Orioles news: official free agents, more coaching changes, and contract option decisions

The Orioles have a busy month ahead of them. They kicked off the offseason right, getting their first trade out of the way on Thursday afternoon. In addition to re-acquiring Daz Cameron from the Athletics, the Orioles also had 8 players officially elect free agency.

Six names were known ahead of time. Corbin Burnes, Anthony Santander, John Means, James McCann, Austin Slater, and Brooks Kriske were all scheduled to hit free agency this winter. However, both Daniel Johnson and Burch Smith elected to hit the free agent market rather than accept outright assignments to the Orioles' minor league system.

Smith debuted back in 2013 but has pitched in just six seasons at the major league level. He struggled with Baltimore this year, pitching to a 5.74 ERA in 26.2 innings. Even at the league minimum, Smith's lack of roster flexibility makes it tough for the Orioles to keep him around. Johnson played primarily with the Triple-A Tides this year, getting just one plate appearance in Baltimore during his call-up.

Orioles make yet another change to their 2025 coaching staff

As reported by Roch Kubatko, Orioles' Director of Pitching Chris Holt is no longer with the organization. 2024 was Holt's first year solely in the Director role, but he'd been with the organization for several years prior to his most recent promotion.

Roch reports that Forrest Herrmann is likely to take over for Holt as the O's new Director of Pitching. Herrmann is currently a pitching coordinator in the O's minor league system, though the move hasn't been officially announced.

The Orioles have already moved on from several other major league coaches this offseason. It's possible that GM Mike Elias has put the pressure on the guys left in an attempt to capture the organization's first World Series title in over 30 years. We'll see if there are more changes to come.

Orioles set to make contract option decisions over the weekend

The Orioles have five players with contract options this winter. The team needs to decide by Monday whether or not to exercise those outstanding options and retain any of the players in question.

It seems likely that the O's will decline Eloy Jimenez's $16.5 million option for 2025. The other four are toss ups. They could likely find someone similar to Seranthony Dominguez in free agency cheaper than his $8 million option, but the consensus around Baltimore seems to be that fans want Dominguez to stay.

Ryan O'Hearn is also due $8 million, though he seems more likely to stay. O'Hearn's defensive versatility and his performance at the plate since his arrival in Baltimore have kept him employed after a slow start to his career in Kansas City. Danny Coulombe ($4 million) and Cionel Perez ($2.2 million) will almost certainly return. Both are cheap enough at those price points and the O's bullpen needs help.