The
Orioles finished the
2022 season 83–79, their first season finishing at .500 or above since 2016 but finished 16 games out of 1st and missed the postseason for the sixth consecutive season.
Rule changes Pursuant to the CBA, new rule changes will be in place for the 2023 season: • institution of a pitch clock between pitches; • limits on pickoff attempts per plate appearance; • limits on defensive shifts requiring two infielders to be on either side of second and be within the boundary of the infield; and • larger bases (increased to 18-inch squares); The most controversial of the rules changes was the addition of a pitch clock. Pitchers would have 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on base to pitch the ball, and require the hitter to be "alert" in the batter's box with 8 seconds remaining, or otherwise be charged a penalty ball/strike. Opinions of the clock, designed to hasten the game, were divided with proponents citing fewer lulls in gameplay and detractors citing the demise of the leisurely pace of the sport, elimination of suspenseful build ups in big game situations, and the potential for games to end on a pitch clock penalty. Jeff Passan tweeted that, through the first four days of the season, average game duration was down 3:09 to 2:38 when compared to the first four days of 2022, a 31-minute reduction. Other observations included: • There were 40 pitch clock violations through 50 total games • Stolen base attempts were more frequent and successful (70 stolen on 84 attempts in 2023 compared to 29-of-43 in 2022) • OPS was up from .682 to .715, observing that this production increase was due to an increase in singles.
Awards Following his 2022 campaign, catcher
Adley Rutschman was announced as runner-up for 2022 AL
Rookie of the Year, finishing behind Seattle's
Julio Rodriguez.
Ramón Urías was awarded a
Gold Glove for his defensive work at third base in 2022. Toronto's
Matt Chapman and Cleveland's
José Ramírez were the other finalists for the AL
third baseman honor.
Cedric Mullins was also a finalist for the
center field award, alongside Kansas City's
Michael A. Taylor and Cleveland's
Myles Straw, who won at that position. Prospect
Heston Kjerstad was named MVP of the
Arizona Fall League, an off-season league that provides an environment for top prospects to advance their development. Kjerstad had previously missed significant playing time since being drafted second overall in the
2020 amateur draft due to the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season, a bout of myocarditis in 2021, and a strained hamstring early in 2022.
Roster moves Arbitration Prior to the filing deadline, the Orioles tendered contracts to all six arbitration-eligible players (i.e. players with between three and six years of major league service time): Outfielder
Anthony Santander agreed to $7.4M, outfielder Cedric Mullins agreed to $4.1M, outfielder
Austin Hays agreed to $3.2M, shortstop
Jorge Mateo agreed to $2M, and reliever
Dillon Tate agreed to $1.5M. Only pitcher
Austin Voth differed with the Orioles on his $2M request; the Orioles filed at $1.7M. Voth and the Orioles avoided arbitration by agreeing to $1.85M and an option for 2024 worth $2.45M plus escalators.
Additions In advance of the
Rule 5 draft, the Orioles selected the contracts of five prospects adding them to the
40-man roster. The group was headlined by top pitching prospect
Grayson Rodriguez, and included pitchers Noah Denoyer,
Seth Johnson, and Drew Rom, and infield prospect Joey Ortiz. During the major league portion of the draft, the Orioles added reliever Andrew Politi, who had been with the
Boston Red Sox. The Orioles did not lose any players in the major league portion of the draft, however infielder
Jonathan Araúz, who had spent a brief period with the Orioles in 2022 was selected by the
New York Mets in the Triple-A portion. To re-inforce the major league team for 2023, the Orioles came to agreements with three
free agents: starting pitcher
Kyle Gibson received a one-year contract for $10M, infielder
Adam Frazier received a one-year $8M contract, and
Mychal Givens re-joined the Orioles on a one-year $4M contract to bolster the back end of the bullpen. Givens was a former Oriole draft pick who previously pitched in parts of six seasons for the Orioles before being traded to
Colorado. Following the loss of back up catcher
Robinson Chirinos to free agency, the Orioles acquired replacement veteran backstop
James McCann in a trade with the Mets for cash and a player to be named later. The Orioles acquired starting pitcher
Cole Irvin and minor league pitcher Kyle Virbitsky from the
Oakland Athletics for shortstop prospect Darrell Hernaiz. Following the completion of spring training, left-handed reliever
Danny Coulombe exercised his right to opt out of his minor league contract with the
Minnesota Twins. His contract stipulated that were he not selected to break camp with the Twins and were offered that opportunity with another club, he would be granted his release. The Orioles selected Coloumbe's contract, guaranteeing him a spot with the team on Opening Day. Politi was returned to the
Red Sox at the conclusion of Spring Training to open a spot on the reserve roster.
Subtractions The Orioles parted ways with four XX(B)-type free agents, defined as players with at least six years of major league service time: catcher Robinson Chirinos, infielder
Rougned Odor, first baseman
Jesús Aguilar, and starting pitcher
Jordan Lyles. The Orioles declined Lyles' option that would pay him $10M in 2023, making him a free agent. Other major league role-players departing in free agency included pitchers
Chris Ellis,
Rico Garcia,
Louis Head, and
Alex Wells, outfielder and former first round pick
DJ Stewart, and outfielder
Yusniel Diaz, who was the centerpiece of the trade that sent star third baseman
Manny Machado to the
Dodgers. On New Year's Eve, the Orioles traded infielder
Tyler Nevin to the
Detroit Tigers in exchange for cash.
Minor Leagues In various waiver claims, the Orioles added catcher
Mark Kolozsvary, outfielder
Daz Cameron, and first basemen
Lewin Díaz and
Ryan O'Hearn. All of these players were successfully outrighted to the minor leagues and began the year in AAA Norfolk. The Orioles added major leaguers
Reed Garrett,
Josh Lester,
Eduard Bazardo and
Kyle Dowdy, along with minor league free agents Wandisson Charles and Ofreidy Gómez on minor league contracts, and all were reassigned to the minor leagues following spring camp. The Orioles also claimed outfielder
Jake Cave off of waivers from the
Minnesota Twins. The Orioles later attempted to pass Cave through waivers themselves, but was claimed by the
Phillies. Cave was elevated to Phillies' opening day left fielder in the aftermath of
Rhys Hoskins' season-ending spring training injury. The Orioles also added major leaguers
Curtis Terry,
Franchy Cordero, and
Nomar Mazara, on minor league pacts, but released all three at the end of spring training. Cordero's strong spring earned him a major league split contract with the
Yankees following his release. On January 11, the Orioles acquired reliever
Darwinzon Hernández from the Red Sox for cash considerations. The Orioles designated Hernández for assignment on January 26 after the Orioles acquired Irvin from the Athletics and outrighted him to AAA Norfolk. Adding to their young international program, the Orioles signed 16-year-old shortstop Luis Almeyda, a native of
Paterson, New Jersey, who moved to the
Dominican Republic, for $2.3 million, a team record for an international prospect. In all, the Orioles signed 27 players, thirteen for more than $100,000. On March 12, 20-year old minor leaguer Luis Ortiz died after a battle with cancer. Ortiz, who was originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, signed with the Orioles in 2019 and pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2021.
Camden Yards In January 2023, the Orioles announced hospitality company
Levy would replace
Delaware North as the food and beverage partner at
Oriole Park at Camden Yards. On February 1, the Orioles passed on a deadline to exercise a one-time, five-year extension with Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) to stay at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles were under a two-year lease that was to expire on December 31, 2023, and had previously had been on a 30-year lease which expired in 2021. The team and
Maryland Governor
Wes Moore released a joint statement regarding their commitment to a multi-decade partnership to revitalize Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the surrounding area with the expectation that a long-term deal could be put in place. At the heart of the agreement, a long-term lease would allow the MSA to borrow $600 million for stadium upgrades under a new Maryland law. Governor Moore also made a public appearance at the Orioles'
spring training ballpark to promote his commitment to the partnership.
Sport betting was legalized in
Maryland after the signing of
Maryland General Assembly bill HB940 in 2021, allowing for sports wagering at Camden Yards for the first time. The Orioles partnered with Nevada-based SuperBook Sports to open SuperBook Bar & Restaurant in the place of Dempsey's Brew Pub beginning in 2023. In March, it was reported that the Orioles were considering sale of the naming rights to Camden Yards. The team intended to secure a deal of ten years for approximately $6–8 million per year.
Angelos family controversy Owner Peter Angelos collapsed in 2017 due to the failure of his
aortic valve, and established a trust with his wife, Georgia, and two sons Louis and John as co-trustees to manage the family's assets. John was appointed chairman and CEO of the Orioles and Louis took over the Angelos lawfirm. In June 2022, it was revealed that Louis filed a lawsuit against John, claiming that John was taking steps to seize control of the Orioles against his father's wishes that his mother, brother, and himself share control. Louis also alleged that John intended to sell or move the team to
Tennessee where John has a home and his wife's career is headquartered. Further court filings revealed that Louis alleges John and Georgia transferred approximately $65M in assets out of Peter's name and also used these assets to purchase additional stock in the Orioles. In response, Georgia sued Louis claiming he “abused his non-existent power as a successor co-agent purportedly to sell to himself Peter’s law firm” in order to "abscond with Peter’s legacy", according to her attorneys. John Angelos made a public appearance in January 2023 with
Baltimore mayor
Brandon Scott to announce a $5M commitment to the CollegeBound Foundation, which empowers students at Baltimore schools to pursue a college degree or other post-secondary option. During the question-and-answer session with reporters, John once again stated that the Orioles would not leave Baltimore as he had in previous rebukes to news of the lawsuit, and controversially invoked
Martin Luther King Jr. Day to dodge questions about his future role with ownership of the team. It was also during this appearance when, unprompted, Angelos offered media members the opportunity to review the Orioles' finances. "I'll show you the financials of the Orioles," he said. "I’ll show you the governance of the Orioles. I’ll show you everything you want to know." When pressed by
The Baltimore Sun on Opening Day about his promise to be transparent about the Orioles' finances, he remarked "It’s an interesting concept and I saw that my good friends at The Baltimore Sun wanted to weigh in on that today. When the hedge fund that owns The Baltimore Sun, based in New York City, wants to open their books, I guess we’ll take a look at that. It’s difficult for me to understand what that fascination is." On February 6, the family dropped all lawsuits against each other. == Spring training ==