There have been many waves made across MLB as teams prepare for spring training, with one of the more recent waves coming from the Kansas City Royals, who signed Bobby Witt Jr. to a long-term deal.
MLB Radio Network analyst Ryan Spilborghs believes the Baltimore Orioles have a great opportunity to follow suit in signing their young stars, including catcher Adley Rutschman and infielder Gunnar Henderson.
Coming off a tremendous 2023 season, massive moves were recently made within the Baltimore Orioles franchise. On Jan. 31, it was announced that the franchise would be sold from the Angelos family to a group headed by multi-billionaire and Baltimore native David Rubenstein. A day later, the team made a trade to acquire 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers, giving the Orioles the star pitcher many fans have been calling for all offseason.
Then, a move was made elsewhere in the American League that could open up new possibilities for the team to lock up some of its rising stars. On Feb. 5, the Royals signed Witt to an 11-year, $288.8 million extension. Witt, who would have entered arbitration following the 2024 season, will remain in Kansas City into the 2030s. He can opt out after the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth seasons.
Spilborghs thinks if the Orioles try to sign their stars early it will benefit the organization as a whole and make everything easier down the line.
“There’s a reason why these organizations offer these contracts early to players. It’s because it’s still saving them money and it’s still saving them decisions,” Spilborghs said on Glenn Clark Radio Feb 6. “One of the best things a front office can do is save themselves from heartache and being put in a position where they’re having to make a choice of a trade or something like that.”
This presents an interesting opportunity for the Orioles. Rutschman, 26, is eligible for arbitration in 2025. Henderson, 22, is eligible a year later. Given the circumstances, many believe that it may prove prudent to follow the Royals’ example and lock up these franchise-level players early.
Spilborghs believes it is crucial for the Orioles to lock up players like Rutschman, Henderson and infielder Jackson Holliday sooner rather than later. The first player Spilborghs says the Orioles should first lock up Rutschman, the man the team drafted over Witt in 2019. Rutschman is represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council’s Dan Vertlieb.
“I’m taking Adley and the reason why is, I think in the history of the game, if you looked at the impact of elite catchers, that’s the one position player group in baseball where you’ve seen catchers get better as they get older because they learn the league,” Spilborghs said. “… Elite catchers usually lead teams to the postseason. And in the case of Adley, if I’m offering him a deal that’s north of $26 million a year, I feel like that’s a lot of bang for my buck, especially knowing the key impacts both my clubhouse and pitching staff.”
Deals for Henderson and Holliday may be a bit trickier. They are represented by renowned agent Scott Boras, who has a reputation for encouraging clients to test the waters in the open market. Spilborghs, who was represented by Boras back in his playing days, shed some light as to what the signing process may look like for both players given his own experiences with Boras.
“There’s plenty of examples of Scott having guys sign long-term deals early in their contracts,” Spilborghs said. “He’s not the one that makes the decision. It’s ultimately the player and his family. He presents it, so no matter what the offer is, he presents the offer. He also suggests if you go through the normal arbitration and then the free-agent process and continue to be a good player, you should make north of this. But if you want to take this deal, by all means take it.”
With that thought in mind, Spilborghs believes that it’s in the best interest of the Orioles to follow in the Royals’ footsteps and take a shot at locking up these young stars early.
“If I’m Baltimore, I’m doing the same type of thing, a seven-year guaranteed with some opt outs after Year 7,” Spilborghs said. “That way you have him at his peak years. If he wants to opt into those three, you’ve got it and then you got a club option on the back end. And that’s a nice structure for a win-win for both sides. You get somebody locked up, the city’s pumped up, and then you have one of the league’s best players in your uniform for a guaranteed seven years, which is still a really damn long time.”
For more from Spilborghs, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credits: Colin Murphy/PressBox