Orioles sign left-handed reliever to major league contract

The Baltimore Orioles added some depth to their bullpen on Tuesday, signing LHP Josh Walker to a major league contract.

Mar 1, 2025; North Port, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Josh Walker (21) throws a pitch during the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles kicked off MLB’s free agency period by adding a couple of depth pieces to their pitching pool this week.

Just a day after coming to terms with LHP Dietrich Enns on Monday, the O’s signed another southpaw reliever to a major league deal. Baltimore inked LHP Josh Walker to a major league contract that is reportedly slightly above the major leagues' minimum salary. Walker was claimed off waivers by the Orioles on August 21, 2025 and was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk for the remainder of the season.

Orioles come to terms with Josh Walker for 2026. Walker was already on the 40-man roster and spent most of last season in the minors. https://t.co/QI5WysurHm

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) November 4, 2025

The 30-year-old native of Otisville, New York, was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 37th round of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft. He appeared in 24 games for the Mets across two seasons and was designated for assignment in 2024 when the Mets acquired reliever Ryne Stanek.

Walker was subsequently traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but only appeared in one game for their Triple-A affiliate at Indianapolis before being designated for assignment and released. In December 2024, Walker signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, but was DFA’d again in May after appearing in just three games with the club.

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The move by the Orioles to sign Walker to a major league contract likely has to do with his eligibility this year. Walker is out of minor league options, so the O’s would have to DFA him and hope that he makes it back through waivers. A contract above the major league minimum would likely act as a deterrent to some teams looking to claim Walker off waivers should that situation ever arise.

Walker has the potential to join a Baltimore bullpen that is thin in left-handed relievers. Aside from the recently signed Enns, the bullpen is a righty-dominant group. Southpaw Keegan Akin should add some stability if he resigns with the Orioles.

O's announced the signing of Josh Walker to a 1-year deal. Who is he?

🟠 Played 27 MLB games in 3 seasons
🟠 Career 6.59 ERA with 31 Ks in 27.1 IP
🟠 2 years with the Mets, last year in Toronto and was traded to Philly (sent to AAA)

Certainly seems to be a project #Birdland pic.twitter.com/NBsyFnFdon

— SleeperOrioles (@SleeperOrioles) November 4, 2025

Through 27 career games for the Mets and Blue Jays, Walker has amassed a 0-1 record with a 6.59 ERA and 1.72 WHIP across 27.1 innings of work. Walker is a decent strikeout pitcher, collecting 31 strikeouts in those 27.1 innings; however, he has also walked 14 batters, with none of those free passes being intentional. This indicates that control is also something that Walker battles when on the mound.

At the Triple-A level, Walker has a larger sample size to draw data from. Across 174.1 innings, the 30-year-old has a 4.39 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He also has a 25.67% strikeout rate, with 191 strikeouts to just 80 walks.