regime, it’s likely the team will be more aggressive in free agency, but until the current group of young players becomes eligible for arbitration in a year or two, the payroll isn’t likely to come close to $150 million. I could see that happening in 2026 or 2027. 

Question: Just wondering what’s going on with Coby Mayo? Seems like he’s the only ranked player who hasn’t been called up as of yet. From: Don Fazio

Answer: Don, Mayo fractured a rib running into a dugout and hasn’t played since May 16^th. Mike Elias said a few weeks ago that Mayo was making progress and should be playing again soon.