Baltimore Orioles Avoid Arbitration by Shelling Out New Contracts
The Baltimore Orioles made steady work of getting deals done with their remaining arbitration-eligible players in an effort to avoid hearings later this spring.
The Orioles had a long list of players to deal with, 13 in all. That was after reaching deals with four arbitration-eligible players earlier this offseason — Jorge Mateo, Keegan Akin, Sam Hilliard and Ryan McKenna.
The players the Orioles were dealing with on Thursday varied in service time and age, but all had not reached the required six years of service time in order to become a free agent.
Per reports from MLB Network, MASN, FanSided and MLB.com, most of the Orioles’ arbitration-eligible players were signed by Thursday’s deadline. For any that are not signed, the players and the team will have to trade figures and go to a hearing in Arizona later this offseason.
Outfielder Anthony Santander, who is in his final year or arbitration before hitting free agency, landed an $11.7 million deal. Santander batted .257 with 28 home runs and 95 RBI in last season.
Another outfielder, Cedric Mullins, reportedly got a $6.325 million deal. Mullins batted .233/.305/.416/.721 with 15 home runs and 74 RBI.
Pitcher John Means signed one of the first deals of the day, getting $3.325 million. He spent most of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery but should be a full-go for 2024.
First baseman Ryan Mountcastle agreed to a $4.137 million deal after a 2023 in which he batted .270 with 18 home runs and 68 RBI. He was in his first year of arbitration.
Other reported figures included Ramón Urías with $2.1 million, Cole Irvin with $2 million, Tyler Wells with $1.9625 million and Dillon Tate with $1.5 million.
Five players did not get deals done before the deadline, per mutiple reports — pitchers Danny Coulombe, Jacob Webb and Cionel Pérez, along with infielder Ryan O'Hearn and outfielder Austin Hays.
