Signing Zach Eflin to a one-year deal, with a mutual option for 2027, wasn’t necessarily the huge starting rotation splash that many hoped Baltimore would make. Eflin’s status to begin the 2026 season, even, is uncertain. 

However, if the veteran right-hander gets back to his old self at some point in 2026, the Orioles have significantly raised both their floor and ceiling in the rotation for the upcoming campaign.

Let’s not forget what that “old self” looked like, despite a disappointing 2025. 

Eflin was acquired by the Orioles at the 2024 trade deadline in exchange for a prospect haul, and he didn’t disappoint in his debut stint in orange and black. The righty, fresh off of a sixth-place Cy Young finish in the previous season, posted a 2.60 ERA in nine starts for Baltimore to end the year.

To start 2025, he picked up right where he left off. 

We've reached the final week of the year, so it's time to look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2025. We continue the series today with the selection of Eli Willits as the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft ...

There’s an inherent pressure that comes with the No. 1 pick in any draft, especially when there’s no clear consensus choice. Under normal circumstances, the Nationals would’ve felt that pressure as mid-July approached and they had to decide which amateur player to snag from a pool of several viable candidate.

And then the situation became anything but normal when ownership fired longtime general manager Mike Rizzo seven days before 2025 MLB Draft.

Though the club’s scouting department – led at the time by Danny Haas, Brad Ciolek and Reed Dunn – remained intact, the man who had the final say on the pick – interim GM Mike DeBartolo – suddenly changed.

And when the Nats proceeded to take 17-year-old shortstop Eli Willits over the more-often-touted Ethan Holliday and Kade Anderson, there was immediate speculation wondering if the club’s choice had changed during that dramatic week. The club’s decision makers immediately shot down that theory, insisting the decision was “unanimous.”

Outfielder Taylor Ward had no idea that the Orioles signed first baseman Pete Alonso until some friends alerted him through text messaging. 

Ward wanted to believe it, but he needed more proof. The internet isn't batting 1.000.

“You just never know when you receive that information if it’s true or not, but I’m glad it is,” Ward said during a recent appearance on the “Orioles Hot Stove Show” on WBAL Radio.

“It’s just gonna be great having him, and it’s really cool to see him want to be here, too. I think that’s another big part of it. It’s just exciting.”

Ward came to the Orioles in a Nov. 19 trade that sent pitcher Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels. He was the right-handed power bat that the front office desired since the beginning of the offseason.

The Orioles are bringing back one of their free agents, striking a deal with starter Zach Eflin a few days before 2025 runs out.

Eflin has agreed to a one-year major league contract that includes a mutual option for 2027, according to a source. Eflin will be paid $10 million this season.

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias sought to improve the rotation’s depth and reached out to Eflin, who is recovering from August back surgery.

Eflin underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure to alleviate persistent lower-back pain and was expected to be sidelined four to eight months. He made only 14 starts last season and had three stints on the injured list, the first related to a right lat strain. The veteran right-hander finished with a 5.93 ERA and 1.416 WHIP, with his final appearance on July 28.

“I think, for me personally, it’s been disappointing, depressing,” Eflin, the Opening Day starter, said prior to his surgery. “I’ve just tried to throw a baseball and I wasn’t necessarily comfortable all the time, and that’s not a really good place to be. It’s something I look back and I don’t like thinking back on it, because I didn’t necessarily feel good at times when I threw, but I also didn’t pitch well at the same time.

The Orioles tonight announced that they have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher ZACH EFLIN on a one-year major league contract for the 2026 season with a mutual option for 2027.

Eflin, 31, was the Opening Day starter for the Orioles in 2025 and went 6-5 with a 5.93 ERA (47 ER/71.1 IP) with 88 hits (18 HR), 48 total runs, 13 walks, and 50 strikeouts last season. He was limited to 14 starts due to three stints on the Injured List and didn’t pitch after July 28. The right-hander posted a 3.00 ERA (6 ER/18.0 IP) in three starts before his first placement on the Injured List and had a 4.08 mark (24 ER/53.0 IP) in his first nine starts through June 11.

Eflin was acquired by Baltimore from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for three minor league players on July 26, 2024. He is 11-7 with a 4.48 ERA (63 ER/126.1 IP) in 23 career starts with the O’s and 68-67 with a 4.28 ERA (511 ER/1,073.2 IP) in 200 appearances (188 GS) over 10 major league seasons between the Philadelphia Phillies, Rays, and Orioles. Since he made his MLB debut in 2016, his 4.9 percent walk rate is the third best among pitchers during that time (min. 900.0 IP) behind Miles Mikolas (4.4%) and Zack Greinke (4.8%). The Orlando, Fla. native was originally selected by the San Diego Padres in the supplemental first round (33rd overall) of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Paul J. Hagerty (FL) High School.

To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder WILL ROBERTSON has been designated for assignment. The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

I’ve reached that time of the year, near the end of it, when I’m asked to supply Orioles information to a national publication.

The early deadline makes it almost impossible to be completely accurate when checking back later. The roster isn’t set. It's gotten closer, but president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias has more work to do.

Elias signed veteran starter Charlie Morton, reliever Andrew Kittredge and outfielder Dylan Carlson in January 2025, outfielder Ramón Laureano a month later and veteran starter Kyle Gibson in March.

The doors were blown off my report on Feb. 1, 2024 when Elias traded for ace Corbin Burnes.

Much, much too late for a rewrite.

September, 2025 showcased exactly what the Orioles had hoped for: Coby Mayo showed flashes of being an everyday player. 

Ryan Mountcastle’s injury and Ryan O’Hearn’s new home in San Diego meant that Mayo had the keys to first base after the trade deadline. After recording just 12 hits in 25 games in August, the Florida native flipped a switch along with the calendar. 

In those 24 September contests, Mayo slapped 22 hits, eight of which went for extra bases. The result was a batting average over .300 and a .941 OPS in the month, showcasing why he had been such a highly-touted prospect across baseball. 

Mayo seemed primed to man first in Baltimore for seasons to come. That is, until Pete Alonso came to town. 

It’s not every offseason that you have the opportunity to acquire a player capable of playing all 162 games, mashing 40 home runs and driving in 125 teammates, but that’s what Alonso brings to Baltimore. Mayo very well could turn into that kind of player in the future, but the Orioles are aware of their current window of opportunity. 

The next big move for the Orioles remains on hold since they traded for Rays starter Shane Baz. They might not strike again until 2026.

What else is in store before Opening Day is the most popular question among fans and media. Rank it No. 1, like the starter who could walk through the door.

We’ve addressed several topics, including how the Orioles will jam five starters into the rotation with multiple newcomers expected, who’s the leadoff hitter, whether Tyler O’Neill can extend his record for most Opening Day home runs in a row, will there be innings limits on some starters coming back from surgery (this one was asked before the Grayson Rodriguez trade), whether Albert Suárez would re-sign (he did), which starters could move to the bullpen, whether Trevor Rogers can match his 2025 dominance, which starter will lead the staff in innings, what’s next for Heston Kjerstad, who gets protected in the Rule 5 draft (Anthony Nunez, Cameron Foster and Reed Trimble), how the Orioles round out the rest of their coaching staff, will Coby Mayo play other positions besides first base, and whether Leody Taveras makes the Opening Day roster.

Among the quicker hits from a few days ago were the following:

Who is the next starting pitcher acquired by Mike Elias and will he come via free agency or trade, what’s the order in the rotation, does another new starter bump Tyler Wells to a relief role, what other moves will be made, with the expectation that Elias isn’t done with the bullpen or finding some role players, are a utility infielder and third catcher necessities, will Elias trade from the major league roster, who’s vulnerable to come off the 40-man roster, is Colton Cowser the center fielder on Opening Day, does Tyler Ward remain a middle-of-the-order bat, which non-roster players receive invites to spring training, and which ones have a real shot to make the club, and will the payroll exceed the approximately $164.6 million from Opening Day.

Outbidding other teams to sign first baseman Pete Alonso would have qualified as wishful thinking back in the day.

On this day, it remains a reality for the Orioles. They did it.

Shoppers are forming lines to return holiday gifts. Not every wish is granted. But the Orioles don’t want any refunds. They’re thrilled to go into the New Year with Alonso, Taylor Ward, Ryan Helsley, Shane Baz and Andrew Kittredge.

They also have center fielder Leody Taveras on a $2 million contract. He was the offseason’s first significant signing for the Orioles, with the deal finalized on Nov. 5.

Taveras is penciled into the outfield with Ward, Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Beavers. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias isn’t done checking the market, especially center fielders, which would enlarge the crowd and raise questions about Taveras.

The day has arrived for many of us when the angst over getting ready for the Christmas holiday is replaced by the angst over making it through the Christmas holiday.

I recommend a discreet exit to the bedroom and a few minutes screaming into a pillow. Don’t return to your guests until the redness has left your face.

Fa la la la la …

Orioles fans already received a middle-of-the-order, five-time All-Star for first base, a closer who led the majors in saves in 2024, a power-hitting corner outfielder who set career highs this year in doubles, home runs and RBIs but could bat leadoff in some lineups, and a starting pitcher for the middle or back end of the rotation with a big arm, high ceiling and three years of controllability.

Other gifts should arrive after the last of the wrapping paper is balled up and tossed into the trash and leftovers are packed into plastic to-go containers that you’ll never get back.

Foster Griffin went to Japan three years ago not because he envisioned it would get him back to the major leagues eventually, but because at the time it was the only place that offered him a chance to be a starting pitcher.

Having bounced back and forth between Triple-A, Kansas City and Toronto while making seven MLB appearances in relief from 2020-22, the left-hander saw an appealing opportunity with the Yomiuri Giants. And once he got the blessing from his then-pregnant wife, he made the move across the Pacific and hoped for the best.

Three highly successful years later, Griffin found himself Tuesday talking about his latest opportunity: Becoming a member of the Nationals’ 2026 rotation after signing a one-year, $5.5 million contract. It’s an opportunity he couldn’t have realistically foreseen when he first left for Japan.

“It’s tough so far to wrap my head around it, to be honest with you,” he said in a Zoom session with reporters. “You hear about some guys going to Japan and coming back and getting deals. But to be honest with you, that was never at the front of my mind when I left. I just wanted to go out there and re-establish myself as a starter. I kind of feel like I got this second chance at baseball in my career, by getting the opportunity to go to Japan.”

In their quest to add some much needed experience to an otherwise young rotation, the Nationals turned their sights to Tokyo. Not for a native Japanese pitcher, but for an American-born, former first round pick who indeed resurrected his career in unexpected fashion.

Would the Orioles dare to make a roster move on the day before Christmas?

There are no organizational rules against it. President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias won’t silence the ringer on his phone.

It didn’t happen last year. They signed three players to minor league deals on Dec. 23 – pitchers Matt Bowman and Gerald Ogando and outfielder Jordyn Adams. And they traded first baseman Lewin Díaz to the Braves for cash considerations on Dec. 23, 2022, during that weird stretch where they’d lose him and take him back. It felt like a toxic relationship.

Catcher Lians Beato signed a minor league contract on Christmas Day 2018. Gift exchanges weren’t paused and he never made it past the Dominican Summer League.

You must go back to 2014 to find the last Christmas Eve transaction, when the Orioles signed left-hander Cesar Cabral to a minor league deal. They claimed catcher Ryan Lavarnway on waivers from the Cubs the previous day.

The Washington Nationals announced the remainder of their Major League coaching staff on Tuesday. The announcement was made by Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni and Manager Blake Butera. The complete list below joins Butera’s staff, which also includes Bench Coach Michael Johns and Pitching Coach Simon Mathews, who were announced in November.

Matt Borgschulte, 35, enters his fifth season as a coach at the Major League level and his first as Washington’s hitting coach. He spent the 2025 season as the hitting coach the Minnesota Twins and three seasons (2022-24) as the co-hitting coach for the Baltimore Orioles. Under his tutelage, Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (2025) and Orioles designated hitter Anthony Santander (2024) won their first American League Silver Slugger awards, and in 2024, Baltimore hitters ranked second in Major League Baseball in home runs (235) and third in slugging percentage (.435), extra-base hits (530) and total bases (2,424). Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson was named the American League Rookie of the Year, and both he and catcher Adley Rutschman won American League Silver Slugger awards in 2023.

With the Twins organization, Borgschulte spent time as the hitting coach for Triple-A St. Paul (2021), Single-A Fort Myers (2019) and the Gulf Coast League Twins (2018) and was the hitting coach at Minnesota’s Alternate Training Site in 2020. He joined the coaching ranks in 2017 with Single-A Palm Beach in St. Louis’ system after coaching at Southwest Missouri State from 2015-16. A native of St. Louis, Borgschulte played two collegiate seasons at Western Kentucky University before transferring to Drury University (Mo.).

Andrew Aydt, 30, comes to Washington after spending the last seven years as a coach at Driveline Baseball, most recently in the role of assistant director of hitting since January of 2024. In that role, he managed 15 coaches and more than 600 players and oversaw their entire Major League Baseball and professional player operation. During his time at Driveline, Aydt worked with a roster of more than 50 Major League players, including Corbin Carroll, Jeremy Peña, Vinnie Pasquantino and Nolan Arenado as well as top prospects like Travis Bazzana.

A native of Wildwood, Mo., Aydt played baseball and graduated from McKendree University (Ill.) in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in economics and earned a master’s of business administration in 2019. 

The Washington Nationals signed left-handed pitcher Foster Griffin to a one-year Major League contract on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni made the announcement.

Griffin, 30, returns to Major League Baseball after spending the last three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. He went 18-10 with a 2.57 ERA, 9.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and 2.0 walks per 9.0 innings in 54 starts from 2023-25. A NPB Central League All-Star in 2025, Griffin went 6-1 with a 1.52 ERA, 87 strikeouts, 22 walks and just one home run allowed in 89.0 innings across 17 starts last season.

Griffin made his Major League debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2020, tossing 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win on July 27 vs. Detroit. He last appeared in Major League Baseball in 2022, pitching in six games between the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays. Griffin went 6-0 with a 2.10 ERA in 38 relief appearances between Triple-A Omaha and Triple-A Buffalo in 2022.

A first-round pick (No. 28 overall) by the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of The First Academy (Fla.), Griffin was the Royals Minor League Pitcher of the Year and representative in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in 2017. He went 49-50 with a 4.54 ERA in 194 Minor League games (154 starts) prior to joining the Yomiuri Giants in 2023.

The Nationals’ one-year contract with Foster Griffin has been finalized, and the 30-year-old left-hander’s signing is now official.

Griffin and the Nats had agreed to terms last Tuesday on a $5.5 million deal, plus incentives, but the contract wasn’t finalized until he passed a physical.

With that matter now resolved, the former first round pick of the Royals turns his sights toward his official return to major leagues after a highly successful, three-year stint pitching in Japan.

Griffin joined the Yomiuri Giants in 2023 after failing to stick in the big leagues and enjoyed immediate success. He went 6-5 with a 2.75 ERA and 1.074 WHIP in 20 starts during his first season abroad, then returned the following season to go 7-6 with a 2.93 ERA in 24 starts.

Griffin’s third season in Tokyo was his best; he went 6-1 with a 1.53 ERA and 0.966 WHIP in 17 starts, earning a selection to the NPB Central League All-Star Game. He allowed only one homer over 89 innings.

The Orioles succeeded in trading for a starting pitcher without losing anyone from the major league roster or on the threshold of joining it.

Does that desire change in future deals?

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias spoke Saturday in a video call about “steering more toward guys that were recently drafted or a draft pick itself.” He veered in a different direction than other executives who also wanted Rays starter Shane Baz.

The odds of winning remain higher by refusing to strip away talent that could be needed in 2026. Makes sense when you put it that way. Don’t potentially weaken one area to strengthen another. But Elias could reach the point where he dips into the excess, if that’s how he views it.

This roster has four first basemen if you include catcher Samuel Basallo’s second position. Pete Alonso has played in 162 games in each of the past two years and never fewer than 152 in six full seasons. He’s a $155 million roadblock.

Grayson Rodriguez is probably sitting at home wondering how he got dragged into another trade.

Rodriguez has one of his own, with the Orioles sending him to the Angels a month ago for power-hitting outfielder Taylor Ward. The former top pitching prospect is gone but far from forgotten.

Rodriguez’s name keeps coming up in discussions and analysis of the Shane Baz deal with the Rays. Similar ceilings and injury histories, though Baz returned from ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow to make 31 starts last season.

The last Rodriguez start happened on July 31, 2024. His record improved to 13-4 after he allowed three earned runs (four total) in six innings and struck out eight Blue Jays in a 10-4 win.

Craig Kimbrel and Burch Smith covered the last two innings. James McCann was behind the plate. Cristian Pache was a defensive replacement in right field. Times were good.

While acknowledging there’s much work to be done, and while making a point to focus on long-term over short-term success, new Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has also gone out of his way to praise the talent already in place and salivate at the possibility of immediate, significant improvement.

“I’ve told many of them, and I really believe it: I think there’s another gear to tap into with many of them,” Toboni said in his introductory press conference, a refrain he has repeated multiple times since.

Anirudh Kilambi offered a similar sentiment in his formal introduction Friday as the Nats’ new general manager, referencing some sage wisdom he received from his former boss in Philadelphia (a man who has taken four different franchises to the World Series during his career).

“One of the things Dave Dombrowski mentioned to me over the last few years, as he has onboarded to multiple organizations and done really well, is that they’re always really good people and really good players, even in organizations that haven’t had the most success recently. And that’s something I took with me as really great advice. There are going to be superstars wherever you go, and you need to be in a position to help them grow, whether that’s on the field or off.”

The Nationals, as currently constructed, need help. There’s no debating that. They need a reliable starting pitcher. They need to fill a gaping hole at first base. They need several experienced relievers.

Shane Baz is the third eye-popping move made by the Orioles this month and there’s more than a week remaining before the calendar runs out in 2025.

Do you see what I see?

Closer Ryan Helsley signed his two-year, $28 million contract on the 1^st, and first baseman Pete Alonso signed his five-year, $155 million deal on the 11^th. President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias hopped back into the trade market by acquiring Baz from the Rays for four prospects and a Competitive Balance Round A pick – the 33^rd overall in the draft.

Baz never seemed to be tied to the Orioles or anyone else. The Rays apparently weren’t in a major rush to move him. It just happened organically, as these things are wont to do.

“That’s not necessarily the direction we were looking to go because of how highly we think of Shane,” Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander told the media. “But we had teams coming after him aggressively, and there is a point where, if a certain threshold is reached, you can’t help but have to consider it.”

Mike Elias remembers Shane Baz from their days in Houston – the executive working as scouting director with the Astros and the teenager pitching at Concordia Lutheran High School. Elias went to the right-hander's house and met his parents.

This is where the relationship began, though it didn’t fully blossom until about eight years later.

“I had a lot of familiarity with him,” Elias said.

Elias traded for Baz yesterday, sending four prospects and a Competitive Balance Round A pick to the Rays. The Pirates made Baz the 12^th overall selection in the 2017 draft and packaged him a year later in a deal with Tampa Bay.

Now it’s Elias’ turn.