Orioles sign Basallo to eight-year extension

The Orioles are venturing into new territory by extending one of their young stars, and it turns out to be catcher Samuel Basallo.

The club has reached agreement with Basallo on an eight-year deal worth $67 million that also includes a club option for 2034 and escalators that make the total package worth $88.5 million. He received a $5 million signing bonus after passing his physical earlier today.

The contract represents the largest pre-arbitration extension for a catcher in major league history. And it goes to the No. 1 prospect in the organization, who turned 21 years old earlier this month and played in his fourth career game last night, and first at home.

Basallo is ranked as the No. 4 prospect overall by ESPN. Baseball America has him seventh and MLB Pipeline eighth.

The Orioles signed Basallo out of the Dominican Republic for $1.3 million in 2021, their largest bonus internationally at that time. He finally was promoted to the majors on Sunday in Houston, a day after outfielder Dylan Beavers, the No. 3 prospect in the system.

The bump to Baltimore came after Basallo hit .270/.377/.589 with 17 doubles, 23 home runs and 67 RBIs in 76 games with Triple-A Norfolk. He immediately left his mark, becoming only the second Orioles player to record an RBI in his first three games and second to tally five RBIs over that period.

“We are thrilled to agree with Samuel long-term and are delighted about what this means for him and his family,” executive vice president/genera manager Mike Elias said in a statement. “His debut and this extension are big achievements for our organization, beginning with the work of our international scouting staff and carried forward successfully by our entire player development operation.  I thank the ownership group, led by David Rubenstein, for supporting our investment in Samuel as we pursue consistent success on the field, now and in the future.”

The workload is increasing for Basallo, who was supposed to be eased into catching duty. Two-time All-Star Adley Rutschman went on the 10-day injured list yesterday with a strained right oblique after missing about five weeks earlier this season with the same injury on his left side.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino said yesterday that Basallo will be the everyday catcher, with Alex Jackson backing up.

“We might see him at first base at some point, but I’m not sure if we’re gonna do that quite yet just because he’s gonna be spending so much time getting behind the dish and trying to learn how to be a catcher in the big leagues and call the right pitches for a brand new staff, essentially, that we’re probably gonna have to take our off-days as off-days and make sure he stays healthy. He also has a little bit of a track record on the injury list, so we’ve got to take care of him,” Mansolino said.

“My guess is, of these eight games at home, we’ll probably see him catch five or six of them. Maybe DH him, maybe at first base. But there’s gonna be a couple off-days, too, the same way all everyday catchers have.”

Basallo is the seventh catcher used this season, a franchise record.

Rutschman’s injury comes at a time when the Orioles are in last place and more willing to develop young players at the major league level, which creates more opportunities for Basallo, Beavers and first baseman Coby Mayo.

“He's an awesome player,” Beavers said of Basallo. “He's one of the best hitters I've ever seen on the field. So, I'm excited to see how he does, just compiles more at-bats here. I'm pretty confident his success will carry over.”

Basallo will be the first player to receive an extension of four-plus guaranteed years since Elias was hired in November 2018.

“He’s going to be good for a long time,” said starter Trevor Rogers.

Much of the extension attention has been pointed toward Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday. Locking up Basallo early could be an indication that the Orioles are more inclined to change their philosophy under Rubenstein and his group.

“The agreement with Samuel is just a catalyst for the next exciting period of Orioles baseball,” Rubenstein said in a statement. “I thank Mike Elias, Koby Perez, and the entire baseball operations group for their effort and diligence in securing Samuel as a key piece of the future of the organization.”

Center fielder Adam Jones signed an extension worth $85.5 million in 2012 but he came up through the Mariners system. Veteran shortstop J.J. Hardy agreed to a $40 million deal in 2014 – also not a homegrown player.

Today is very different.

Chris Davis holds the record for largest Orioles contract at seven years, $161 million. Jones is second, Miguel Tejada third at six years and $72 million, and Basallo fourth.

One of these players is not like the other.

"Just really excited for the Baltimore Orioles," Mansolino said this afternoon. "You think back to when Mike came in and there was kind of a lack of a Latin American program. I think there's a lot of significance with the first extension. It's a guy who came through the brand new Latin American program. So excited for Mike, excited for (vice president of international scouting and operations) Koby Pérez. Just everybody involved in building that program and getting us to this point."

The extension was reported by multiple outlets, with The Baltimore Banner breaking the tape just ahead of ESPN. The Orioles announced the length of it later in the day. A source confirmed the money.