Orioles will adjust to new role in free-agent market

In the first week of free agency, Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias joined his colleagues at the general managers’ meetings in San Antonio to meet with agents and talk about the parameters for possible trades with other GMs.

In the past two years, the Orioles moved fairly quickly to sign their free agents. In 2022, they signed starting pitcher Kyle Gibson as the Winter Meetings in San Diego began and added second baseman Adam Frazier the following week.

Last year, they signed closer Craig Kimbrel on the last day of the Winter Meetings in Nashville.

The Frazier, Gibson and Kimbrel contracts were for a year, though Kimbrel’s had a 2025 option. Kimbrel was released in September.

It’s expected that Elias will sign a free agent to a multi-year contract this offseason, something he hasn’t done in his six years with the Orioles.

The Orioles are also seen as players in the free-agent market, something that’s new. It’s not known how Elias will react to being one of perhaps many bidders to re-sign ace pitcher Corbin Burnes or slugging outfielder Anthony Santander, or to sign a starting pitcher such as Nathan Eovaldi, Max Fried, Sean Manaea or Blake Snell, names that have been linked with the Orioles.

Chicago White Sox starter Garrett Crochet is supposedly on the market, and Chicago GM Chris Getz said at the GM meetings that his team, which lost a modern-day record 121 games in 2024, is looking for position players in a deal.

The Orioles were one of the teams supposedly interested in Crochet before he was pulled off the market after he reportedly insisted on an extension to pitch in postseason games.

Elias acquired Burnes and left-hander Cole Irvin late in the offseason and continued adding to the Orioles after Grapefruit League games started. On February 28^th, the Orioles signed veteran pitcher Julio Teheran and infielder Kolten Wong, neither of whom made the team.

The biggest names in the free-agent market, particularly those with agent Scott Boras, often wait for weeks, and sometimes well into the new year before they pick their club for the next season. Burnes and Snell are Boras clients.

It will be fascinating to see how Elias plays the Orioles’ next phase of free agency. The high end of the market may not heat up for another four weeks when the Winter Meetings in Dallas begin.

What’s ahead for this week? On Monday, the finalists for the four major awards voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America will be named on MLB Network at 6 p.m.

Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser is a candidate for American League Rookie of the Year, Burnes could be a finalist for the Cy Young Award, and it’s possible that Gunnar Henderson will be a finalist for Most Valuable Player.

The Silver Slugger Awards will be handed out on Tuesday at 6 p.m. on MLB Network. The Orioles have three finalists: Henderson at shortstop, Santander in the outfield and Jordan Westburg in the utility classification.

On Thursday, the All-MLB Team, Hank Aaron Awards, the Rivera/Hoffman Reliever of the Year Awards and Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award will be named.

Henderson and Santander are two of the 10 American League finalists for he Hank Aaron Award.

Burnes, Henderson, Santander and catcher Adley Rutschman are nominees for the All-MLB Team.

Classic Era committee candidates: This week, the Classic Era Committee candidates for the Baseball Hall of Fame were announced. Eight candidates, whose primary contribution to the game came before 1980 were selected. None had Orioles ties.

Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Tommy John, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant are the candidates.

Allen narrowly missed election in the past, Donaldson was a Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues pitcher for more than 30 years. Harris played 18 seasons in the Negro Leagues.

Only Garvey, John and Parker are alive. Tiant died last month.

The selection committee meets on December 8^th at the Winter Meetings.

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