Should Orioles’ extend upcoming free agents? | MAILBAG

Question: Has anyone considered the Orioles paying to keep the soon-to-be-free-agents Zach Eflin, Cedric Mullins, Tomoyuki Sugano and Ryan O’Hearn, because it’s not likely that the Birds can possibly replace them by clever trades? From: John Comayle

Answer: John, I would be surprised if the Orioles attempted to extend any of those players before the July 31^st trade deadline. Eflin and Sugano have struggled recently and while they’ve pitched well at times during the first three months of the season, I can see them fetching something at the deadline.

With a relatively thin free-agent pitching market, both may want to explore free agency.

It’s possible that Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Tyler Wells, all of whom are under team control for 2026, could return after the trade deadline, so maybe they could replace Eflin and Sugano.

I think the Orioles could possibly hang on to Mullins and O’Hearn and then offer them a qualifying offer for 2026, but I think trades are more likely for them as well.

Question: Why not call up Samuel Basallo when Adley Rutschman is on the injured list? From: ajs8222

Answer: Tony Mansolino talked about this at his pregame media session on Saturday, and said that he wouldn’t recommend calling up Basallo just because there was a temporary need at catcher.

He thinks Basallo needs to dominate at Triple-A before he’s called up, and while he’s hitting well and hitting for power, he still needs to catch more games before he’s ready to catch in the majors.

Rutschman could be back after the All-Star break, and I think the Orioles will go with Gary Sánchez and Maverick Handley for the time being, although that could change if Handley is out for an extended time. I think Basallo could be a post-trade deadline addition.

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.