O's pick up 2025 contract options on three players, but decline option for Danny Coulombe (updated twice)

The Orioles have picked up 2025 contract options on first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn, lefty reliever Cionel Pérez and righty reliever Seranthony Domínguez. But in a surprise move, they declined the $4 million 2025 contract option on lefty reliever Danny Coulombe.

The club today also made the procedural move of reinstating pitchers Félix Bautista, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells and infielder Jorge Mateo from the 60-day injured list. 

Coulombe has been a dependable reliever for the club since they acquired him just ahead of Opening Day 2023 from the Twins for cash considerations. But now he officially becomes a free agent where he could re-sign with the Orioles or sign with any other club. 

Perhaps the team has injury concerns here as Coulombe was on the injured list last year from June 11-Sept. 20 as he underwent a procedure to remove bone chips from his left elbow.

But he finished the year throwing 3 2/3 scoreless over four games and pitched 0.2 innings scoreless in the playoffs.

He went 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA this year in 33 games. In two years with the club, he was 6-3 with a 2.56 ERA and 0.951 WHIP in 94 games. On the current 40-man the O's have three lefty relievers in Perez, Keegan Akin and Gregory Soto. 

O’Hearn’s option is for $8 million for 2025, Domínguez's $8 million option was picked up and Pérez is now under contract for next year for $2.2 million. O’Hearn’s option was originally for $7.5 million, but that could expand by $500,000 if he exceeded 120 games played, which he did at 142 this season.

Completing his second year with the Orioles, O’Hearn took 494 plate appearances and he hit .264/.334/.427/.761 with 21 doubles, three triples, 15 homers, 59 RBIs and 60 runs scored.

While O’Hearn’s 15 homers produced a new career-high, he had a later season power outage. Starting July 21, he hit just three homers over 62 games and 200 PAs with a .685 OPS.

Now with 6.002 years of service time, O’Hearn could have been a free agent but the O’s picking up his option puts him under team control now through next season.

A preseason goal for O’Hearn was to walk more. He sure did so, raising his walk rate from 4.1 percent in 2023 to 9.3 (MLB average was 8.5). He decreased his strikeout percentage from 22.3 to 14.0 (MLB average was 22.7).

O’Hearn finished the year ranked in the 93rd percentile in K percentage. Per Statcast his lowest K% in a season entering 2024 was 22.3 (2023) and his highest was 28.0 (2021 & 2020); the 14.0 K% was the lowest mark by an Oriole since Hanser Alberto in 2019 (9.1).

Pérez went 2-0 with a 4.53 ERA over 62 games in 2024. He threw 53 2/3 innings allowing 47 hits with 28 walks, 46 strikeouts and 1.398 WHIP. He began the year on the injured list with a strained right oblique and was activated in late April.

A dependable reliever for three seasons with the club, since 2022 he has gone 13-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.366 WHIP over 193 games for the Orioles. Had the O's not picked up his option, Pérez would have been eligible for arbitration but now his contract for 2025 is resolved. 

Domínguez will get $8 million for 2025 and the Orioles would have paid him a $500,000 buyout had they declined his option.

While he went 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA for two teams last year, he was in 25 Baltimore-only games 0-2 with a 3.97 ERA and saved 10 of 11 games. He stranded two of nine inherited runners, had a 1.279 WHIP a 3.6 walks per nine and 11.1 strikeouts. His swing and miss rate got better on the O’s watch but he allowed 2.4 homers per nine.

And even more roster news: The Orioles announced today they have added catcher Rene Pinto off waivers from Tampa Bay and right-handed pitcher Thaddeus Ward off waivers from the Washington Nationals.

Additionally, pitcher Matt Bowman elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. All of today’s moves leave the O’s 40-man roster at 36 players.

Pinto, 28, from Venezuela, has played parts of the last three seasons with the Rays batting .231 with a .667 OPS in 82 games. In 2024 over 49 plate appearances, he hit .214/.292/.429/.720 and threw out just one of 19 trying to steal. He is not yet arbitration eligible until after the 2025 season and gives the O’s three 40-man roster catchers in addition to Adley Rutschman and Blake Hunt.

Ward spent part of 2023 with the Nationals, going 0-0 with a 6.37 ERA over 35 1/3 innings. That year he averaged 93.5 mph on his four-seam fastball and 93.2 on his two-seam sinker. He spent all of last year with Triple-A Rochester, going 8-6 with a 5.64 ERA over 28 starts and 119 2/3 innings.

Bowman pitched to a 4.40 ERA and 1.27 WHIP with the Orioles over 30 2/3 innings.

Qualifying offers extended: As expected, the Orioles have extended qualifying offers to two of their free agents in pitcher Corbin Burnes and outfielder Anthony Santander.

Both players are free agents and seem certain to decline the offers. The qualifying offer is a one-year contract set for $21.05 million for the 2025 season. A player accepting a QO would receive that amount and be under contract with that team for next season.

Players extended an offer have until 4 p.m. ET Nov. 19 to decide to accept or decline.

Players can be made a qualifying offer just once in their careers and only if they played for one team all of last year. The QO is the average of the top 125 MLB salaries. Since 2012 just 10 percent of players (13 of 131) have accepted the offer.

Should Burnes and Santander decline as expected and then sign with another team, the Orioles would get two draft picks.

As one of 14 teams that receives revenue sharing dollars if an O’s free agent signs for $50 million or more guaranteed dollars (again almost a certainty in both cases) the O’s picks would come after the first round.

Last year, Minnesota made a QO to pitcher Sonny Gray who later signed a three-year deal for $75 million with St. Louis. So, the Twins got the 33^rd overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. According to MLB.com, the O’s currently already hold the No. 19 for pick for next summer’s draft. If these two players decline the offer and sign for that $50 million plus amount, the O’s could add two picks in the low to mid 30s.

MLB.com ranks Burnes as the No. 2 free agent behind Juan Soto and Santander as No. 6 overall and third among position players after Soto and Alex Bregman.

Santander, named earlier today as a Silver Slugger finalist in the American League, hit 44 homers to rank second in the AL and third in the majors. He hit .235/.308/.506/.814 with 91 runs and 102 RBIs. He became the eighth Oriole to hit 40 or more homers and first since Mark Trumbo in 2016. And the first to drive in 100 or more since Jonathan Schoop in 2017. His 35 homers starting June 1 was third in MLB.

Burnes went 15-9 with  2.92 ERA in 194 1/3 innings over 32 starts. In the AL stats, he finished tied for first with 22 quality starts, third in innings, fourth in ERA and sixth in opponent OPS at .622.

He allowed just one run his last three regular season starts with an ERA of 1.29 his last six games. In Game 1 of the playoffs versus Kansas City he gave up one run and five hits over eight plus inning as the Orioles lost 1-0.

In what may be the O's final move today, they added lefty pitcher Luis Gonzalez to their 40-man roster from Triple-A Norfolk. Gonzalez, 32, has never pitched in the majors. For the Tides over 44 games he went 5-3 with a 4.50 ERA. In 60 innings he walked 12 and fanned 71 with a 1.10 WHIP.

His additon gives the O's a 40-man roster of 37 players.