Baltimore Orioles, All-Star Reliever Agree to One-Year Deal: Report

The Baltimore Orioles continue to make moves to bolster their bullpen with an agreement to sign a former All-Star.
Aug 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Andrew Kittredge (27) pitches during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Aug 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Andrew Kittredge (27) pitches during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
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The Baltimore Orioles have reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge, a move first reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal on Thursday.

The Orioles had not officially announced the deal. Baltimore will need to make room on its 40-man roster for Kittredge.

Kittredge would receive $10 million for 2025. That include a $9 million salary with $1 million buyout on a $9 million team option.

The 34-year-old spent last season with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he went 5-5 with a 2.80 ERA in 74 appearances. He struck out 67 and walked 20 in 70.2 innings. He also recorded a save.

He’s spent nearly his entire Major League career as a reliever, with just 15 starts among his 255 appearances. He’s been a set-up man for the most part, as he’ll enter 2025 with 16 career saves.

His All-Star campaign came in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he finished the season 9-3 with a 1.88 ERA in 57 games, which included four starts. He struck out 77 and walked 15 in 71.2 innings and had a career-best 2.4 WAR per baseball-reference.com.

Kittredge made his MLB debut in 2017 with Tampa Bay and has a career record of 23-12 with a 3.44 ERA with 273 strikeouts and 76 walks in 285.1 innings.

He missed parts of the 2022 and 2023 seasons after he had Tommy John surgery.

Kittredge will join a bullpen that is getting back a key piece in closer Félix Bautista, who missed all of the 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He was the 2023 Mariano Rivera reliever of the year, even though he missed the final month of that season after suffering the injury.


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Matthew Postins
MATTHEW POSTINS

Matthew Postins covers baseball for several SI/Fan Nation sites, including Inside the Orioles. He also covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and Rodeo for Rodeodaily.com.