Baltimore is spending just not where their fans want

David Rubenstein purchased the Baltimore Orioles at an interesting time in the organization’s history. Following a pair of winning seasons and their first playoff birth in seven years, the club was loaded with young talent but still lacking the key piece needed to secure its status as a favorite in the American League.

Baltimore traded for Corbin Burnes early last year. They were active at the trade deadline, adding Zach Efflin, Eloy Jiménez, Gregory Soto, and others. Collectively, the moves pushed their season-ending payroll to just about $105M. The nearly $26M increase from Opening Day was the first sign of a change in the team’s approach under Rubenstein.

Baltimore finished at 91-71 last year, three games out of first place in the AL East before getting knocked out of the playoffs by Kansas City in the Wild Card Round. There was a reasonable belief that the team could be aggressive this offseason.

Only, the opposite has been the case and the Orioles have received plenty of criticism for their uneventful offseason.

Baltimore had two key players reach free agency, leaving two question marks on its projected 2025 roster. Either it needed to re-sign its own players or look elsewhere for upgrades. Both would end up leaving (though the Orioles will recoup compensatory draft picks after each declined the qualifying offer). Corbin Burnes departed for Arizona. Anthony Santander signed with Toronto.

General manager Mike Elias took a swing at getting Juan Soto to sign with the Orioles, but when that failed his response was to spread the team’s financial efforts around more depth. Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton will help make up for Burnes’s lost innings. The pair is older (Sugano is 35, Morton 41) and certainly brings veteran experience to the club, but neither is likely the caliber of frontline starter that Burnes can be. Meanwhile, Tyler O’Neill will get most of the playing time in left field with Ramón Laureano and Dylan Carlson added to the bench mix.

Replacing Burnes/Santander with Sugano/Morton/O’Neill/Laureano/Carlson feels pretty underwhelming. (They also brought in Gary Sanchez to back up Adley Rutschman, but that’s also not a game-changer.)

It’s notable, however, that the Orioles have actually made the biggest jump in payroll from last year to this year, by percentage, according to figures shared by Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic. Baltimore’s payroll has increased from $109M in 2024 to more than $150M in 2025, a 56% jump.

Some change was expected with arbitration increases. The rest is a result of the aforementioned free agent class (plus adding Andrew Kittredge to the bullpen). The team has spent money this offseason, but the lack of a “big star” to be the face of that spending could be where a fanbase’s frustration lies.

The team revealed plans to expand their spending elsewhere within the organization, too, as The Baltimore Banner’s Jon Meoli reports. The Orioles plan to begin construction on a $21M player development facility adjacent to their spring training complex once camps conclude. The 42,500-square-foot facility will house numerous features including multiple batting cages, a full hitting lab and pitching lab, and additional office space that will let the organization consolidate its training efforts more efficiently in one location.

There is a reasonable belief that the Orioles still might swing a deal before Opening Day — they did last year — but that same expectation has followed the team since the season concluded. Baltimore’s roster is full of young, cost-controllable talent and there are more highly-touted prospects ready to join them. The club has the players and depth to make a trade to add another pitcher, they just haven’t shown the willingness to meet another team’s demands … yet.

Elsewhere, around the sport …

• Miguel Tejada spent 16 seasons in the majors with six teams and then a year in Mexico before hanging up his spikes after the 2015-16 Winter League season. Tejada is getting into coaching and returning to Mexico, having been hired as the bench coach for the Braves De Leon for the 2025 season, per worldbaseball.com.

• Just yesterday I wrote about some of the remaining free agents available. Several of them have signed. Clayton Kershaw returned to the Dodgers as expected. Kenley Jansen will chase his 500th save with the Angels. Michael A. Taylor joined the White Sox.

Baseball birthdays

72 players born today have appeared in an MLB game. Only nine of those totaled 10+ WAR throughout their careers:

• Chet Lemon, center fielder, 55.7

• Dom DiMaggio, center fielder, 33.5

• Chick Hafey, outfielder, 31.3

• Don Wilson, right-handed pitcher, 27.7

• Todd Frazier, third and first baseman, 25.2

• Earl Sheely, first baseman, 20.0

• Pat Dobson, right-handed pitcher, 16.7

• Jim Fogarty, outfielder/infielder, 14.8

• Lenny Randle, third baseman/outfielder, 11.6

Hafey was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971 by the Veteran’s Committee.

Today in baseball history

1878: Frederick W. Thayer, the captain of the Harvard baseball team, patents the catcher’s mask.

1932: George Weiss is hired to run the Yankees’ minor league system. He eventually became general manager and was largely responsible for the club’s five consecutive World Series Championships from 1949-53. Weiss was honored in the Hall of Fame in 1971.

1942: Minor league outfielder Gordon Houston becomes the first player in organized baseball to die during active duty in World War II. Houston was killed in a flight training accident.

1955: Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays hit key home runs to lead the Santurce Crabbers (Puerto Rico) over the Magallanes (Venezuela) in the Caribbean World Series championship.

1981: Carlton Fisk’s contract is ruled invalid by the league over a technicality (Boston failed to mail it to Fisk by the December 20 deadline; they sent it two days late), making him a free agent. Fisk signs with the White Sox, where he finishes his 24-year career.

1999: The Padres sign Country music star Garth Brooks and invite him to spring training. He goes 1-for-22.

2014: Derek Jeter announces that the coming season will be his last.

2016: Australia and New Zealand advance in World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. Australia beats South Africa 4-1, while New Zealand defeats the Phillippines with a 17-7 mercy rule win.

2016: Pitcher Jenrry Mejia is permanently banned from baseball following his third drug-related suspension.

2020: MLB announces rule changes that will begin with the coming season. The changes include implementing the three-batter minimum for relief pitchers and increasing the active roster size to 26.

2021: Minor League Baseball’s new structure (four affiliates plus a complex league team) is revealed. The new setup includes major changes for several independent leagues and a host of affiliate shifts.