The Orioles got off to a strong start in 2024 but were only two games above .500 over their final 100 contests. They still finished with 91 wins, third-most in the American League, but their season ended in disappointment. For the second year in a row, the Orioles were swept out of the postseason in short order. General manager Mike Elias seems confident he’ll have more payroll flexibility this winter, but he’ll also be tasked with replacing (or re-signing) two of the 2024 team’s most valuable contributors.
Guaranteed Contracts
Additional Financial Commitments
- Craig Kimbrel, RHP: $1MM buyout owed on $13MM club option for 2025
Total 2025 commitments: $20.2MM
Total future commitments: $20.2MM
Option Decisions
- Eloy Jiménez, DH: $16.5MM club option for 2025 with $3MM buyout (White Sox will pay $1.5MM toward buyout)
- Seranthony Domínguez, RHP: $8MM club option for 2025 with $500K buyout
- Ryan O’Hearn, 1B/DH/OF: $8MM club option for 2025
- Danny Coulombe, LHP: $4MM club option for 2025
- Cionel Pérez, LHP: $2.2MM club option for 2025 (eligible for arbitration if club option declined)
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
Non-tender candidates: Soto, Smith, Mateo, Bowman, Rivera
Free Agents
The Orioles have money coming off the books this winter, most notably the salaries of Corbin Burnes ($15.64MM), Craig Kimbrel ($12MM), and Anthony Santander ($11.7MM). However, Zach Eflin is due for a raise, and his salary will be on the payroll from day one. Seranthony Domínguez, Ryan O’Hearn, Danny Coulombe, and Cionel Pérez could also receive raises if the O’s exercise their club options. (The same is true for Eloy Jiménez, but this team is more likely to pick up and move to Baltimore, Ireland than it is to pick up that option.) In addition, the Orioles have more arbitration-eligible players than any other team.
If the Orioles pick up all of their club options (aside from Jiménez’s) and tender contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players, that would put their player payroll for 2025 at around $105.8MM, a number that includes guaranteed contracts, buyouts, estimated salaries for arb-eligible players, and RosterResource’s $9.12MM estimate for pre-arb salaries. To put that in context, RosterResource estimates their final payroll in 2024 was $103MM. All that to say, ownership and the front office have little choice but to increase the payroll if they’re planning to improve the roster over the winter.
It’s a good thing, then, that Elias suggested he’ll have more spending power this offseason than he has in the past. He has not confirmed that the Orioles’ payroll will rise in 2025, but he told reporters (including Jake Rill of MLB.com), “I would be pretty confident that we’re going to keep investing in the Major League payroll.”
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