Baltimore Orioles Re-Signing Free Agent John Means Remains Possible, Per Report

The Baltimore Orioles have brought in a handful of new arms to round out their rotation this offseason, but a reunion with a familiar face could still be in the cards.

John Means, who underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career last June, hit free agency in October. The 31-year-old left-hander had spent his entire 10-year professional career in Baltimore's organization to that point, and suddenly he was on the open market.

However, according to MASN Sports' Roch Kubatko, the Orioles "haven't closed the door" on a potential reunion with Means. Baltimore re-signing the homegrown southpaw is "a possibility," even if he isn't expected to ink a deal until the latter stages of the offseason.

In four starts this past season, Means went 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA, 0.871 WHIP and a 0.7 WAR.

Means was an All-Star and AL Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2019, going 12-11 with a 3.60 ERA, 1.135 WHIP and a 4.4 WAR across 155.0 innings of work. He remained a staple in the Orioles' rotation in 2020, then became their Opening Day starter in both 2021 and 2022.

The first Tommy John surgery that Means had in May 2022 knocked him out for the rest of that season and most of the next, though. Baltimore signed the southpaw to a two-year, $5.925 million contract to avoid arbitration amid his recovery, only to see him go down again midway through 2024.

Means has made a total of 10 starts over the past three seasons, but he has been effective when healthy. Between 2022 and 2024, Means has gone 3-2 with a 2.75 ERA, 0.860 WHIP and 1.6 WAR, averaging 5.1 innings per start.

For his career, Means is 23-26 with a 3.68 ERA, 1.050 WHIP, 334 strikeouts and a 10.3 WAR in 401.0 innings of work.

Means returning to Baltimore wouldn't impact their rotation at the start of the season, considering he won't be cleared to pitch in the big leagues again until late 2025 at the earliest.

41-year-old right-hander Charlie Morton and Japanese veteran Tomoyuki Sugano have been brought in to support Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer and Zach Eflin. Former All-Star Trevor Rogers might be in the mix as well, even if he got sent down to the minors at the end of 2024, while Kyle Bradish could return from Tommy John surgery of his own down the stretch.

Reports surfaced earlier this winter that the Boston Red Sox were interested in signing Means, but that was before they added another Tommy John reclamation project in Patrick Sandoval.

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