Questions Facing the Orioles in the Off Season

 

The coming winter months are expected to be busy for the Baltimore Orioles as they tackle various situations that could greatly influence the future of the club.

40-Man Roster Flexibility

No Orioles player has signed a guaranteed contract for the 2022 season, so the team has an unusual amount of roster flexibility. This means a lot of major decisions will be made regarding positions for the 40-man roster, with a lot of moving parts across the team.

Homegrown Stars

For keen fans including Brandon Glickstein, every winter that the Orioles spend rearranging the team comes with new speculation regarding how the changes will affect their homegrown stars.

It would take something extraordinary for Mullins to move. However, this offseason, offers might be entertained more seriously as he is set for a raise in arbitration.

Improving Pitching

The Orioles finished the 2021 season with an ERA of 5.84, the highest in the history of the team. They came three runs away from becoming the third team to play to a run a differential of minus-300. The team had 42 pitchers, and its only free-agent – Matt Harvey – pitched to a 6.27 ERA.

However, the club did not see a single pitching prospect play at the big-league level. Whilst the young players will be involved in the mix again during the 2022 season, more will be coming.

However, the team has cut its payroll budget considerably since 2018, and the current manager hasn’t handed out a multi-year free agent contract during his tenure. There is the potential that this could change for the 2022 season, which will greatly signal the club’s intentions to compete.

Rutschman’s Arrival

Adley Rutschman is the sport’s top prospect after a brilliant first season at Triple-A Norfolk. For the Orioles, there is no roster impediment that could stop Rutschman joining the club, even if they sign Severino.

Arbitration

Anthony Santander is the player to watch during the off-season as he becomes eligible for arbitration for the second time. During Santander’s 2020 season, he gained 11 homers and an OPS score of 0.890 across 37 games.

These results are similar to those that the Orioles had from Renato Núñez, who was estimated to make around $2 million via arbitration.