Orioles and free agent relievers Andrew Kitteridge According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the two sides reached an agreement on a one-year, $10 guaranteed deal. Paragon Sports International customers will receive $9MM in salary for the upcoming season and are guaranteed a $9MM club option in 2026 for $1MM.
Kittredge to play reserve role in front of star closer Felix Bautistawho is returning from Tommy John surgery. Veterans join Serantoni Dominguez, Yenikano and Keegan Akin Serves as a potential high-leverage player in Brandon Hyde’s bullpen. Kittredge has plenty of seventh- and eighth-inning experience. He led the National League and finished second in the MLB (behind Houston) Brian Abreu) The Cardinals had the ball 37 times last season.
The right-hander has earned the trust of St. Louis head coach Ollie Marmore as the top defensive player in front of the star closer Ryan Helsley. He pitched 70 2/3 innings and posted a 2.80 ERA. Kittredge struck out a league-average 23.3 percent of batters while limiting his on-base percentage to 7 percent. He’s missing an above-average pitch on 13.7 percent of his pitches, and he’s also good at keeping the ball on the ground.
Kittredge, who turned 35 shortly before Opening Day, is not a flamethrower. His sinker and four-seam fastball range from 94-95 mph. That’s a solid pace, but by no means exceptional for a modern late-inning reliever. Kittredge’s specialty is beating hitters with his plus slider. He turns to the breaking ball about half the time.
Opponents are batting .177 on the field, and they’re swinging at bat more than 40 percent of the time. He was particularly good at getting hitters out of the zone. Nearly 42 percent of Kittredge’s pitches outside the strike zone were struck. Among pitchers with more than 50 innings, only Arizona’s left-hander Joe Mantipuli There is a higher chance of being chased.
One knock against Kittredge last season was the platoon’s split issues. Pitchers who rely on slider-sinker combinations often struggle with backhand hitters. That was certainly the case with Kittredge. He held right-handed hitters to a .188/.247/.291 line in 183 games. The lefty hit .296/.337/.571 with six homers in 104 at-bats. His career platoon split hasn’t been that drastic, but lefties have posted a solid .244/.320/.455 slash line in over 400 plate appearances with him. Baltimore has three left-handers who will lock down bullpen spots if healthy: Akin, Gregory Soto and Seanel Perez. This gives Hyde some options if he wants to protect Kittredge from the best left-handed bat in the opposing lineup.
Despite being susceptible to lefties, Kittredge has had a solid track record over the years. He debuted with the Rays in 2017 and spent parts of seven seasons in Kevin Cash’s bullpen. Kittredge spent his first few years working in relief, but made his breakthrough in 21 years. He pitched a career-best 71 2/3 innings with a 1.88 ERA, earning him an All-Star nod. Early the following year, Kittredge injured his elbow, requiring Tommy John surgery. The timing of the surgery limits him to 31 appearances in 2022-23.
Tampa Bay traded him to St. Louis last winter as an outfielder Richie Palacios. Kittredge, in his only season with the Cardinals, picked up where he left off before the surgery. Since the start of the ’21 season, he has a 2.48 ERA in 162 games. That makes him one of the best relievers in this year’s free agent class, although his age limits the upside on his contract.
MLBTR ranks Kittredge as the No. 40 free agent this offseason. We expect his deal to be a two-year deal worth $14, covering the age-35-36 season. He falls short of the multi-year deal and overall guarantees, but secures a steady salary for the upcoming season. Kittredge is the O’s third pitcher and fourth free agent to sign a one-year deal this winter. Baltimore has been added Charlie Morton ($15MM), Tomoyuki Sugano ($13MM), and Gary Sanchez (8.5MM) and their biggest acquisition – outfielder Tyler O’Neal A three-year, $49.5MM deal allows him to opt out after his first season.
The five free-agent outlays add $63MM to next year’s payroll (including Kittredge’s option buyout). Baltimore is undoubtedly better under first-year owner David Rubenstein than it has been in recent years under John Angelos. The O’s have eschewed any major long-term commitments, instead adding short-term veterans around their prized core of position players. RosterResource calculates their 25-year-old’s salary to be around $156, which would be their highest number since 2017.
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