Baltimore Orioles 40-man roster has several empty spots

The Baltimore Orioles opened up a few more spots on its 40-man roster today by declining 2018 options on two veteran players.

Two more spots opened up today as the Baltimore Orioles officially let J.J. Hardy and Wade Miley become free agents.

With nine open spots on the 40-man roster, Dan Duquette has plenty of work to do.

And, they’re gone

The announcement regarding Hardy and Miley was shared by Ben Weinrib on the Orioles official website. Miley had a $500,000 buyout and the Orioles chose that instead of paying him a $12 million option to stay with the team. Hardy had a $2 million buyout and a $14 million option. Hardy made $14 million in 2017 and Miley made $8.7 million. With the departure of those two, plus Chris Tillman and Ubaldo Jimenez, over $46 million clear the Orioles books.

Who’s left?

With these two leaving the team, the Orioles have only two veteran pitchers in the rotation and one shortstop. Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. Bundy does not enter arbitration until 2019 and Gausman is in his second year of it. In 2017, those two made a combined $5 million. There shouldn’t be much difference in their contracts for 2018.

With these players leaving for free agency, the Orioles are in a good spot financially. The most expensive contracts belong to Chris Davis, Adam Jones, and Mark Trumbo. Those three eat up $50 million. There aren’t many other players with large contracts, even Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, and Zach Britton only absorbed $30 million last year, but it is safe to assume they will make closer to $40 million combined in 2019.

Comparing some financials

Honestly, that’s not too bad that eight quality players will make less than $100 million, but the team could do better. These eight players include two starting pitchers and six All-Stars. Compare that to the Boston Red Sox, who have five players that eat up more than $107 million. It is also worth considering that the Tampa Bay Rays finished ahead of the Orioles in 2017 and they started the season with contract obligations of $70 million. Their highest paid player, Evan Longoria, will make $13 million in 2018. And, their ace pitcher, Chris Archer, will make $6 million.

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What exactly is the plan?

It is difficult to tell exactly what direction the Orioles will be going until Duquette begins to add to the roster. In the last Buck Stops…Here podcast, Buck Showalter said:

“We’ve got to be about eight or nine [starters] deep,” regarding the pitching rotation.

If this is the case, the Orioles will likely be spending big bucks or making trades. Welington Castillo is coming off of his best season ever and could bring in a player or two of value. And who knows, Chris Davis could even become a trade piece with a career that includes more successes than failures.

Next: Should the Orioles target Carlos Gonzalez for 2018?

With the holes in the roster and the possibility of trades on the horizon, the off-season could be a wild ride for Orioles fans. Stay tuned!