Chris Bassitt isn’t the exclamation point many desired for the Orioles’ starting rotation this offseason, but he presents a rock-solid period at the very least.
As first reported by ESPN, Baltimore has agreed to a one-year, $18.5 million deal with the veteran right-hander less than two weeks before his 37th birthday. Bassitt is coming off his fourth straight campaign of completing at least 170 innings and pitched to an ERA below 4.00 in three of those seasons.
In 170 1/3 innings for Toronto last season, Bassitt went 11-9 with a 3.96 ERA and averaged 8.8 strikeouts and 2.7 walks per nine innings. He also pitched well in relief during the Blue Jays’ postseason run to the World Series, allowing just one run and striking out 10 in 8 2/3 innings.
Bassitt is the third notable addition to Baltimore’s rotation this winter after president of baseball operations Mike Elias traded for talented right-hander Shane Baz and re-signed veteran Zach Eflin to a one-year, $10 million contract in December. The Orioles will be counting on the upside of Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, and Baz in 2026, but Bradish pitched just 32 innings in the majors in his return from 2024 Tommy John surgery while Rogers logged a combined 142 1/3 innings between the majors and minors last season. In other words, new manager Craig Albernaz would prefer not to lean too hard on either of his top two projected starters, especially early in the season.
Adding another established arm to the rotation mix should allow the Orioles to move right-hander Tyler Wells to a bullpen that still looks short on high-leverage options. And with Elias saying Wednesday that Eflin is “full go” at the start of spring training after undergoing back surgery last August, the Orioles could also entertain the idea of deploying a six-man rotation of Bradish, Rogers, Baz, Bassitt, Eflin, and Dean Kremer. Of course, that’s assuming everyone stays healthy, which is always a tenuous thought.
Though his fastball velocity sits in the low 90s at this point in his career, Bassitt throws eight different pitches to keep opposing hitters guessing. He finished 10th in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2023 and was an All-Star selection for Oakland in 2021.
In 1,278 2/3 innings over 11 major league seasons, Bassitt has gone 83-65 with a 3.64 ERA.
