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The Orioles didn’t announce any other roster moves following Thursday’s doubleheader. They slipped back into quiet mode.
One-year major league contracts were given to reliever Rico Garcia and infielder Luis Vázquez, keeping them in the organization without offering any assurances about their status for 2026.
They can help to fill two of the team’s needs. The bullpen is hollow. The infield lacks a real utility player since Ramón Urías was traded. But there’s going to be competition in camp.
To make sense of it, remember what the Orioles did with corner infielder Emmanuel Rivera. They reached agreement last November on a $1 million deal, making him the first of their arbitration-eligible players to receive a contract.
Rivera was designated for assignment multiple times and no one claimed him on waivers, with his salary being a detriment. The plan worked. He provided some depth at Triple-A.
The last DFA came on Sept. 16, when infielder Jordan Westburg was reinstated from the injured list. Rivera is a minor league free agent.
The 40-man roster remains full, but pitchers Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano and catcher Gary Sánchez will become free agents. Pitchers Félix Bautista, Grayson Rodriguez and Brandon Young will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list.
The Orioles also must decide whether to pick up the $5.5 and $3 million options on infielder Jorge Mateo and left-hander Dietrich Enns, respectively, or send them into free agency.
Outfielder Tyler O’Neill has an opt-out clause that he’s expected to decline.
* Catcher Ethan Anderson is making quite an impression in the Arizona Fall League.
Anderson, a second-round draft pick in 2024 from the University of Virginia, is batting .373 with six doubles, a home run, 13 RBIs and a .999 OPS in 13 games with the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League. He has 19 hits in 51 at-bats.
MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Orioles prospects rankings don’t include Anderson, 22, who hit a combined .248/.338/.339 with 14 doubles, four home runs and 45 RBIs in 90 games with High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Chesapeake.
Anderson hit .341/.441/.560 in three college seasons. The switch-hitter earned first-team All-ACC honors at utility as a junior and was a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award, given annually to the nation’s top catcher.
“I really like him,” said a scout from outside the organization. “I’m not sure he’s gonna catch, but I do like him offensively. I like his approach.
“I think Anderson’s gonna move. I think Anderson will be a switch-hitting first baseman/DH. I really do. I liked his approach. And he could be your second catcher, much like (Samuel) Basallo. His bat’s gonna have to carry him.”
* Outfielder Vance Honeycutt has slipped to 18th among Orioles prospects since they chose him in the first round in 2024 out of the University of North Carolina. He appeared in 101 games with Aberdeen this year in his first full professional season and slashed .171/.284/.275 with five home runs and 178 strikeouts in 374 at-bats.
Honeycutt drew 56 walks and stole 32 bases in 39 attempts, but the swing-and-miss remained a problem.
“Honeycutt was a puzzle to me,” the scout said. “He could play center field for you right now in the big leagues, I thought that much of him. There’s some talent there.”
* The Orioles signed right-hander Jean Carlos Henriquez to a minor league deal, according to Lidomtraderumors.
Henriquez, 32, hasn’t pitched in affiliated ball since 2015 with the Rays’ Dominican Summer League team. He’s currently with Aguilas in the Dominican Winter League, where he’s made two relief appearances and allowed an earned run and five hits in three innings.
Lidomtraderumors added that Henriquez pitched in a semi-pro league this summer and threw two complete games on the same day. The Orioles probably won’t ask him to do it again.
The Verge – An Orioles MILB Podcast posted that Henriquez is “hitting 99 mph” in the Dominican.
