Orioles fans are convinced Gunnar Henderson, Cal Ripken Jr. ad hinting at big move

The Baltimore Orioles have an embarrassment of riches on their roster, and having all of this young talent has led to increasing calls for the Orioles extend some of these budding stars. At or near the top of fans' wish lists for an extension is the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, Gunnar Henderson.

Henderson has been a revelation in the Orioles' lineup and is a huge reason why Baltimore was able to win the AL East in 2023. After a slightly slow start to the 2024 season, he has quickly gotten his feet back under him and is currently slashing .275/.338/.565 with five homers and four stolen bases in just 77 plate appearances. In short, he is still a stud, and it is easy to see why fans want to keep him around for the long-term.

Clearly the Orioles would love to keep him around, too, and had a really fun and cheeky way to troll their fans given all of the speculation when they put out a video that featured the talents of new owner David Rubenstein, Henderson, and Orioles legend and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. this week.

Orioles fans are expecting a Gunnar Henderson extension after viral video, but they shouldn't get their hopes up

First of all, this video is just objectively hilarious and is a callback to the old SportsCenter commercials that rank among the best sports advertisements of all-time. Having Ripken Jr. at his desk in the field and "never taking a day off" was just *chef's kiss* and having Henderson run out to break the news to him that Ripken's office wasn't in the field anymore was some top tier trolling.

Many fans clearly took the bait and are now expecting Baltimore to announce an extension for Henderson soon.

This is just a sampling of the response on social media. The replies to the video are filled with Orioles fans clamoring for news that Baltimore has pulled off an extension for Henderson as Ripken Jr.'s heir apparent. Frankly, they should be expecting Baltimore to try and make that happen, and we love the optimism.

Unfortunately, that optimism may be misplaced. The fundamental barrier to any extension for Henderson (or Jackson Holliday, for that matter) is that Scott Boras is his agent. He is not exactly known to entertain early contract extensions, no matter how cheeky the buzz-creating ads surrounding those conversations are. Boras has actually already addressed the prospect of an extension earlier this year when he hilariously said that the Orioles only call once or twice a day asking about them.

Could an extension for Henderson end up happening? It is theoretically possible, but it is more likely to be possible a year or two from now and only if Boras changes his entire philosophy as an agent. For now, it is just fun to think about, and Baltimore seems to think so, too.

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