Report: Orioles sign right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge

The Orioles are in agreement on a one-year, $9 million contract with free-agent reliever Andrew Kittredge, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

The deal, which has not yet been finalized, calls for a $1 million buyout on a 2026 option.

The Orioles signed Kittredge after a reported deal for right-hander Jeff Hoffman fell through. According to FanSided’s Robert Murray, the Orioles had a tentative agreement with Hoffman on a three-year, $40 million contract, but he didn’t pass the team’s physical. Instead, he signed a three-year, $33 million contract with Toronto on Friday.

Kittredge, who will turn 35 on March 17^th, is familiar to the Orioles from his seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, where the right-hander pitched against them 25 times.

Last season, Kittredge was with the St. Louis Cardinals and was 5-5 with a save and a 2.80 ERA in 74 games.

In his eight-season major league career, Kittredge is 23-12 with 16 saves and a 3.44 ERA. He was an American League All-Star in 2021 when he was 9-3 with a 1.88 ERA and eight saves in 57 games with Tampa Bay.

He hasn’t had success pitching at Oriole Park with a 7.24 ERA in 13 games with the Rays.

Kittredge will fit in the back end of the Orioles’ bullpen along with returning closer Félix Bautista, right-handers Yennier Cano and Seranthony Domínguez and left-handers Keegan Akin, Cionel Pérez and Gregory Soto.

In just over a month, the Orioles have signed two right-handed starters — 35-year-old Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano and 41-year-old Charlie Morton, outfielder Tyler O’Neill, and catcher Gary Sánchez as free agents.

Kittredge and Morton, who signed with the Orioles a week ago, were teammates with Tampa Bay in 2019 and 2020.

Once Kittredge’s contract becomes official, the Orioles will need to drop a player from the 40-man roster.

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