Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! I hope you had a nice weekend. It was another quiet weekend for the Orioles. MLB has had a busy past week overall, as the last big free agents are starting to find homes. Ranger Suárez going to the Red Sox is bad news for the Orioles, but the other signings have come outside the division. I appreciate that.
The Blue Jays were rumored to be going after both Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette, but failed to land either. The Blue Jays reportedly offered Tucker ten years and $350 million before he opted to take a shorter contract with the Dodgers. And Bichette signed with the Mets after spending seven seasons with the Jays. It’ll be nice to have him out of the division.
Advertisement
The Yankees have been pretty quiet this offseason, but they have been trying to lock down Cody Bellinger for weeks. Unlike the Orioles, where we don’t hear anything about a deal until it’s done, I have been seeing regular updates. The latest update from today is that they are now willing to include opt-outs in a five-year contract. Bellinger returning to the Yankees feels inevitable, but it sure would be fun if it didn’t work out.
Just four of the MLB Trade Rumors top 25 free agents are still looking for homes: Bellinger, Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen, and Eugeni Suárez. Of course, one name on there is more important to Orioles fans than the rest. It seems likely that Valdez will sign soon enough. I know, we’ve been talking about that non-stop for months.
Links
Thoughts on Verlander report and Orioles’ rotation – MASN Sports
Roch Kubatko talks about the rumor that the Orioles are interested in Justin Verlander. He doesn’t seem convinced that it’s anything.
Advertisement
2026 ZiPS Projections: Baltimore Orioles – FanGraphs
In case you missed this from a few days ago. I’d like to see Jackson Holliday a bit higher, but overall, that infield looks pretty good to me. But Dan Szymborski’s assessment that they still need a dude in the rotation is right on.
Birthday and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have three Orioles birthday buddies. Rick Krivda, who pitched in 45 games with the Orioles from 1995-1997, is 56 years old today. Chris Sabo is 64. He played 64 games with the Orioles in 1994 after six seasons with the Reds. And Fred Valentine (b. 1935, d. 2022) was with the Orioles in 1959, 1963, and 1968 for a total of 85 games.
On this day in 1995, with the players’ strike ongoing, Orioles owner Peter Angelos announced that his team would not use replacement players if the strike went into the regular season. The strike was ended just days before the scheduled start of the season, and the season began late.
Advertisement
In 2013, legendary manager Earl Weaver passed away at age 82. He died of a heart attack while on an Orioles cruise.
In 2017, the Orioles signed Mark Trumbo to a three-year contract. It was not a good idea.
