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Danny Coulombe

Orioles Exercise Club Option On Seranthony Domínguez, Decline Danny Coulombe

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The Orioles announced that they have exercise a club option on right-hander Seranthony Domínguez while declining their option on left-hander Danny Coulombe. They also announced that they have exercised options on left-hander Cionel Pérez and first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, as was reported earlier today. Domínguez will get $8MM next year instead of a $500K buyout. Coulombe could have been brought back for a $4MM salary but instead becomes a free agent with no buyout.

Domínguez, 30 this month, was acquired from the Phillies at the trade deadline. He went on to make 25 appearances for the O’s with a 3.97 earned run average. He struck out 28.6% of batters faced while giving out walks at a 9.2% clip.

The righty now has a 3.59 ERA, 27.3% strikeout rate, 9.6% walk rate and 45.9% ground ball rate over his 255 career appearances. Some of that has come in leverage situations, as he has racked up 38 saves and 58 holds in his career. Given that generally solid track record, it’s not really a surprise to see the Orioles plunk down another $7.5MM to keep him from getting away.

The decision on Coulombe is a bit more surprising as the lefty has had a solid two-year run with the O’s. He has tossed 81 innings for Baltimore since the start of 2023 with a 2.56 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate and 45.4% ground ball rate.

$4MM for a solid lefty reliever like that seems like good value for money but Coulombe also had some challenges this year. He underwent surgery in June to remove bone chips removed from his throwing elbow. He was able to come off the IL in September, making four appearances for the club down the stretch and one in the postseason, but that seemingly wasn’t enough to convince the O’s to keep him around for next year.

They could circle back to him in free agency but Coulombe will have a chance to speak to all of the other clubs as well. The fact that he’s now 35 and coming off an injury-marred season will hurt his earning power but his results over the past two years will work in his favor.

Orioles Activate Danny Coulombe From Injured List

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The Orioles announced they’ve activated lefty reliever Danny Coulombe from the 60-day injured list. Baltimore placed Burch Smith on the 15-day IL, retroactive to September 18, to open a spot in the bullpen. Smith was diagnosed with a right adductor (groin) strain. The O’s already had a trio of openings on the 40-man roster, which sits at 38 following Coulombe’s reinstatement.

It’s a potentially big boost to Brandon Hyde’s bullpen with a little more than a week before the postseason. Coulombe has been out since the middle of June with an elbow injury that necessitated surgery to remove bone chips. Prior to the injury, the 34-year-old had been one of Hyde’s most trusted relievers. He’d rewarded that faith with 26 innings of 2.42 ERA ball behind a 30.4% strikeout percentage and a tiny 3.3% walk rate.

This was shaping up as a second straight excellent season for Coulombe. The O’s brought him aboard with little fanfare in Spring Training 2023. Coulombe had been in camp with the Twins on a minor league contract. Minnesota didn’t want to carry him on the MLB roster, so Baltimore acquired him for cash considerations and added him to their Opening Day club. He tossed 51 1/3 innings with a 2.81 earned run average and similarly strong strikeout (27.6%) and walk (5.7%) numbers. Coulombe owns a 2.68 mark over 77 1/3 frames in an O’s uniform.

The O’s have had a subpar second half, dropping four games back of the Yankees in the process. The bullpen has played a role in that. Baltimore relievers rank 24th in the majors with a 4.69 ERA since the All-Star Break. They’ve had a generally strong strikeout and walk profile but given up a few too many home runs. Coulombe has done a nice job avoiding the longball throughout his career, allowing less than one home run per nine innings. He joins Keegan Akin, Cionel Pérez and Gregory Soto as left-handed options in the late innings.

AL East Notes: Jansen, Yankees, LeMahieu, Webb, Mountcastle

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Kenley Jansen enjoyed ten straight years of playoff baseball before signing a two-year, $32MM free agent contract with the Red Sox during the 2022-23 offseason, and barring a late surge from Boston in the last two weeks of play, Jansen is now on pace for back-to-back without any postseason action.  As he heads into free agency this winter, it therefore isn’t surprising that Jansen is “always gonna look for winning.  Contending,” the closer told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.  “That’s going to be my priority…I want to be in a situation where we can contend for a title.  That’s it.”  This doesn’t necessarily mean Jansen wouldn’t consider a return to the Sox, as Jansen praised the team’s young talent and said he “had a blast wearing this uniform, playing for these fans.”

Even as he approaches his 37th birthday, Jansen has no plans to retire, suggesting that he’d like to pitch “at least until I’m 40-42.”  There isn’t much on-field evidence that Jansen is running out of steam, as he remains an effective late-game weapon with a 3.48 ERA in 51 2/3 innings and 26 saves in 30 chances for Boston in 2024.  Jansen figures to get a lot of attention in free agency this winter, and Cotillo suggests that the Yankees could look at Jansen as a potential replacement for Clay Holmes.  The Red Sox and Giants were the only teams publicly linked to Jansen’s market in his prior stint as a free agent, but Cotillo writes that New York “made a serious run at Jansen before he” joined the Red Sox.

More from around the AL East….

  • Sticking with the Yankees, DJ LeMahieu discussed his hip impingement with The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty, saying that he received a cortisone shot on Thursday to hopefully aid the healing process.  LeMahieu hasn’t played since September 3 but he believes he’ll be able to return to New York’s lineup before the season is over.  While players generally have a more optimistic view of their injuries, this does represent a more positive outlook than manager Aaron Boone’s more non-committal answer earlier this week, when the skipper said “I wouldn’t necessarily rule it [a LeMahieu return] out, but I wouldn’t count on it, either.”  In between this injury and the foot issue that cost him the first two months of action, LeMahieu has struggled to a .204/.269/.259 slash line over 228 plate appearances this season.  Even if he is healthy enough to play, LeMahieu’s lack of production might well cost him a spot on New York’s playoff roster.
  • Jacob Webb’s activation from the Orioles’ injured list could happen during the team’s current series with the Tigers, manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters.  Before a bout of elbow inflammation sent him to the 15-day IL on August 4, Webb was one of Baltimore’s more solid relievers, delivering a 3.08 ERA over 49 2/3 innings and 53 appearances out of the Orioles bullpen.  Of the many players on the Orioles’ IL, Webb seems closest to returning, though Danny Coulombe is continuing a minor league rehab assignment and might not be far off.  Jordan Westburg has resumed baseball activities and is hitting in a batting cage as he works his way back from a fractured hand.
  • Ryan Mountcastle is still in the early stages of a hitting progression, but Hyde wasn’t sure if the Orioles first baseman will be back before the regular season is over.  Mountcastle’s IL stint due to a sprained left wrist began on August 23, and he has hit .265/.305/.425 with 13 home runs in 485 PA.  As Kubatko writes, the loss of Mountcastle’s steady production has been more glaring since first base replacement Ryan O’Hearn has been caught in an ugly slump.

Orioles Notes: Rodriguez, Coulombe, Camden Yards

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It has been just over a month since the Orioles placed Grayson Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list due to a right lat/teres strain, and pitching coach Drew French provided reporters (including MLB.com’s Jake Rill) with an update on Rodriguez’s recovery process.  Rodriguez threw his first bullpen session earlier this week, and French said “we’re hopeful that we’ll get a live [batting practice session] in and a rehab assignment started pretty soon.“

This would seem to put Rodriguez on pace for the late-September return that was projected by GM Mike Elias last month, though French left some wiggle room in stating whether or not Rodriguez would return as a starting pitcher.  “We’re very hopeful to have him back in that capacity,” French said, but “obviously everything is on the table at this point, so [we] just kind of take it day-by-day and see where we’re at at the end.”

The calendar is naturally the issue, as the minor league season concludes on September 22.  The Orioles don’t want to rush Rodriguez’s throwing progression for fear of aggravating his injury or causing a setback, yet as French put it, “we know we’re coming up against it right now” in terms of having enough time for Rodriguez to build up his pitch count through minor league rehab starts.  On paper, Rodriguez could perhaps bank a minor league start and then continue his ramp-up in the majors, perhaps as a piggyback starter at first.

Since this would all have to come amidst the Orioles’ battle for the AL East title, it wouldn’t be an ideal situation for either the team or the player.  While Baltimore is a virtual lock to reach the playoffs, winning the division and earning a first-round bye is the Orioles’ preferred method of entry.  That bit of extra break would allow the O’s to line up their ideal postseason rotation, and gauge whether or not Rodriguez is fully fit enough to be part of said rotation.

Rodriguez’s spot as a playoff starter was all but assured at the time of his injury, as the second-year right-hander has a 3.86 ERA and above-average strikeout and walk rates over 116 2/3 innings.  Corbin Burnes and Zach Eflin have playoff rotation spots booked, and any of Rodriguez, Albert Suarez, or Dean Kremer could be line for other starts depending on health, effectiveness, matchups, or however long Baltimore’s playoff run lasts.

Another pitcher’s timeline is a little clearer, as Danny Coulombe is set to start a rehab assignment this Wednesday with Triple-A Norfolk.  Coulombe went on the 60-day injured list in June after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow, and appears to be on pace to return to the Orioles’ relief corps before the season is over.  Coulombe has been nothing short of outstanding since joining the O’s in March 2023, becoming a trusted setup man on the strength of a 2.68 ERA in his 77 1/3 innings in a Baltimore uniform.

Seranthony Dominguez has emerged as the Orioles’ top closing candidate since he was acquired from the Phillies at the trade deadline, helping stabilize a Baltimore bullpen that has been a relative weak link in terms of its overall middle-of-the-pack performance.  Losing Coulombe for a big chunk of the year didn’t help the bullpen’s cause, but his return should help further bolster the reliever depth chart heading into October.

In other Orioles news, chairman and CEO David Rubenstein shared some details on the renovations planned for Camden Yards as part of an interview with FOX 5’s Steve Chenevey (hat tip to Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun).  The process is tentatively slated to begin during the 2025-26 offseason and “take about four years before it’s completed….hopefully by the end of ’28 we will complete all the retrofit of the stadium,” Rubenstein said.  The exact range of renovations isn’t yet known, though Rubenstein suggested that the work will add a few more modern touches and amenities to Camden Yards.

AL East Notes: Refsnyder, Bichette, Lowe, Coulombe, Trevino

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Rob Refsnyder turns 34 next March, and the utilityman is considering calling it a career after the 2024 season comes to an end.  Speaking with Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, Refsnyder said he is “undecided” about returning for what would be his tenth MLB season, and was even thinking about retirement even before he joined the Red Sox during the 2021-22 offseason.  Once this year is over, Refsnyder said he’ll “take it step by step from there and decide what I do….You can still make a big impact not being in a uniform and it’s a lot easier for your family and their schedule.”

As per the terms of the contract extension Refsnyder signed in June 2023, the Sox hold a $2MM club option ($150K) on his services for 2025.  This option looks like a lock to be exercised if Refsnyder wishes to keep playing, as he has an excellent .298/.384/.472 slash line over 251 plate appearances in part-time duty for the Red Sox this season.  Still, Refsnyder is eager to spend more time with his family, and is perhaps keen to start working towards his longer-term goal of working in a front office.

Other items from around the AL East…

  • Bue Jays manager John Schneider gave MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters an update on Bo Bichette, noting that the shortstop has started to increase baseball activities while working out at the Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin.  A timeline isn’t yet in place this early in Bichette’s recovery from a right calf strain, as the club will monitor his progress in the coming days or weeks before deciding on a possible rehab assignment.   Bichette suffered the calf strain on July 19 in Toronto’s 5-4 loss to the Tigers, continuing an all-around disastrous season that has seen Bichette bat only .223/.276/.321 over 330 plate appearances.  The former All-Star’s struggles are one of several reasons why the Blue Jays are out of the playoff race, and if Bichette isn’t showing progress in relatively short order, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Jays just shut him down for the remainder of the season.
  • 2024 is the last guaranteed season of the six-year, $24MM extension Brandon Lowe signed with the Rays prior to Opening Day 2019, but Tampa still has a pair of club options ($10.5MM with a $1MM buyout for 2025, $11.5MM for 2026 with a $500K buyout) covering Lowe’s immediate future.  “Whether they pick up the option or they don’t, I feel like I’m putting myself in a good position to still be on a team next year,” Lowe told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, but Lowe noted that playing with the Rays “is all I know.  I like it here.  My friends are here.  We have a house here.  It’s comfortable.  I don’t know anything else.  I know this.”  Given how the Rays dealt a number of higher-priced veterans at the deadline, Topkin figures that Lowe’s continued presence on the roster means that the team will exercise the 2025 option and keep Lowe in Tampa Bay for an eighth season.  Lowe is more than doing his part at the plate to sway the Rays’ mind, as he is hitting .248/.330/.488 with 14 homers over 282 PA.
  • Danny Coulombe is “on track” in his rehab process and is aiming to return in late September, the Orioles left-hander told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko.  Coulombe is on the 60-day IL after undergoing surgery in June to remove bone spurs from his left elbow.  While he is still a few weeks away from getting onto a mound, Coulombe is up to throwing from 90 feet in games of catch.  The Orioles’ bullpen has struggled badly in August, leaving Baltimore in even greater need for whatever the ace setup man can provide whenever he is able to return to action.
  • The Yankees activated catcher Jose Trevino from the 10-day injured list on Friday, and Carlos Narvaez was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Yesterday’s game marked Trevino’s first action since a left quad strain forced him out of the Yankees’ 4-1 win over the Orioles on July 12.  Trevino figures to resume his catching platoon with Austin Wells, though Wells’ hot bat over the last month might have earned him a larger share of the playing time.

Orioles Select Vinny Nittoli

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1:07pm: The Orioles have announced the selection of Nittoli’s contract. In corresponding moves, left-hander Cade Povich was optioned to Triple-A and Coulombe was transferred to the 60-day IL.

8:45am: The Orioles are selecting the contract of right-hander Vinny Nittoli, as MASN’s Roch Kubatko reported this morning. The righty signed with the club on a minor league deal earlier this month. The club will need to make a corresponding 40-man move in order to add Nittoli to the roster, though that could be accomplished by transferring lefty Danny Coulombe to the 60-day injured list.

Nittoli, 33, was a 25th-round pick by the Mariners back in 2014 and has spent his decade in professional baseball largely as a minor league journeyman. After spending a few years in Seattle’s minor league system, Nittoli departed affiliated ball in 2017 and spent two years pitching in the independent American Association before catching back on in the minors. Over the course of his professional career, he’s suited up for the Mariners, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Phillies, Cubs, Mets, A’s, and now the Orioles at the Triple-A level. In all that time, however, he’s received only scattered playing time in the majors with 13 big league appearances to his name.

More than half of those appearances came with the A’s earlier this season. He pitched eight innings of work in total with Oakland, and performed to a strong 2.25 ERA with five strikeouts against two walks. The righty has actually received similarly brief cups of coffee in the major leagues in each of the last four seasons, having first made his big league debut with the Mariners back in 2021. In all, Nittoli sports a 3.07 ERA despite a lackluster 5.02 FIP and a strikeout rate of just 16.4% in 14 2/3 innings of work at the big league level.

Despite those relatively pedestrian numbers at the big league level, it isn’t hard to see why the Orioles would be interested in giving Nittoli a look at the big league level. He’s been nothing short of dominant at the Triple-A level this year with a 2.73 ERA in 26 1/3 innings of work split between the affiliates of Oakland and Baltimore. That already impressive figure is made all the more intriguing by the fact that the majority of those innings came in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, where the Athletics’ affiliate in Las Vegas plays. Nittoli has paired those strong run prevention numbers with an eye-popping 36% strikeout rate at the level this year, suggesting that there could be a meaningful improvement in skills to go along with the results.

Altogether, Nittoli’s resume is interesting enough for the Orioles to give him a shot in their bullpen mix. The club’s relief corps has been more or less league average this year, rankings 14th in baseball with a 3.84 ERA, but there’s certainly room for improvement ahead of the club’s back-end duo of Yennier Cano and Craig Kimbrel, particularly after Coulombe underwent surgery last month. Right-hander Bryan Baker, for example, can be optioned to the minors and has struggled to a 5.14 ERA and 4.38 FIP in 14 innings of work with the club.

Kyle Bradish Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Orioles general manager Mike Elias informed reporters that right-hander Kyle Bradish underwent Tommy John surgery with an internal brace today. He’ll be out for the rest of this year and part of 2025 as well. Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner was among those to relay the news on X. Additionally, left-hander Danny Coulombe had bone chips removed from his elbow, per Allentuck on X. The southpaw could return this year but is likely out until September.

The Bradish news is a brutal blow for the club’s rotation. He had a tremendous breakout season with the O’s last year, making 30 starts with a 2.83 earned run average. He struck out 25% of batters faced, limited walks to a 6.6% rate and got grounders at a 49.2% clip.

Things got scary here in 2024, as Bradish was diagnosed with a sprain of his UCL in mid-February. The club initially tried non-surgical interventions and seemed to have some success. Bradish was given a platelet-rich plasma injection and was showing “accelerated healing” by early March, per Bradish himself.

Things seemed to accelerate fairly normally from there. Bradish was able to start a rehab assignment by the second week of April and was reinstated from the injured list in early May. He made eight starts for the big league club with a 2.75 ERA. But he landed back on the injured list last week, again due to a sprain of his UCL, with surgery apparently unavoidable this time around.

In hindsight, it would be easy to dismiss the past four months as simply delaying the inevitable, but pitchers have suffered UCL injuries and avoided surgery before. Masahiro Tanaka was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in 2014, for instance, but never got it repaired and went on to pitch between 150 and 200 innings in each of the five following seasons. Seth Lugo was also found to have a slight tear in 2017 but didn’t go under the knife. More recently, Triston McKenzie was diagnosed with a UCL sprain last summer but has made 14 starts for the Guardians this year.

Given the 14 to 18 months of recovery that are generally needed after Tommy John surgery, pitchers and teams usually prefer to exhaust non-surgical options before surrendering to the surgeon’s table. The O’s and Bradish believed they had a path open to them and tried to take it, but unfortunately couldn’t make it work in this instance.

This is now the third starting pitcher that the Orioles have lost to season-ending UCL surgery this year, as both Tyler Wells and John Means went down this road before Bradish. Despite those losses, the rotation has been a strength overall. Baltimore starter’s have a combined ERA of 3.03 this year, which trails only the Yankees and Phillies. But maintaining such a position without those three will be a challenge.

As of now, the O’s are left with Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin, Cade Povich and Albert Suárez in the rotation, but it seems fair to expect the O’s to pursue additions prior to the July 30 deadline. Povich has just two major league starts under his belt so far. Irvin has a 3.03 ERA on the year but is only striking out 17.9% of batters faced. His 4.16 SIERA this year and his career ERA of 4.24 perhaps suggest some regression is coming. Suárez has a 2.05 ERA but is a 34-year-old journeyman with a 19.7% strikeout rate and 81.9% strand rate.

Dean Kremer should be rejoining that group shortly, as he is on the injured list but currently on a rehab assignment. However, he’s more of a solid back-end guy, with an ERA of 4.35 in his career and a mark of 4.32 this year. In terms of depth options, Levi Stoudt was just claimed off waivers but has a 6.92 ERA in Triple-A this year. Bruce Zimmermann is on the 40-man but hasn’t pitched since mid-May. Jonathan Heasley is also on the roster but has been working as a swingman in the minors.

Last week, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the club would be waiting until closer to the deadline to decide on their starting pitching approach. With Bradish now out for the year, that will presumably increase their desire to pursue starting pitching in the months to come. In the meantime, Bradish will be transferred to the 60-day injured list whenever the O’s need his roster spot. He’ll spent the rest of the year on the shelf and will qualify for arbitration this offseason as a Super Two player.

The news on Coulombe isn’t as bad but is still significant. The lefty has a career ERA of 3.57 and that mark is just 2.68 since joining the O’s prior to the 2023 season. He has thrown 77 1/3 innings since coming to Baltimore, striking out 28.5% of batters faced while limiting walks to a 5% clip.

He landed on the IL a week ago due to left elbow inflammation and it now seems he’s going to miss several months, leaving the Orioles with Cionel Pérez, Keegan Akin and Nick Vespi as southpaws in their bullpen.

Like Bradish, Coulombe will be a candidate to be moved to the 60-day IL whenever the O’s need a roster spot for someone else. The two sides avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a one-year deal with a club option in January. That option has a $4MM base salary and escalators that start at 50 appearances. He’s made 29 appearances so far this year but won’t be able to get that number up to 50 if he’s out until September. He will cross six years of service by the end of the season and be a free agent if the O’s decline that option.

Orioles Exploring Bullpen Market

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The Orioles are exploring the bullpen market, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Additionally, a right-handed hitting outfielder is a possible pursuit, while the club will wait until closer to the deadline to decide about the rotation.

General manager Mike Elias is clearly in a position to look for upgrades between now and the July 30 deadline. The club have a record of 44-22, one of the strongest in the majors. They are second in the American League East thanks to an excellent start from the Yankees, but the O’s are still firmly in playoff position. They currently hold the top Wild Card spot and are 11.5 games ahead of the Red Sox and Blue Jays, who are currently the top teams outside of playoff position.

The Orioles shouldn’t be in desperate need of bullpen help, as they have fared well even without Félix Bautista this year. The relief corps as a whole has an earned run average of 3.24, fourth in the majors, behind only the Guardians, Dodgers and Yankees. But with most clubs having eight-man bullpens these days, even strong clubs can find room for an upgrade while bumping each guy down a peg. The O’s could perhaps look for a bit more swing-and-miss, as their 23.4% strikeout rate is fairly average.

Craig Kimbrel had some shaky outings earlier in the year but has generally been doing well overall. He has a 2.70 ERA on the year and 35.9% strikeout rate. His 10.9% walk rate is a tad high by league standards but just barely above his career rate of 10.2%. Yennier Cano has a 2.37, though there’s perhaps a bit of worry under the hood. Continuing to strand 89.5% of runners will be challenging, which is perhaps why his 4.26 FIP is almost two runs higher than his ERA. Somewhat similarly, Jacob Webb has an ERA of 1.76 but with an unsustainable .220 batting average on balls in play.

Bullpens are inherently unstable in terms of performance but also health. Left-hander Danny Coulombe has a save and 13 holds for the O’s this year, posting a 2.42 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate and 3.3% walk rate in 29 appearances. However, he was placed on the 15-day injured list yesterday with left elbow inflammation and now faces an uncertain future. As relayed by Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, manager Brandon Hyde says that Coulombe felt sore recently and will be going for further testing.

It’s tough to tell who will be available on the market this summer, as the trade deadline is still over six weeks away and very few teams are clearly out of contention. Thanks to the expanded postseason, only five of the 30 clubs are currently more than 4.5 games back of a playoff spot.

Several teams could decide to trade some relievers if they play poorly in the next few weeks. But as of right now, Mason Miller is the guy getting the most attention. The power right-hander on the Athletics has a 2.12 ERA and insane 49.5% strikeout rate as he his fastball averages 100.9 miles per hour. The A’s are reportedly setting a massive asking price since they can control Miller for five more seasons after this one and may stretch him out as a starter as some point in the future.

Apart from Miller, some names that could be available include Michael Kopech and John Brebbia of the White Sox, Tanner Scott of the Marlins, Carlos Estévez and Luis García of the Angels, and others.

Turning to the outfield, the O’s have Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser and Anthony Santander getting most of the playing time these days, with Austin Hays and Kyle Stowers also in the mix. Santander is a switch-hitter who is modestly better from the right side, as he has a 118 wRC+ against lefties and 106 wRC+ otherwise, but Mullins, Cowser and Stowers are all lefties. Heston Kjerstad, currently on optional assignment, also hits from the left side. Mullins has hit righties better in his career but isn’t hitting anyone this year, with an overall line of .174/.222/.310 in 2024. Cowser is having a strong season but is hitting just .191/.264/.340 against southpaws.

Hays is a righty but he’s hitting just .234/.291/.362 this year for an 87 wRC+. That includes a massive .361/.378/.444 line against lefties and a dismal .155/.242/.310 showing otherwise, but his career splits are more modest. He has hit .272/.324/.458 with the platoon advantage and .256/.308/.421 without it, leading to respective wRC+ numbers of 115 and 102.

Taking all those facts together, the pursuit of a right-handed outfielder is fairly logical. Stowers isn’t getting much playing time and is still optionable, so his roster spot could be better utilized by an external addition. As mentioned, several teams may not decide to sell until closer to the deadline. But even among the few teams that are clear sellers now, right-handed outfielders are in decent supply.

The White Sox have Luis Robert Jr., though it would take a king’s ransom to get him, considering his immense talent and modest contract. He’s making $12.5MM this year and will get $15MM next year, with two $20MM club options to follow. Apart from him, the market should also feature Taylor Ward of the Angels, Brent Rooker of the A’s and Bryan De La Cruz of the Marlins, among others, though De La Cruz has reverse splits in his career and wouldn’t be ideal for the O’s.

Ward still has a couple of years of club control after this one but is 30 years old and playing for a team that will struggle to compete in that time frame. He’s already drawing trade interest, which is understandable based on his .263/.343/.449 batting line since the start of 2021. That includes a .298/.376/.468 line and 135 wRC+ against lefties. Rooker has hit .251/.334/.499 since the start of last year for a 134 wRC+ with almost even splits. He will reach arbitration this winter and can be controlled through 2027, though the A’s will likely make him available as he’s 29 years old.

On the starting pitching side, the O’s recently lost both John Means and Tyler Wells to season-ending surgery, while Dean Kremer is also on the injured list at the moment. They have a strong rotation core of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish, but the latter two have both been on the injured list this year. Bradish was given the ominous diagnosis of a sprained UCL in his throwing elbow and managed to get back on the mound without undergoing surgery, but that likely leaves the O’s with at least some worry of another injury later in the year.

Based on Rosenthal’s report, it seems they will sit tight for now and see how things look in the coming weeks. Prospect Cade Povich was just promoted and the club can see what they have in him, while Cole Irvin and Albert Suárez provide some stability at the back end. If the club decides to pursue starters, the market could feature guys like Jesús Luzardo, Erick Fedde, Garrett Crochet, Patrick Sandoval, Tyler Anderson and others. Each of those pitchers can be controlled beyond 2024 as well, with could allow the O’s to proactively bolster next year’s rotation before Burnes departs via free agency.

Orioles, Danny Coulombe Avoid Arbitration

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6:25pm: Coulombe receives a $2.3MM salary, The Associated Press reports. That’s the midpoint of the respective filing figures. The 2025 option is valued at $4MM and comes without a buyout. Coulombe could push the option value as high as $4.925MM via escalators. The price would increase by $100K if he reaches 50 appearances this year, $50K apiece for his next five games, $55K each for his 56th-60th appearances, and $60K per game between 61 and 65 outings.

9:31am: The Orioles and left-hander Danny Coulombe have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with a club option for the 2025 season, the team announced. In doing so, the two sides avoided an arbitration hearing. Coulombe, a client of Elite Sports Group, had filed for a $2.4MM salary while the team countered at $2.2MM. He’d have been a free agent at season’s end, so the O’s are gaining an extra year of control over the southpaw with today’s agreement.

Coulombe, 34, proved to be an excellent low-cost pickup for Baltimore last winter. Acquired from the Twins in exchange for cash just days before the season began, he delivered 51 1/3 innings of 2.81 ERA ball in his first season with the O’s, striking out a strong 27.6% of his opponents against an outstanding 5.7% walk rate.

That marked the continuation of a late-career breakout that’s now seen the journeyman southpaw work to a collective 2.86 ERA over the past four seasons. It also represents a bounceback from an injury-marred 2022 campaign in which he posted a 1.46 ERA in a small sample of 12 innings with Minnesota but also walked an uncharacteristic 17% of his opponents. Coulombe missed the bulk of that season with a hip impingement but showed little to no ill effects in 2023.

Coulombe figures to slot back in as a setup man for manager Brandon Hyde, though he’ll be bridging the gap to a new closer in 2024. After star right-hander Felix Bautista underwent Tommy John surgery in October, the Orioles responded by signing free agent Craig Kimbrel to a one-year, $13MM deal. Kimbrel figures to close games for the O’s this season, with Coulombe, Yennier Cano and a healthier Dillon Tate among the current favorites for leverage spots in the seventh and eighth innings.

The option year being tacked on is significant for the Orioles. It’s relatively commonplace for teams to work out one-year deals with options of some kind even after figures are exchanged, but not necessarily with players who have five-plus years of service. Five-plus players tend to either prefer straight one-year deals or perhaps agree to a mutual option, which is largely a formality as mutual options are almost never exercised by both parties. It’s a compromise that effectively ensures the player he can reach the open market as was previously scheduled while also allowing the team to bend on a straight one-year deal that can then be used a data point in future arbitration cases. (The inclusion of an option of any kind disqualifies those agreements from being used in future negotiation of straight one-year arbitration deals.)

Coulombe, however, is older than the standard five-plus player and was perhaps more willing to surrender a free agent year as a result. He’ll lock in a salary that nearly doubles his modest career earnings of $2.89MM, and while next year’s option will surely be reasonably priced, it’ll give him the opportunity to remain in a setting where he clearly felt comfortable and where he’ll clearly have a good chance at being part of a competitive roster.

The Orioles exchanged arbitration figures with an MLB-high five players this year, but both Coulombe and fellow lefty reliever Cionel Perez have since agreed to one-year deals with options. Outfielder Austin Hays ($6.35MM vs. $5.85MM), first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn ($3.8MM vs. $3.2MM) and righty Jacob Webb ($1MM vs. $925K) are all still unresolved, but presumably the team will continue looking into similar arrangements  with that group in order to avoid a potentially contentious hearing.

Requested Salary Figures For 22 Players Who Didn’t Reach Agreements By Arbitration-Filing Deadline

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Today was the deadline for teams and players eligible for arbitration to exchange salary figures for the 2024 season ahead of possible arbitration hearings. And, as usual, the vast majority of eligible players worked out deals for 2024 (and, in some cases, beyond) before the deadline this afternoon. While these agreements are all listed in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker, unfinished business remains around the league. 22 players have not yet settled on a salary for the 2024 and are therefore at risk of having their salaries determined by an arbiter. That number is down considerably from last season, when 33 players exchanged figures. Of note, this list does not include Brewers right-hander Devin Williams. While the sides exchanged figures earlier this evening, they managed to avoid arbitration after the deadline had passed.

This year, arbitration hearings will begin on January 29th and run through February 16th, two days after pitchers and catchers are due to report for Spring Training. While there’s nothing stopping teams and players from settling to avoid arbitration between now and their hearing, the majority of clubs employ a “file and trial” approach to arbitration hearings, stopping negotiations prior to the formal exchange of figures in order to put additional pressure on players to agree to a deal early. While this approach generally puts a moratorium on discussion of one-year deals, teams are typically still willing to discuss multi-year pacts beyond today’s deadline.

Below are the 22 players who have yet to reach an agreement regarding their 2024 salaries, as well as the players’ requested salaries and the counteroffers issued by clubs. The league tends to pay close attention to arbitration salaries because outliers can serve as precedent going forward, raising the bar both for individual players and players as a whole in the future. That reality incentivizes teams to strictly stick to a “file and trial” approach in arbitration and risk a tense hearing between club and player rather than bridge even fairly minimal gaps between club and player salary figures.

[RELATED: Arbitration projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz]

14 of the league’s 30 clubs have at least one case that has yet to be settled. The Orioles have the most cases that have yet to be settled, with five players on track for a hearing against the club. That being said, it’s worth noting that Baltimore has a massive, 17-player class of arbitration-eligible players, so it’s hardly a surprise that they wound up exchanging figures with an elevated number of players. Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. submitted the highest salary figure among all players headed for a hearing at $19.9MM, while the Rangers and outfielder Adolis Garcia narrowly top Guerrero and the Blue Jays for the largest gap between figures, with $1.9MM separating Garcia’s request of $6.9MM from the Rangers’ $5MM counteroffer.

The total list, which will be updated as settlements are reached and the results of hearings are made available…

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