The Orioles have played 42 games since breaking camp at the end of spring training and so far they haven’t gone anything close to the way Baltimore expected.
After being swept by the Minnesota Twins in a doubleheader Wednesday, the Orioles (15-26) are a season-low 11 games under .500 and sporting the worst run differential in the American League at minus-70. It’s a disastrous start for a team that added seven MLB free agents for a combined $105.25 million last winter to contend for a World Series title.
Here’s a look at how each of those free-agent signings are doing so far.
OF Tyler O’Neill
Terms: Three years, $49.5 million with player option after 2025
O’Neill signed the largest deal of any Orioles free agent since executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias took over in 2018 — and the first to include multiple years. With Anthony Santander on the way out the door, they brought in O’Neill as a capable power bat with an injury history and a track record of crushing left-handed pitching.
So far, O’Neill is hitting .197 with two home runs and a .634 OPS. Dragging those numbers down are his splits against lefties; he has an .087 average and .247 OPS with no home runs. O’Neill also missed a little over two weeks with neck inflammation, which he said upon his return last weekend was limiting his head’s range of motion and affecting his swing mechanics.
When the Orioles signed O’Neill, the best-case scenario for both sides was the 29-year-old taking his opt out after the season because he played well enough to cash in next winter. It hasn’t worked out that way but, now healthy, O’Neill still has plenty of time to show what he can do when he’s able to turn his head all the way to the left.
SP Charlie Morton
Terms: One year, $15 million
No deal has been a bigger disappointment than the Orioles’ one-year pact for Morton, who has a 10.22 ERA as a starter and now finds himself pitching out of the bullpen for the first time since his rookie season in 2008. The 41-year-old was a model back-end innings eater for years but was on pace for career highs in home runs, hits and walks before being shifted to a reliever.
The loss of Corbin Burnes in free agency coupled with injuries to Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez thrust Morton into a position in which the Orioles depended on him to be a key member of their rotation. It was perhaps an unfair ask, yet nonetheless it was the one they made and he neither gave them length nor competitive outings. He averaged just over four innings across his six starts and only once allowed fewer than four runs.
Though Baltimore still hopes to get him right and manager Brandon Hyde left open the possibility of him returning to the rotation later this season, it will take a significant turnaround to justify the investment the Orioles made in him last winter.
SP Tomoyuki Sugano
Terms: One year, $13 million
The Orioles’ best move of the offseason has easily been their deal for Sugano. A legend in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, the right-hander enters his start Thursday with a 2.72 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 46 1/3 innings. He’s translated the pinpoint command and deep repertoire that made him so effective in NPB while showing no signs of decline at 35 years old.
Given the Orioles’ aforementioned shortcomings in the rotation, Sugano has been the most valuable starting pitcher on their staff by a wide margin. Not only does he lead the team with 1.3 wins above replacement by Baseball-Reference’s calculations, but the other six pitchers to start multiple games for them this season have combined for minus-2.2 WAR.
Sugano has also already proven to be a bargain at his price tag, which was relatively modest because of his age and lack of high velocity. He will have to prove his success is sustainable with such a low strikeout rate (5.1 per nine innings) but his ability to limit walks and work efficiently enough to keep his pitch count down bode well for his chances.
RP Andrew Kittredge
Terms: One year, $9 million with $9 million club option for 2026 and $1 million buyout
Kittredge has yet to pitch this season after undergoing surgery to remove cartilage from his left knee during spring training. He’s four appearances into a rehabilitation assignment and on track to make his Orioles debut before the end of the month.
Baltimore’s bullpen got off to a strong start but has started to stumble in recent weeks, in particular Yennier Cano. The setup man has allowed multiple runs in three of his past five games, escalating the urgency for Kittredge to finally join their relief corps and give Hyde another right-handed option late in games.
C Gary Sánchez
Terms: One year, $8.5 million
The Orioles brought in Sánchez to help manage Adley Rutschman’s workload behind the plate and provide some right-handed pop in the batter’s box. He was doing the former until a wrist injury sent him to the injured list April 28, limiting him to 12 games this season. Sánchez never got going at the plate, either, though he also attributed his slow start to the injury.
Sánchez hasn’t started a rehabilitation assignment and the team hasn’t provided a timeline since he was sidelined. Given Baltimore’s struggles against left-handers, any boost in that department he can provide once he does return could lead to more regular at-bats — especially if the Orioles decide to promote top catching prospect Samuel Basallo later this summer.
SP Kyle Gibson
Terms: One year, $5.25 million
Gibson signed with the Orioles late in spring training, delaying his first start of the season to April 29. He’s since posted a 13.11 ERA with seven home runs allowed in three appearances. Like anyone at the first-quarter mark of the season, Gibson hasn’t accumulated enough innings to form a substantial enough sample size to determine whether his deal has worked out or not.
However, the Orioles signed Gibson knowing that Rodriguez wasn’t going to be ready for the start of the season, and with the young right-hander still not yet throwing, they will look to the veteran to start providing some innings and putting the team in a better position to win every five days for at least the time being.
OF Ramón Laureano
Terms: One year, $4 million
While his role wasn’t immediately clear at the time he signed, Laureano has wound up being an important bench bat for the Orioles capable of playing all three outfield positions. He’s hit five home runs over his past 21 and started playing more regularly even with O’Neill returning from the IL over the weekend.
In an ideal world, the Orioles have O’Neill, Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad as their top outfield options, but Cowser’s long-term absence opened the door for playing time and Laureano has done well to take advantage.
Have a news tip? Contact Matt Weyrich at mweyrich@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/ByMattWeyrich and instagram.com/bymattweyrich.
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