Courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors

Orioles Talking to Suitors about Sale of Team

Despite Orioles chairman and CEO John Angelos saying in February that “there’s not a plan to change the principal ownership or the managing partnership [of the Orioles] and there would be no reason to,” the Orioles appear to listening to offers for the team from prospective owners. Gillian Tan of Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubensten is “in talked to acquire” the Orioles, and that a sale could be finalized in the first half of 2024, but adds that Rubenstein is merely “among the suitors pursing a transaction.” So, the Orioles are for sale?

Nine months later Orioles chairman and CEO John Angels declared, “There’s not a plan to change the principal ownership or the managing partnersip, and there would be no reason to,” the Orioles appear to be listening to offers for the team from prospect owners.

Thursday, Gillian tan of Bloomberg reported the Caryle Group co-founder, while David Rubernsten is “in talks to acquire the Orioles and that a sale could be fianlized in the first half of 2024, Darraugh McDonald reminds us that the Orioles’ stadium situation remains unresolved, with their lease set to expire at the end of the month, the MASN dispute with the Nationals is also unresolved, and the organization’s only player commitments beyond the 2024 season are $1 million to Félix Bautista for 2025 and the similarly-priced buyout on Craig Kimbrel’s option.

This is a crucial period of time for the Orioles, as they look to stick the landing in their transition from rebuild to powerhouse. They won 101 games this year on the strength of their young talent, but, unless they start working out extensions with those young players and making strategic veteran additions, their window of contention could prove to be frustratingly short. To do that, the front office needs the support of ownership. If the Angelos family has one foot out the door, it might explain why the Orioles’ additions to their talented young core continue to underwhelm.

Mets to Sign RHP Jorge López to Major-League Contract

The Mets have came to terms with righty reliever Jorge López on a one-year, $2 million contract per Carlos Rosa of GFR Media and Jeff Passan of ESPN. López is the third veteran righty reliever the Mets have added to the 40-man roster this offseason, following Austin Adams and Michael Tonkin, both of whom signed split contracts. It’s a bit surprising the López didn’t also sign a split deal, as, outside of his first 44 games of the 2022 season with Baltimore, he has been a sub-par pitcher for most of his eight years in the majors. A second-round pick by the Brewers in 2011, López debuted with Milwaukee in 2015 but didn’t get a significant big-league opportunity until after being traded to the Royals for Mike Moustakas at the 2018 deadline. Lopez posted a 6.42 ERA in 25 starts and 22 relief appearances in parts of three seasons for Kansas City, then the Orioles selected him off waivers at the start of the abbreviated 2020 season.

Pitching primarily as a starter in 2020 and ’21, López continued to post an ERA north of 6.00, but a move to the bullpen in 2022 yielded a spectacular improvement, as López spiked his strikeout rate, ascended to the closer’s job, made the All-Star team, and posted a 1.68 ERA over 44 games before the Twins acquired him at the deadline for four players, including 2023 All-Star set-up man Yennier Cano. In Minnesota, López reverted to his former form, his strikeout rate tumbling despite his remaining in the bullpen. This year, he pitched for three teams—the Twins, Marlins, and Orioles—striking out just 20 percent of the batters he faced and posting a 5.95 ERA over 61 relief appearances. Lopez will turn 31 in February, and, on his career, he has a 5.51 ERA (81 ERA+), 19.6 percent strikeout rate, and 2.19 K/BB.

Coaching News

The Mariners announced their 2024 coaching statff on Thursday, including Brant Brown as bench coach, Tommy Joseph as an assistant hitting coach, and former co-hitting coach Tony Arnerich making an unusual move to bullpen coach. Jarret DeHart remains hitting coach on his own, taking on the additional title of director of hitting strategy. The rest of the staff remains the same. Brown was the Marlins’ hitting coach this year and was the Mariners’ minor-league outfield and baserunning coach from 2013 to ’17. Joseph, 32, has been a minor-league hitting coach for the last three seasons in the Mets’ and Giants’ systems. This is his first major-league coaching job.

UPDATES

• The Astros announced C Victor Caratino’s two-year contract.

• Orioles RHP Craig Kimbrel’s buyout on his 2025 option has escalators based on games pitched and games finished, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The option’s floor is $1 million and will increase by $100,000 if he reaches each of 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55 games pitched, with the same rewards for the same numbers of games finished, giving the buyout a maximum value of $2 million.

RUMORS

• Brewers expect RHP Corbin Burnes to be their Opening Day starter in 2024, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports, citing general manager Matt Arnold. However, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that rival executives believe there’s a real chance that the Brewers will trade Burnes this offseason. Arnold did tell reporters this week that the groundwork for trades executed later in the offseason is often laid at the Winter Meetings and that the interest in Burnes was high at this year’s Meetings.

• Giants and Padres have interest in CFs Harrison Balder and Jung Ho Lee, per Jon Morosi of the MLB Network.

• The Orioles will “talk to free agents that might be a fit for joining our outfield mix,” general manager Mike Elias told Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball, but the team has “high hopes” for Heston Kjerstad, Colton Cowser, Kyle Stowers, and Ryan McKenna, none of whom has a path to a starting job in the majors just yet. That said, Elias doesn’t “have designs” on Kjerstad moving to first base, adding that the team would rather Kjerstad have the ability to play first base “in his back pocket and we can tap into it a couple of days a week.” Asked by Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner if the Orioles have reached out about extensions for infielders Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday, Scott Boras, their agent, replied, “only once or twice a day.”

• Padres want to keep their competitve take figure below next year’s lowest threshold, which is $237 million. Per Roster Resource, San Diego’s figure sits at $209 million in the wake of the Juan Soto trade.

• Red are seeking a second baseman who hits right-handed and is an above-average fielder, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. They would also like a right-handed hitter who can play center field and remain engaged with DH/1B Justin Turner, president of baseball operations Craig Breslow told reporters on Wednesday. Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Sox hesitated to commit to free-agent LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (now with the Diamondbacks) because of their interest in RHPs Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga, each of whom will likely sign for even more than Rodriguez has.

• Yankees priority in the wake of the Juan Soto trade is RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The team also has interest in free-agent RHP Jordan Hicks, per Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, but Feinsand reports that a significant bullpen addition is more of a fallback position than a priority. General manager Brian Cashman confirmed to reporters on Thursday that the Yankees will look to backfill the rotation depth they lost in the trade and that the team has not had a chance to discuss an extension with Soto, acknowledging that Soto’s time with the Yankees is “a possible short-term situation.”

Roster Moves

• Atlanta re-signed LHP Angel Perdomo to a one-year, split major-league contract, outrighted 1B Evan White to Triple-A .

Minor-League and Foreign Transactions

• Astros signed RHP Wander Suero to a minor-league contract.

• Marlins re-signed LHP Devin Smeltzer to a minor-league contract.

  Royals signed IF Mike Brosseau, RBP Tyler Duffey, and LHP Sam Long to minor-league contracts and officially announced RHP Dan Altavilla’s minor-league deal.

• White Sox signed RHP Jake Cousins to a minor-league contract.

• NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines signed RHP Jimmy Cordero, who was suspended for the remainder of the 2023 MLB season on July 5 for violating the league’s domestic violence policy.

• NPB’s Saitama Seibu Lions signedOF/1B French Cordero and RHP Albert Abreu, who were teammates with the Yankees this year, per Cordoro’s agents Robert Murray of FanSided, respectively.

From Trade Rumors Front Office:

— In his latest exclusive article for Front Office Subscribers, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco highlights an aspect of Wednesday’s Juan Soto trade that—with all of the breathless coverage of Soto joining the Yankee lineup, the impact on the Yankees and Padres, and the accounting of the seven players involved, both in this space and elsewhere. The biggest loser of the trade may not be the Padres, or the Yankees, but free-agent outfielder Cody Bellinger:

— With the Yankees out of the picture, it’s more difficult to identify the kind of market that Bellinger’s camp will seek to drum up a bidding war. The Giants entered the offseason alongside New York as the perceived co-favorites for his services. That’s still very much in play. Bellinger’s representatives need another legitimate suitor or two to play against San Francisco if they’re to force Farhan Zaidi’s hand. That’s where it gets tricky.

— Tim’s top tier on Bellinger was already rather small. Beyond the Yankees and Giants, it included only the incumbent Cubs and the Blue Jays. Chicago has top center field prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong as a fallback option. That doesn’t rule them out on Bellinger, but there’s a chance they stay away from the top of the market.

—Without speaking on Bellinger specifically, The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma wrote that the Cubs appear willing to let the absolute peak of the market pass them by—the kind of approach they’ve generally taken under president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. If Bellinger’s camp is still seeking $250MM+ as Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggested it’s hard to see that coming from the Cubs.

— As for Toronto, the Blue Jays appear to be more legitimate suitors for Shohei Ohtani than anyone realized a few weeks ago. If the AL MVP signs with the Jays, they’ll almost certainly be out on Bellinger. That’d still leave the Giants in desperate need of a star. Still, if it seems to outside observers the Giants could be bidding against themselves for Bellinger, it would also look that way to San Francisco’s front office.