Reviewing present and future free agents on another slow news day

The Orioles had five pending free agents when the offseason began and only one has signed. Only two seem to have any chance of staying with the organization.

Outfielder Austin Slater received a one-year, $1.75 million deal from the lowly White Sox, improving his odds of getting more regular playing time. He would have remained a backup with the Orioles, providing defense and a right-handed bat off the bench.

Right fielder Anthony Santander doesn’t seem to be in the Orioles’ plans after they signed Tyler O’Neill to a three-year, $49.5 million contract. Reports have him seeking a five-year deal and with multiple teams in the division interested as an alternative to Juan Soto.

Criticisms are aimed at Santander’s defense, though he was a Gold Glove finalist in the truncated 2020 season, and a career .307 on-base percentage. He had 44 home runs and 102 RBIs this year. There’s a demand for thumpers in the middle of a lineup.

The Orioles get O’Neill’s power but also a higher on-base percentage and improved defense. Also at a much lower cost, of course.

Gary Sánchez is the backup catcher at $8.5 million for the 2025 season. The Orioles wanted more power from a right-handed bat, leaving James McCann to search for a new team. Speculation that he’s insisting on a multi-year contract is false. He just needs the right fit and he’ll get it.

Santander and McCann aren’t walking through that door, which leaves John Means and Corbin Burnes. Saving the big one for last.

Means reportedly has drawn interest from the Red Sox and it probably would require another multi-year deal while he recovers from a second Tommy John surgery. The Orioles did it after his 2022 procedure.

They could negotiate a similar contract and hope that Means contributes sometime after the All-Star break and can give them a full 2026 season. Tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish also are expected to be ready in the second half.

Burnes could fall into the Orioles’ laps the longer that he stays on the market, but the assumption is that he’s trying to land more than the eight-year, $218 million contract that the Yankees gave Max Fried. How much elastic is on the new ownership’s comfort zone?

Left-hander Danny Coulombe is a free agent after the Orioles declined his $4 million option. Right-hander Jacob Webb signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Rangers after the Orioles non-tendered him at the deadline.

The Orioles declined Eloy Jiménez’s $16.5 million option, as expected, and he settled for a minor league deal with the Rays that pays a guaranteed $2 million if he’s in the majors. It’s a steep fall for a player whose potential was so high that the White Sox gave him a six-year, $43 million contract in March 2019 before he debuted.

The plodding Jiménez got off to a fast start with the Orioles after the deadline trade with the White Sox, batting .296/.315/.409 in 23 August games, but a slow recovery from a hamstring injury restricted him to designated hitter duties and he went 1-for-24 in September.

Sánchez re-enters free agency after the season. Also set to hit the market are Orioles first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, infielder Jorge Mateo, center fielder Cedric Mullins, starter Zach Eflin and relievers Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto. O’Neill can opt out after the upcoming season.  

The possibility exists that all eight of them change teams.