{"id":521779,"date":"2026-01-15T15:19:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T15:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/521779\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T15:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T15:19:11","slug":"which-free-agent-relievers-could-help-the-orioles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/521779\/","title":{"rendered":"Which free agent relievers could help the Orioles?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With one month to go until pitchers and catchers report, the Orioles can\u2019t be considered a finished product as yet. Another high-end starting pitcher appears to be the top priority \u2014 although the options are dwindling there<\/a> \u2014 but the Birds could use some help in the bullpen, too. New closer Ryan Helsley and reacquired setup man Andrew Kittredge should boost the late-inning crew, but beyond veteran lefty Keegan Akin, the rest of the relief corps currently consists of unproven arms such as Dietrich Enns, Rico Garcia, and Kade Strowd.<\/p>\n

The free-agent relief market largely has been picked clean of high-end arms, but a few intriguing veteran arms remain available. Which ones could interest the Orioles?<\/p>\n

Could Rogers be considered an old friend? The Orioles drafted him out of high school in 2009 in the 37th round, which no longer exists, but he elected to attend the University of Kentucky. Rogers, 35, has since crafted a 10-year MLB career for five teams, including a few stints as a closer. He even got to spend a couple of years in the Giants\u2019 bullpen with his twin brother, Tyler. But while Tyler cashed in for a three-year, $37 million deal with the Blue Jays this winter, Taylor is still looking for a suitor.<\/p>\n

Taylor doesn\u2019t have the devastating slider\/sinker combo that his brother has worked to perfection, but he does boast a sweeper that held opposing batters to a .168 average last season. Overall, though, the southpaw was a bit too hittable last year, with his hard-hit percentage jumping up to 44.4%, a full 12 points higher than his 2024 mark. Some of his other peripheral numbers weren\u2019t great, either. But Rogers was off to a solid start to 2025 before he was traded to the Mets at the deadline and subsequently tanked \u2014 which gives him a lot in common with Ryan Helsley. Maybe they can commiserate about their traumatic Queens experiences together.<\/p>\n

I know, I know, I literally just wrote about how the Orioles need to stay healthier this year<\/a>, and now I\u2019m advocating for a pitcher who made only 14 appearances last season while spending three stints on the injured list. He didn\u2019t look effective in that small sample, either, issuing an alarming 13 walks in 11 innings. But if the Orioles are willing to wave off Kopech\u2019s 2025 performance as an injury-marred fluke, they could be interested in his tantalizing right arm. In 2024, his first year since converting to a relief role full time, Kopech ranked in the 98th percentile for fastball velocity and the 99th for fastball spin. He\u2019s always had some trouble with walks but has the high-octane heater to get himself out of jams.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been surprisingly little buzz about the 29-year-old Kopech\u2019s potential suitors this winter, which could indicate that teams are still skeptical about his health. If that includes the Orioles, I can\u2019t say I blame them.<\/p>\n

RHP Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez<\/p>\n

The veteran right-hander is ranked as the #43 free agent this winter by MLB Trade Rumors<\/a>, the highest rated reliever who is still unsigned. Dom\u00ednguez spent just over one calendar year with the Orioles, acquired on July 26, 2024 and dealt away July 29, 2025 in a pair of deadline deals. In 68 games with the Birds, Dom\u00ednguez posted a 3.50 ERA, which exactly matches his career mark in seven MLB seasons. Orioles fans got a taste of the full Seranthony experience. He\u2019s got swing-and-miss stuff, striking out more than a batter per inning in his career, but his struggles with command (4.0 BB\/9) and a propensity for home runs limits his overall upside.<\/p>\n

Then-manager Tony Mansolino had glowing things to say about Dom\u00ednguez<\/a> after the O\u2019s traded him last year. \u201cHe\u2019s an incredible dude,\u201d Mansolino said. \u201cHe\u2019s a leader amongst the Latin players, the American players. He\u2019s a really, really smart, intelligent baseball person.\u201d If the O\u2019s front office agrees with the assessment of their former interim skipper, the Birds could be interested in bringing back Dom\u00ednguez as a middle-relief option who can mentor the younger pitchers. MLB Trade Rumors projects Dom\u00ednguez for a two-year, $18 million deal, but at this point in the offseason he might have to settle for less.<\/p>\n

Mentioning this name stirs up bad memories of one of the biggest blunders the Orioles made last winter. Coulombe had spent two strong seasons in the Birds\u2019 bullpen from 2023-24, posting a 2.56 ERA, but the team inexplicably declined his dirt-cheap $4 million option for 2025 and sent him to free agency instead. The only somewhat plausible explanation was that the Orioles saw something in Coulombe\u2019s medicals that convinced them he wouldn\u2019t be healthy.<\/p>\n

Whatever the reasoning, the decision immediately blew up in the Birds\u2019 face. Coulombe signed with the Twins and began his season with 21 consecutive scoreless appearances en route to a 1.16 ERA for Minnesota, while Cionel P\u00e9rez, the lefty the O\u2019s opted to keep instead of Coulombe, pitched so poorly that he was DFA\u2019d in May. And while Coulombe\u2019s season wasn\u2019t perfect \u2014 he had two stints on the IL, and struggled with the Rangers after a deadline trade \u2014 he compiled a 1.4 WAR overall, more than worth the $4 million the O\u2019s declined to pay him.<\/p>\n

If Coulombe\u2019s medicals are what turned off the O\u2019s last offseason, it\u2019s unlikely they\u2019ll be any more interested in him this year than they were before, so don\u2019t expect a reunion. Still, the guy deserved better.<\/p>\n

Will any of these relievers, or ones available on the trade market, be the difference between the Orioles winning the pennant or missing the playoffs entirely? Not necessarily. But a reliable bullpen will go a long way toward helping the O\u2019s go where they need to go, and adding another steady arm will only help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With one month to go until pitchers and catchers report, the Orioles can\u2019t be considered a finished product…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521780,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2374],"tags":[143,47,38868,2538,5,4,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-521779","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-orioles","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-orioles","10":"tag-baltimore-orioles-commentary-analysis","11":"tag-baltimoreorioles","12":"tag-baseball","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-orioles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115899791165351716","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}