Did the Orioles need any more outfielders? Mike Elias seems to think so.
How many right-handed batting outfielders does one team need? As far as Mike Elias is concerned, the right number for the Orioles is at least one more than they had already. He’s made one more signing in the outfield, with Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic reporting on Tuesday afternoon that the O’s are bringing in Ramón Laureano, a longtime Athletic who was most recently on the Braves. Laureano’s one-year deal is for $4 million.
The Orioles officially announced the signing shortly after the report. Recently-added infielder Luis Vazquez, acquired for cash from the Cubs, was designated for assignment as the corresponding roster move. Subsequent reporting indicated there is a team option at $6.5 million for 2026. The O’s have an idea of this being a multi-year solution for whatever the problem is.
Laureano is a seven-year veteran who is heading into his age 30 season. In the 2024 season, he washed out of Cleveland before signing with Atlanta and having something of a resurgence there, as he posted an OPS of .832 in 67 games with the Braves. He can probably fit in as something of a fourth-outfielder candidate in that he’s handled center field in the majority of his games as a major leaguer.
Or perhaps Laureano will end up as more than just a fourth outfielder and rather be a more regular platoon option. He’s been a strong hitter against left-handed pitching in his career, with an .802 OPS when facing southpaws since he arrived in the league. That was an even-more lopsided split a year ago, with Laureano batting .305/.343/.526 against lefties. This number is highly unlikely to continue, as it comes with a BABIP of .421. That is, as they say, unsustainable.
Much like the addition of Dylan Carlson to the Orioles roster mix, I don’t think this is something that directly impacts Heston Kjerstad. Laureano is going to be in the fourth outfielder-y mix in a way that Kjerstad cannot. It was the signing of Tyler O’Neill that really placed a question mark on what the O’s actually think about Kjerstad.
Laureano only pushes Carlson and Daz Cameron farther from the picture. He’s a bit more of a high-probability version of that Carlson signing – and remember, Carlson can be optioned to the minors, so he can be easily pushed aside. If this works out well (or even if it doesn’t but before they’ve decided permanently that it hasn’t worked) then Laureano could get some late-inning pinch-hit opportunities subbing in for either Colton Cowser or Cedric Mullins.
Even so, this is one more outfielder onto the pile and if Kjerstad is not going to make the Opening Day roster, what does that mean for his future with the franchise? As a general rule, I do not think that Mike Elias operates with making one move to set up another move, so I don’t expect there to be any further dominos flowing directly from this. But it does seem like sooner or later, something will have to be done that changes the status quo.
One thing can be certainly said about this: Elias really likes getting guys who he was connected with in his time in Houston. Laureano was an Astros draftee in the 16th round of the 2014 draft, back when Elias was an assistant there and the draft was one of his areas of heavy influence.