The Orioles did not cast any of their players into the winds on Tuesday night, tendering contracts to all eleven of their arbitration-eligible players. The move was not surprising, given that every one of the players is either relatively cheap or has a recent track record of success.
The eleven players include six who are entering their final year before they are free agents. Those players are: Chris Davis, Alejandro De Aza, Tommy Hunter, Bud Norris, Steve Pearce, and Matt Wieters. Brian Matusz has two more arbitration-eligible years, while Zach Britton, Ryan Flaherty, Miguel Gonzalez, and Chris Tillman are all first-year eligible players. Britton qualifies as what's known as a "super two" player, which means that he'll get four seasons of arbitration eligibility before being a free agent, rather than three.
Matusz is the only one whose continued presence causes me to recoil in horror, and even then, he's not far removed from a 2012 season where he was a very useful lefty specialist. He's projected to make $2.7 million next season. That sounds like a lot for the guy for whom our most recent memory is torpedoing a playoff game, but it's really not, if we extinguish the hate fire for a moment.
De Aza was viewed as the most likely non-tender candidate by the wider baseball press, as he'll make a projected $5.9 million next season and isn't guaranteed to be an every day player, depending on who the O's sign.
Based on the MLBTR salary projections, these players will account for a total of $56.9 million in payroll next season. That's not chump change. The projected salaries range from $11.8 million for Davis to $1 million for Flaherty. Of course, if a player is traded, that salary becomes someone else's problem.
Bringing back all eleven players leaves the O's with 39 players on their 40-man roster, which conveniently leaves an open space for Dan Duquette's favorite offseason game, the Rule 5 draft, which will take place during the upcoming Winter Meetings.
Most of the time, tendering contracts is just a formality. Every year there are a few lost souls, though. Some of the newly-minted free agents include Brandon Beachy, Kris Medlen, and Eric Young Jr. There may be more as the night goes on. If any of them intrigue the Orioles, you can be sure Duquette will be calling them up soon.