The Orioles and Atlanta are two of the clubs that are interested in free agent right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network (X link). The interest from Atlanta was previously reported.
Eovaldi, 35 in February, is a plausible fit for many clubs in the league. Given his age and injury history, he won’t be able to secure a long-term commitment. But since he’s been a consistently strong performer in recent years, he should still be in demand. MLBTR predicted him for a $44MM guarantee on a two-year deal as part of the annual Top 50 Free Agents post. Perhaps he could get a third year, but he’s not really out of any club’s price range.
Whoever signs Eovaldi will be getting a player with a checkered health history, as he’s undergone two Tommy John surgeries in his career. Many players with that distinction have struggled to continue performing at a high level but Eovaldi has been quite steady of late.
He missed the 2017 season while recovering from that second surgery, was good in 2018 but wobbled a bit in 2019. But he’s made 115 starts over the past five years with a 3.75 earned run average. He didn’t finish any of those seasons with an ERA higher than 3.87. His strikeout rate finished between 22.4% and 26.1% in those campaigns, his walk rate between 3.5% and 8.1%, and his grounder rate between 42% and 51%. Overall, it’s been 654 2/3 innings with a 24% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 46.9% ground ball rate.
That kind of performance would upgrade just about any rotation in baseball, so they each should have some level of interest, especially given the cap on Eovaldi’s earning power. The Rangers have interest in bringing him back but he’s also been connected to Atlanta, the Red Sox and now the Orioles. It seems fair to assume that several other clubs are also interested, even in the absence of explicit public reporting.
Baltimore is certainly a logical fit, given their rotation situation. Their 2024 ace Corbin Burnes is now a free agent. Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells are each going to miss at least part of the 2025 season as they recover from UCL surgeries. Trade deadline acquisition Trevor Rogers struggled after being acquired and was quickly demoted to the minor leagues.
The current rotation nucleus consists of Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer. Rogers could jump in there if he gets back on track next year. Albert Suárez just wrapped up a solid year in a swing role, but since he’s a 35-year-old journeyman, the O’s would probably prefer to add some arms and bump him back into that sixth or seventh starter slot. Chayce McDermott and Cade Povich made their major league debuts in 2024 but without fully cementing themselves as viable big leaguers.
In short, the club could certainly do with an upgrade or two. The big question for the O’s is what kind of approach they will take this winter. It’s been almost seven years since the Orioles have given out a multi-year deal to a free agent, as shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker. The last time they did so was a four-year deal for Alex Cobb back in March of 2018. After that, the club went into a lengthy rebuilding process and then was up for sale. David Rubenstein bought the club from the Angelos family, though that sale wasn’t complete until the spring of 2024.
That makes the O’s hard to predict this winter, as it will be the first offseason of the Rubenstein era. There are some signs that greater spending will be possible. The club took on some notable money at the deadline by acquiring Eflin and Seranthony Domínguez. Eflin is making $18MM in 2025 while Dominguez had an $8MM club option that the O’s eventually picked up. A couple of weeks ago, general manager Mike Elias said that “the whole spectrum” of pitching upgrades were being considered. He went on to thank ownership for making all possibilities viable but also cautioned that the O’s wouldn’t be spending money just for the sake of it.
Reading the tea leaves, it seems fair to expect something more aggressive than they’ve done in recent years, though that could come in many forms. Burnes is still available and is lined up to secure a deal well into nine-figure territory. He and Blake Snell were the top two names available but Snell has reportedly agreed to a five-year deal with the Dodgers, a guarantee of $182MM but with deferreals dropping the net present value into the $160-165MM range. Max Fried is also likely to end up with nine digits and Jack Flaherty has a chance to do so as well. The middle market has seen Yusei Kikuchi and Nick Martinez come off the board but it still features Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and others.
RosterResource projects the Orioles for a modest $99MM payroll, with literally nothing on the books for 2026 and beyond. That payroll is already a bit higher than last year’s $93MM Opening Day figure from Cot’s Baseball Contracts, but as mentioned, it’s possible that the new ownership group is willing to push things further. It also wouldn’t be unprecedented for the franchise, as Cot’s had them as high as $164MM in 2017, before their fortunes fell and they spiralled into their aforementioned fallow period.
If they lose both Brunes and Santander how could they be as good as they were last year? Prospects are wonderful but eventually they have to produce
The Orioles could do nothing and still be a playoff team, that’s how bad the AL is.
@fred
interesting take. the Al East is especially bad I suppose.
Would the Os be better off signing Eovaldi and Flaherty than giving $240 mill to Burnes? They have the prospect capital to swing a Crochet trade as well. They have a lot of young players that need big money soon.
Not at all. They need high end starters for the playoffs.
@metsin4
Did the Dodgers have high end starters in the playoffs?
Yamamoto was definitely a high-end starter this season on a per games basis. People were just thrown off the scent because he had been injured for three months.
So is that a game plan for the Orioles to follow? Sign fifteen pitchers and see what one are available in the playoffs? I don’t think the Orioles can match the Dodgers in how a team is constructed. I think the Orioles would love to have Yamamoto as their ace.
Bradish,G-Rod, Eflin could win if the lineup shows up. I’d like a Burnes level pitcher but I feel like he’s going to be severely overpaid.
Burnes’s stats have been on the decline in like 3 straight years now, someone is most likely going to regret that contract for how much he will get
Eovaldi fits the playoff bill
White Sox, seeing that awful (so far) Trevor Rogers deal are going to want quite a haul for Crochet. Then the O’s end up losing two more high-caliber prospects. Soon its’ 1988 again.
Mayo for Crochet. People need to stop overthinking this.
This trade proposal STILL doesn’t make any sense for the Orioles.
Mayo plus needs to get an established pitcher. Mayo still has done nothing.
They’ll want more than Mayo. They’re becoming famous for over-asking of late.
Playing Mayo hoping he can learn on the job while the Orioles are trying to contend is what doesn’t make any sense.
What a weak argument. Contenders break in young guys too, and he’s most likely going to start the year at AAA working on his 1B and RF defense anyway unless someone (i.e. Mountcastle or Urias) is traded.
Well the braves are masters of promoting players and getting good to great production out of them while in a playoff hunt. So saying they should get rid of mayo when he could turn into a star doesn’t make all that much sense unless you are getting an established star with team control. Does crochet fit that bill? He may or he may not. Mayo could also end up being a bust. It’s hard to tell just based on paper results. But the braves know how to do it and they do it well.
There’s enough staff already there 2-5 to start the season plus Braddish and Wells on the mend. They need a TOR. Hope they can resign Burnes. No hustory of elbow or forearm issues.
That’s the problem, that means he’s due for an arm injury.
No
Flaherty already pitched poorly for the Orioles in ’23 and not sure they may be interested in a reunion. Eovaldi is the type of grizzled veteran grinder you’d like on a young staff. Obviously he’s not Corbin Burnes but he would help the middle of the rotation
Eovaldi looks good if they also swing a trade for Crochet. By himself, then it looks like a total downgrade from Burnes.
Yeah you need both Crochet and Eovaldi both. Just Eovaldi is a step backwards.
I’m a big Nathan Eovaldi guy as i am a Rangers fan but i could see him getting a Sonny Gray contract 3-75 or 2-50 at that price mine as well go more years and add 5-7 million and get Max Fried.
Gray was runner up in the Cy Young voting the year he signed that contract and it was also backloaded. Eovaldi shouldn’t get that much but then again Kikuchi probably shouldn’t have got what he got either.
That’s where I have him landing in the contest.
Thanks for letting us know
@Inside Out
Why did you reply and then put me on mute so I can’t reply? You must be another one of those clowns.
I’ve been hoping Boston brings him back again on a 2 yr. Eovaldi’s a winner, would bring good pitching and also good influence on a predominantly young staff and would leave plenty of money for them to sign other needs (closer/another starter/ righty bat).
I believe in rubenstein while I don’t think they make and big additions I do think they will resign burnes and Santander to send a message that the orioles are back
The Orioles weren’t good enough with Burned and Santander. They need to do more than that.
Maybe. But the kids (Holliday especially) will hopefully improve. Bautista will be back, and if he’s truly back, will greatly improve the pen. Re-signing both would go a long way.
I like this idea, but in my opinion the Nationals should go after Eovaldi. He would be a great veteran fit in the Nats’ pitching staff.
O’s still playing it super safe, even with Rubenstein. This is depressing but not entirely shocking.
I am sick of the “Orioles interested ” in rumors, how about some action?
It’s not up to the Orioles. Need a player who wants to play there. Not easy.
It depends on whether he’s the only rotation addition or not. If they bring in some combination of Eovaldi/Flaherty/Fried/Crochet to join Rodriguez, Eflin, Suarez, and whoever else rounds out the 2025 staff, then things look really good. They would be deeper than just having Burnes at the top.
@Mike
“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
we’ll see how this goes, too early to pass judgement.
This actually makes sense as a pairing.
If Burnes and Fried end up being too expensive, Eovaldi is a pretty solid fallback option.
Only if they are adding someone like Crochet as well. Eovaldi can’t be the sole addition, especially with Bradish still out.
I don’t see Crochet as a realistic target unless Getz lowers his asking price, but maybe somebody like Sonny Gray from St. Louis would be an option.
KFloch.
I do believe Sonny would be comfortable taking the bump as a TOR arm here at OPACY, but he didn’t finish last season because of forearm soreness. Because of this, maybe GMs want to see him pitch for a couple of months before pursuing him via the 2025 mid season tradeline.
There’s no “if”. Blake Snell’s deal with the Dodgers probably sets the floor for Burnes and the ceiling for Fried
Eovaldi brings more than his numbers. He’s a competitor, a teammate, a mentor, a leader. He’s worth an overpay in years, because even if he’s underperforming on the mound he’s raising the bar in the clubhouse.