Baltimore Orioles All-Star Reliever Agrees to One-Year Deal: Report

The Baltimore Orioles have reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with right-handed reliever Andrew Kittredge, a move first reported by Athletics’ Ken Rosenthal on Thursday.

The Orioles had not officially announced the deal. Baltimore will have to make room on its 40-man roster for Kittredge.

Kittredge would receive $10 million for 2025. That includes a $9 million salary with a $1 million buyout on a $9 million team option.

The 34-year-old spent last season with St. Louis Cardinals, where he went 5-5 with a 2.80 ERA in 74 appearances. He struck out 67 and walked 20 in 70.2 innings. He also recorded a save.

He has spent almost his entire Major League career as a reliever, making just 15 starts among his 255 appearances. He has been a set-up man for the most part as he enters 2025 with 16 career saves.

His All-Star campaign came in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he finished the season 9-3 with a 1.88 ERA in 57 games, which included four starts. He struck out 77 and walked 15 in 71.2 innings and had a career-best 2.4 WAR per. baseball-reference.com.

Kittredge made his MLB debut in 2017 with Tampa Bay and has a career record of 23-12 with a 3.44 ERA with 273 strikeouts and 76 walks in 285.1 innings.

He missed parts of the 2022 and 2023 seasons after having Tommy John surgery.

Kittredge will join a bullpen that returns a key piece in closer Félix Bautista, who missed the entire 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He was the 2023 Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year, although he missed the final month of that season after suffering the injury.