With the Orioles set to play the entire 2024 season without closer Félix Bautista, which pitchers replace him in the ninth inning and how well they do next year will have a lot to say about the O’s team performance for the year. Obviously, we don’t know yet the makeup of the 2024 bullpen and if the team will look to acquire via trade or free agency

PLAYER REVIEW: KYLE FINNEGAN Age on Opening Day 2024: 32 How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2019 MLB service time: 4 years 2023 salary: $2.325 million Contract status: Arbitration-eligible, free agent in 2026 2023 stats: 7-5, 3.76 ERA, 67 G, 28 SV, 69 1/3 IP, 66 H, 33 R, 29 ER, 11 HR, 24 BB, 63 SO, 1 HBP, 1.298 WHIP, 115 ERA+, 4.58 FIP, 1

PROSPECT REVIEW: KEVIN MADE Age on opening day 2024: 21 How acquired: Traded with DJ Herz from Cubs for Jeimer Candelario and cash in July 2023; originally signed as international free agent by Cubs from Dominican Republic, July 2019 Ranking: No. 15 per MLB Pipeline, NR per Baseball America MLB ETA: 2025* Projected by MLB Pipeline Signing bonus: $1

I rolled out three unexpected developments a few weeks ago relating to the Orioles’ 2023 season. Looking beyond the posting of the best record in the American League. Austin Voth wasn’t impactful. Dillon Tate wasn’t able to pitch. Mike Baumann wasn’t big only in size. Here are three more that come to mind. Yennier Cano was an All-Star. Cano staying

PLAYER REVIEW: THADDEUS WARD Age on Opening Day 2024: 27 How acquired: Selected in Rule 5 draft, December 2022 MLB service time: 1 year 2023 salary: $720,000 Contract status: Under club control, arbitration-eligible in 2026, free agent in 2029 2023 stats: 0-0, 6.37 ERA, 26 G, 0 GS, 35 1/3 IP, 29 H, 26 R, 25 ER, 7 HR, 28 BB, 30 SO, 2 HBP, 1.613 WHIP

On their way to 101 wins, an American League East championship and the club's first playoff berth since 2016, the Orioles featured several players who had strong seasons ranging from good to great. Some were expected, some came as surprises. Some were big surprises. Yennier Cano: No one, I mean no one, could have predicted that Cano, who was not ev

Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton summoned Colton Cowser to his office following a July 4 game and told the outfielder to pack his bags. He was joining the Orioles in New York. The wait was over. Cowser’s time in the majors met the same fate on Aug. 14, with the Orioles optioning him to create roster space after Aaron Hicks' reinstatement from

In one sense it was a bit unexpected that an O’s pitching staff that performed so well in the second half of the 2023 season would perform poorly in the playoffs. But they gave up 21 runs as Texas swept the Orioles in three games. They gave up 18 in the last two games as starters Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer combined to allow 11 runs in 3 1/3

PLAYER REVIEW: JACKSON RUTLEDGE Age on Opening Day 2024: 24 How acquired: First-round pick, 2019 Draft MLB service time: 19 days 2023 salary: $720,000 Contract status: Under club control, arbitration-eligible in 2027, free agent in 2030 2023 stats: 1-1, 6.75 ERA, 4 G, 4 GS, 20 IP, 24 H, 15 R, 15 ER, 4 HR, 6 BB, 12 SO, 2 HBP, 1.500 WHIP, 65 ERA+, 5.

A World Series that supposedly was going to be boring and a ratings killer began last night with Corey Seager’s game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning and Adolis García’s walk-off homer in the 11th that gave the Rangers a 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks. The first extra-inning game of the 2023 postseason, and it was an instant cla