The Baltimore Orioles have signed right-handed reliever Yennier Cano to a two-year $7 million contract extension, according to a team announcement. The Orioles also announced this deal includes a club option for the 2029 season at $10 million. The financials of the deal are currently unknown. Cano (age 32) is having a strong season in Baltimore, posting a 2-2 record with a 2.21 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched and 31 strikeouts and a 0.95 WHIP.
In a rather disappointing season for the Orioles with a 53-56 record and in 4th place in the AL East, 11.5 games back of first place, but just trailing 2.5 games from a playoff spot in the AL Wild Card standings. It’s not exactly certain what the Orioles will be doing at the trade deadline. They have fielded calls of trade interest from players such as Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward, and Trevor Rogers. Elias talked this afternoon about the deadline.
Orioles Trade Deadline Approach Not Exactly Certain
Orioles beat reporter Jake Rill quoted Elias today, stating, “We do care about making the playoffs in 2026. But we put ourselves a little bit behind the 8 ball, and we’ve got some ground to make up.” As it relates to their trade deadline approach/strategy, Elias left it on more of an open-ended note right now by stating, “We’re not going to have a strong bias towards being in one of those buckets, buyer or seller.” These comments from Elias aren’t surprising from the standpoint that despite greater expectations for an Orioles team in 2026, they still have a chance to make the playoffs, and arguments can be made for them to be buyers, sellers, or perhaps both.
As for the Cano re-signing, it solidifies a bullpen piece for the future, whether the Orioles decide to sell or keep some of their pitching assets at the deadline. Cano has done a great job this year at inducing ground balls. He has a 65.1% ground ball percentage, which puts him in the 100th percentile amongst pitchers, according to Baseball Savant. He’s also been great at commanding in the zone with a 4.8 BB%, according to Baseball Savant. Cano throws five pitches, which include a sinker, split finger, sweeper, four seamer, and slider, according to Baseball Savant. Cano relies most heavily on his sinker, which he’s thrown 54.8% of the time this season, per Baseball Savant.
Orioles Have Other Interesting Bullpen Arms On The Roster
The Orioles have other bullpen arms such as Rico Garcia, Brandon Young, and Andrew Kittredge who’ve made an impression in the Orioles bullpen this season to various degrees. Whether the Orioles choose to keep or trade any of these players in the coming days for prospects/future possible talent remains to be seen. But for the time being, this seems to be a good baseball move for an Orioles team that is sort of in limbo as it relates to approaching the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline, in which the official deadline is Monday, August 3rd at 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Cano has had a successful season for the Orioles in past seasons, including 2023 and 2024, in addition to 2026. The Orioles will be hoping for more of that success in the future months and years ahead in Baltimore.
Baltimore Orioles Sign Yennier Cano On Two Year Deal