The Baltimore Orioles were hoping this was the year.
They didn’t sign Pete Alonso to a big free agent contract just to miss the playoffs again, but that’s the fate staring them in the face, and while the math technically gives the slimmest of chances, it’s all but over.
The Orioles will soon be looking ahead to the offseason, where they’ll have to assess what went wrong.
They’ll also have to figure out how the heck to be competitive in the AL East Division, which continues to be the hardest division in the sport.
The Orioles have been their own worst enemy at times, but it doesn’t help having to play double-digit games every season against the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays.
With all that in mind, it’s worth considering who the Orioles might lose in free agency.
One pitcher has been solid but is also getting up there in years, and it’s not clear that he’d make sense for Baltimore to bring back.
Orioles Could Lose Pitcher
The one-time All-Star relief pitcher Andrew Kittredge is slated to be a free agent at the end of the season.
Kittredge will turn 37 years old next March, but the way he operates, it seems like he could keep pitching for at least a few more years if he so chooses.
This hasn’t been his first season in Baltimore, although his path here was interesting. He began 2025 with the Orioles but finished it with the Chicago Cubs when they traded him to the Windy City at the deadline. Kittredge then returned to the Orioles in a trade for cash this offseason.
This season, Kittredge has been sharp. In 54 appearances, he has a 3.61 ERA and has struck out 7.4 batters per nine innings.
In an era of overwhelming velocity, that’s not the type of pitcher Kittredge is. He gets out anyway, though, which almost helps to make him aging-proof.
Kittredge is in his 10th major league season and has a career ERA of 3.45.
He has also pitched for the Rays and the Cardinals in addition to the aforementioned Cubs and Orioles.
Kittredge is a cool story in part because he was drafted in 2008 in the 45th round but chose not to sign and instead go to the University of Washington — which is part of why he was drafted so late in the first place.
But then out of college, Kittredge went undrafted. He had to hang on to his professional dream for dear life and prove he could do it.
He proved it. Kittredge has thrown in 363 MLB games and counting.
Contract Outlook
Kittredge could be a fascinating case in free agency, because he played this season on a one-year deal worth $10 million — it was a club option.
He likely wouldn’t command that much on the open market, and so depending on his asking price, the Orioles could consider bringing him back again. If Baltimore doesn’t want him, another team will likely give Kittredge a go, because it seems like he could pitch forever.
3.61 ERA All-Star Pitcher Will Be Baltimore Orioles Free Agent This Winter