Baltimore Orioles Finalize 40-Man Roster at Tender Deadline

The Baltimore Orioles agreed to deals with four players and tendered the remaining non-contracted players on their 40-man roster.

The Baltimore Orioles either agreed to terms or tendered every player on their 40-man roster that was eligible before Friday’s deadline.

These were players that did not have a deal in place for 2024 but were on the 40-man roster. The vast majority were eligible for arbitration.

The Orioles agreed on one-year deals with pitcher Keegan Akin, outfielder Sam Hilliard, utility player Jorge Mateo and outfielder Ryan McKenna. That allows the Orioles to avoid arbitration with all four players.

But the Orioles could still face a hefty arbitration bill.

The Orioles tendered offers to the remaining 13 arbitration-eligible players, along with any pre-arbitration players on their roster.

The Orioles could be in for a potential bill of $50 million, if the projections of MLB Trade Rumors published earlier this year are correct:

Anthony Santander: $12.7MM

Danny Coulombe: $2.2MM

John Means: $5.93MM

Ryan O’Hearn: $3MM

Cedric Mullins: $6.4MM

Austin Hays: $6.1MM

Dillon Tate: $1.5MM

Ryan Mountcastle: $4.2MM

Cionel Perez: $1.3MM

Cole Irvin: $1.8MM

Jacob Webb: $1.2MM

Ramon Urias: $2MM

Tyler Wells: $2.3MM

If the Orioles and their arbitration-eligible players cannot agree on a deal by Jan. 12, then they must exchange figures and go to arbitration. In most cases, teams will come to an agreement on a one-year salary, or an extension, before the deadline.

Several of the key pieces of the 2023 AL East winners are in line for big raises, the foremost being Santander, who is a year away from free agency. He batted .257 with 28 home runs and 95 RBI in 153 games.

Means, Mullins and Hays all have the potential to make more than $5 million in arbitration, per projections.

Mullins batted .233 with 15 home runs and 74 RBI, while Hays batted .275 with 16 home runs and 67 RBI.

Means only pitched in four games for the Orioles, going 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA. He spent most of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He and the O’s avoided arbitration early in 2022, agreeing to a two-year, $5.925 million contract that ended after this season.