Baltimore Orioles Arbitration Bill Now in Focus After Tender Deadline

The Baltimore Orioles are looking at some significant arbitration negotiations now that the tender deadline has passed.

Oct 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (35) hits a single against the Kansas City Royals in the fourth inning in game two of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The tender deadline is typically the line in the sand when it comes to arbitration-eligible players. This is each team's opportunity to cull the 40-man roster of players that are unwanted either due to cost or talent.

For the Baltimore Orioles, Friday’s tender deadline represented a commitment to keeping a large group of arbitration-eligible players for the 2025 season.

Baltimore tendered 11 players that were eligible for arbitration and non-tendered just one veteran in reliever Jacob Webb. He is now a free agent.

Baltimore also came to an agreement on a one-year contract with infielder were Emmanuel Rivera, who was arbitration eligible for the first time.

The Orioles tendered on Friday included pitcher Keegan Akin, pitcher Kyle Bradish, pitcher Dean Kremer, infielder Jorge Mateo, infielder Ryan Mountcastle, outfielder Cedric Mullins, pitcher Trevor Rogers, catcher Adley Rutschman, pitcher Gregory Soto, infielder Ramon Urias and pitcher Tyler Wells.

The next step for these players and for the Orioles is to try and work out a contract before the arbitration deadline on Jan. 9. At that point, the Orioles and any remaining arbitration-eligible players without a deal would exchange salary figures and go to an arbitration hearing in February.

A deal can still be struck before the arbitration hearing, even if the arbitration deadline has passed.

Most players sign one-year deals, but some end up with multi-year deals, depending upon the team and the situation.

So what have the Orioles committed to? The exact figure won't be known until all players are signed, but MLB Trade Rumors is a good resource for determining potential arbitration amounts. The site has used a formula for 14 years that tends to be accurate.

Assuming their projections for each Orioles player are correct, Baltimore could end up paying these eleven players $45 million in contracts for 2025.

The costliest among them will be outfielder Cedric Mullins, who will be a free agent in 2026 and stands to make $8.7 million on an arbitration deal.

Two other players to watch are infielder Ryan Mountcastle and catcher Adley Rutschman. Mountcastle, who has four years of service time, could net as much as $6.6 million.

The projection for Rutchsman, an All-Star catcher who is eligible for arbitration for the first time, could make $5.8 million. The Orioles could opt to get him into a team-friendly extension that gets him through his arbitration years and gives the third-year pro some security before he is eligible to explore free agency after the 2027 season.