Good morning, Camden Chatters.
It's just a few weeks now until the MLB lockout is expected to begin, essentially freezing all baseball roster moves for however many months it may last. Folks, it's going to suck.
But until that happens, the Orioles have been staying busy. That was especially true yesterday, when they made a slew of transactions to bring in some organizational filler and clear some spots on the 40-man roster, which included parting ways with a pair of former first-round picks.
The most notable departure is that of the longest tenured Oriole, Ryan Mountcastle, whose $7.5 million option was declined. Mountcastle had spent more than a decade with the organization, pre-dating the Mike Elias era, as the Dan Duquette-led Orioles drafted him 36th overall in the 2015 draft. He had an eventful rise through the Orioles' minor league system as the O's could never seem to figure out a position for him, initially playing him at shortstop and third base before his porous defense forced them to move him to the outfield and, finally, first base. But his bat was his calling card, and he won International League MVP honors in 2019 after hitting 25 homers and posting an .871 OPS for Triple-A Norfolk.
Mountcastle made his major league debut for the O's during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and he burst onto the scene with a .333 average and an .878 OPS in 35 games, then had a strong 2021 campaign with 33 homers and a .796 OPS. Mountcastle received AL Rookie of the Year votes in both those years, one of only three players in MLB history to get ROY votes in multiple seasons.
But it was all downhill from there. Mountcastle never really emerged as the middle-of-the-order thumper the Orioles hoped he'd become, and their decision to move back the left-field wall at Camden Yards did the righty swinger no favors. His homer total dropped every season since 2021, from 33 to 22 to 18 to 13 to 7 to, this year, zero, as his 2026 campaign ended with a left foot fracture after just eight games. He finished his O's tenure with a .263/.312/.438 line and 98 homers in 660 games, amassing 7.7 WAR. It was a disappointing end to a once-promising Orioles career.
Still, Mountcastle shined in comparison to Kjerstad, who is also now a free agent after the O's outrighted him off the 40-man roster yesterday. The Orioles took a gamble in 2020 when they selected Kjerstad as the second overall pick, which was considered a bit of an overdraft for a player ranked as about a mid-first rounder. The O's saved a bit of money on the pick which allowed them to draft Coby Mayo in a later round, so in that sense it may have worked out, but Kjerstad ultimately didn't deliver the prodigious left-handed power he'd displayed at Arkansas.
His O's stint was riddled with health issues that were often beyond his control, including the myocarditis that almost ended his career before it began, and the horrific beanball from Yankees pitcher Clay Holmes in 2024 that gave him a concussion from which Kjerstad never seemed to fully recover. The writing was on the wall when the Orioles kept Kjerstad mired at Triple-A for nearly the entire 2026 season, only calling him up in September and then never letting him play. It's telling that no other team claimed Kjerstad on waivers when the O's outrighted him, though he'll probably land a minor league deal somewhere. Mountcastle, too, should be able to find a new home. Good luck to both of them, wherever they end up.
Meanwhile, the Orioles also cut loose Leody Taveras, Yohel Pozo, and Dietrich Enns, three players who probably won't be missed. Taveras was a fifth-outfielder type who was badly overexposed by having to get regular playing time this season, and the third catcher Pozo seemed like a good vibes guy on the bench but hardly ever got into the lineup. Enns was a member of the Opening Day bullpen after a solid stint for the Orioles in 2025, but flamed out quickly and was banished to the minors for the rest of the year.
And finally, the O's extended a qualifying offer to Trevor Rogers, a no-brainer of a decision. That assures that the O's will receive a compensatory draft pick if Rogers signs as a free agent with another team. Technically Rogers has the option to accept the QO and return to the Orioles for a one-year deal, but there's almost no chance he'll do so when he's certain to receive a hefty multi-year contract in free agency. It would be nice if the Orioles were the team to give him that contract, but I'm not holding my breath.
I've gone on record saying I'd be in favor of the Orioles trading everyone except Pete Alonso. Apparently I'm not too far off.
Top MLB free agents for the 2026-27 offseason: Tarik Skubal leads a shallow class – The Athletic
Keith Law isn't a big fan of Trevor Rogers, saying he wouldn't go past a three-year, $75 million deal for him. If that's all it would take, sign me up.
Should Orioles try Mayo or Encarnacion-Strand in outfield? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
It seems like the Orioles have Coby Mayo learn a new position every season, but for some reason they haven't tried him in the outfield yet. As Rich Dubroff points out, a likely-truncated spring training might not be the best time for it.
Here are the finalists for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, more – MLB.com
If you can imagine, the Orioles have no finalists for any of the major end-of-season awards. What, no Craig Albernaz??
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Five former Orioles were born on this day: right-hander Armando Benítez (54), outfielders Mark Corey (71) and Dwight Evans (75), and the late lefty Ken Holtzman (b. 1945, d. 2024) and outfielder Earl Robinson (b. 1936, d. 2014).
On this date in 1982, Hall of Fame Orioles ace Jim Palmer fell short of his fourth career AL Cy Young Award, finishing second to the Brewers' Pete Vuckovich. Palmer had better stats than Vuckovich nearly across the board, except for wins, which was the be-all and end-all for voters back in those days. The fact that the Brewers edged out the Orioles in the AL East standings probably was a factor, too. But both probably should have lost to Toronto's Dave Stieb, who logged 288.1 innings and threw an MLB-best 19 complete games and five shutouts, but finished fourth in the voting.
