Baltimore Orioles Face Hefty Salary Arbitration Bill This Offseason

Anthony Santander is among the Baltimore Orioles who could get a nice payoff either in salary arbitration or by agreeing to a deal to avoid it.

The Baltimore Orioles are coming off an American League East title and are hoping to use that as a launching pad for bigger things in 2024.

But the Orioles have plenty of items to check off this offseason, including salary arbitration, and what they have ahead is a lot of work.

MLB Trade Rumors published its annual projections of what each Orioles player that is eligible for arbitration could receive. The Orioles have 16 arbitration-eligible players in all, with Anthony Santander in line for a potentially big payday.

These projections are based on an algorithm to project arbitration salaries that looks at the player’s playing time, position, role, and performance statistics while accounting for inflation.

If the Orioles and their arbitration-eligible players cannot agree on a deal by Jan. 12, then they must exchange figures and go to arbitration. In most cases, teams will come to an agreement on a one-year salary, or an extension, before the deadline.

Players who have three or more years of Major League service but less than six years of Major League service are eligible.

Here are the Orioles that are eligible for arbitration, along with MLB Trade Rumors’ projected figures:

Anthony Santander: $12.7MM

Danny Coulombe: $2.2MM

John Means: $5.93MM

Ryan O’Hearn: $3MM

Cedric Mullins: $6.4MM

Austin Hays: $6.1MM

Dillon Tate: $1.5MM

Jorge Mateo: $2.9MM

Ryan Mountcastle: $4.2MM

Cionel Perez: $1.3MM

Cole Irvin: $1.8MM

Keegan Akin: $800K

Jacob Webb: $1.2MM

Ramon Urias: $2MM

Tyler Wells: $2.3MM

Ryan McKenna: $740K

Several of the key pieces of the 2023 AL East winners are in line for big raises, the foremost being Santander, who is a year away from free agency. He batted .257 with 28 home runs and 95 RBI in 153 games.

Pitcher John Means, outfielder Cedric Mullins and outfielder Austin Hays all have the potential to make more than $5 million in arbitration, per projections.

Mullins batted .233 with 15 home runs and 74 RBI, while Hays batted .275 with 16 home runs and 67 RBI.

Means only pitched in four games for the Orioles, going 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA. He spent most of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He and the O’s avoided arbitration early in 2022, agreeing to a two-year, $5.925 million contract that ended after this season.