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So, what happened to the 11-year contract that outfielder Kyle Tucker was supposed to receive?
Chalk it up to the unpredictability of free agency.
MLBTradeRumors.com was among the sites projecting an astronomical payday for Tucker, using its formula to calculate $400 million over 11 seasons. Tucker instead agreed to a four-year $240 million contract with the Dodgers, which shattered annual average value (AAV) records. Don’t cry for him, Argentina.
Update: The Blue Jays reportedly made a 10-year, $350 million offer to Tucker.
The Mets pivoted from Tucker yesterday and reached agreement with infielder Bo Bichette on a three-year, $126 million deal. Trade Rumors had him getting $208 million over eight years.
Shane Baz is a big fan of the Orioles’ offseason moves, especially now that he’s become one of them.
The Orioles traded for Baz on Dec. 19, sending four prospects and a Competitive Balance Round A pick to the Rays. They began the month by signing closer Ryan Helsley and reached agreement with first baseman Pete Alonso at the Winter Meetings. Starter Zach Eflin was re-signed on the 28th.
And that was just December.
Reliever Andrew Kittredge came back to the Orioles in a Nov. 4 trade with the Cubs, and outfielder Taylor Ward was acquired from the Angels two weeks later.
“The names that they're getting right now are superstar players - Alonso, you got Helsley, Ward, Eflin obviously coming back,” Baz said yesterday in a video call. “I don't know if I'm missing anybody, but those names are just really, really exciting, getting the chance to play with guys that are of that caliber and I know are really respected around the league and help teams win. And I think it speaks to how they want to play this year and what they're trying to do, and that gives you a little more motivation, I think, just to set the standard and winning is all that matters. And I really like that kind of situation.”
Shane Baz has gone through a trade previously in his baseball life. Just never like this one.
The Pirates selected Baz with the 12th overall pick in the 2017 draft and sent him to the Rays a year later as the player to be named in a package for Chris Archer. He hadn’t pitched above rookie ball.
The second experience lands him in the Orioles’ rotation for his fifth major league season. They sent four top 30 prospects and a Competitive Balance Round A pick to Tampa Bay. He isn’t a throw-in in the early stages of professional development.
The expectations and stakes are much higher.
“It’s always kind of surprising,” he said today in a video call with the local media. “Same kind of deal. I felt kind of the same as the first time I got traded. You’re never really expecting it. I didn’t have any inside on it or anything like that. But you know, I think the excitement took over, just being able to join such a good team and I think what the front office is doing is really exciting.
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.
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.
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.
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 12th overall selection in the 2017 draft and packaged him a year later in a deal with Tampa Bay.
Now it’s Elias’ turn.
The same question was asked after the Orioles surrendered four prospects and a Competitive Balance Round A pick yesterday to acquire pitcher Shane Baz from the Rays.
What’s next?
We wondered about it after closer Ryan Helsley signed for $28 million over two years and again after first baseman Pete Alonso agreed to the five-year, $155 million deal that ranked as the second-most lucrative in franchise history.
Yesterday’s trade caused a redesign of Tampa Bay’s Top 30 prospects list, as calculated by MLB Pipeline, and it's dramatic. Pitcher Michael Forret is No. 5, outfielder Slater de Brun No. 6, catcher Caden Bodine No. 11 and outfielder Austin Overn No. 20. That’s a forceful injection of talent for a pitcher who won’t rise atop the Orioles’ rotation.
Baz isn’t expected to be a No. 1 starter and he probably slots behind Trevor Rogers in the current alignment, leaving Tyler Wells and Dean Kremer for the last two spots. He’s likely to be pushed further back - which would have happened to Grayson Rodriguez before the Orioles traded him to the Angels - if president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias negotiates a bigger signing or deal.
The O’s rotation, in need of help, just added a flamethrower.
Today, Baltimore acquired right-hander Shane Baz in exchange for prospects Slater de Brun, Caden Bodine, Michael Forret and Austin Overn, as well as a Competitive Balance Round A selection. According to MLB Pipeline, Forret slots in as the Rays’ No. 5 prospect with de Brun right behind him. Bodine checks in at No. 11 and Overn at No. 20.
That’s a steep price, but one that the O’s were willing to pay for a young, controllable arm that could help the club in both the short- and long-term.
You may remember Baz, the 12th overall pick in the 2017 draft, as one of the key pieces that Tampa Bay acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the now-infamous Chris Archer trade. The righty has long been considered to be one of the most intriguing young arms in the game, being ranked as high as the 12th-best prospect in baseball entering the 2022 season.
That No. 12 ranking, ironically, was the second-highest for a pitching prospect that season behind only Grayson Rodriguez.
The Orioles took a big swing to address their needs in the starting rotation.
Earlier this afternoon, they completed a trade for Tampa Bay right-hander Shane Baz, the 12th overall selection in the 2017 draft. The cost in prospects is steep, with the Rays receiving outfielders Slater de Brun and Austin Overn, catcher Caden Bodine, right-hander Michael Forret and a Competitive Balance Round A pick.
MLB Pipeline ranks de Brun as the No. 6 prospect in the system, Bodine 10th, Forret 11th and Overn 30th. The Orioles held the fifth selection in the A Round, which takes place between the first-round compensation picks and the second round.
President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias has sought at least two starting pitchers, with a willingness to spend money or consummate a trade. Baz is the first move, and another one is anticipated at or near the top of the rotation.
A big appeal of Baz, 26, is the three years of team control. He has a career 4.25 ERA and 1.227 WHIP in 54 starts over parts of four seasons, with 103 walks and 293 strikeouts over 286 innings.
The Orioles today announced that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor leaguers Caden Bodine (C), Slater de Brun (OF), Michael Forret (RHP), Austin Overn (OF), and a Competitive Balance Round A pick (No. 33) in the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.
Baz (pronounced bahz), 26, went 10-12 with a 4.87 ERA (90 ER/166.1 IP) with 158 hits (26 HR), 91 total runs, 64 walks, and 176 strikeouts in 31 starts for the Rays last season. He tossed a career-high 8.0 innings of scoreless ball on June 26 at Kansas City and completed at least 7.0 innings in five outings in 2025. His 9.52 strikeouts per nine innings and 24.6 percent strikeout rate both ranked in the top 20 of qualified major league pitchers last year. Baz has posted a 4.25 ERA (135 ER/286.0 IP) in 54 career starts, including a 3.06 ERA (27 ER/79.1 IP) in 14 games after returning from right elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in 2024. The right-hander was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round (12th overall) of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Concordia Lutheran (TX) High School. He was acquired by Tampa Bay along with right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Austin Meadows from Pittsburgh in exchange for right-hander Chris Archer on July 31, 2018.
Bodine, 22, was selected in the first round (30th overall) of the 2025 First-Year Player Draft out of Coastal Carolina University (SC). He made his professional debut last season and is ranked as the No. 10 O’s prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
de Brun, 18, was selected in the Competitive Balance Round A (37th overall) in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft out of Summit (OR) High School. He’s ranked as the No. 6 Orioles prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Forret, 21, was selected in the 14th round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of the State College of Florida. In 19 appearances (18 GS) last season, he posted a 1.58 ERA (13 ER/74.0 IP) between two levels and struck out 91 batters in 74.0 innings. The righty is ranked as the No. 11 O’s prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
