As the young Orioles grow up, so will their salaries.

Friday’s arbitration tender deadline was the first step in that process, and the Orioles elected to bring back all but one of their 13 eligible players.

The Orioles on Friday evening announced that they tendered contracts to utilityman Jorge Mateo, catcher Adley Rutschman, outfielder Cedric Mullins and nine others. The only player to whom the ballclub declined to tender a contract was reliever Jacob Webb.

Rutschman is entering his first season of arbitration and is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to garner $5.8 million — an approximately $5 million raise compared with his first three seasons of a league-minimum salary. Mullins, meanwhile, is the most expensive player on the list with a projected salary of $8.7 million, which would amount to a $2.4 million raise.

The Orioles still must come to an agreement with their tendered players on salaries for 2025 or otherwise have it decided in an arbitration hearing. The only player for which that is not the case is Emmanuel Rivera. The corner infielder and the Orioles avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1 million salary, a source with direct knowledge confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. MLB.com was first to report Rivera’s salary, which is $400,000 less than he was projected to receive in arbitration.

For most players, Friday’s deadline was simply a formality. Arbitration is a pay raise system for players who have established themselves as big leaguers but have yet to spend enough time in the major leagues to become free agents. Eligible players have at least three years of MLB service time but fewer than the six necessary to hit free agency.But the tender deadline is more consequential for less prominent players, such as Webb, Rivera and Mateo. Webb was a solid reliever for the Orioles and was projected to earn approximately $1.7 million, but the club chose to let him become a free agent after he dealt with an elbow injury to end the 2024 campaign.

Mateo, one of MLB’s fastest players, missed the final half of the season because of a dislocated elbow that required surgery. He is expected to be ready for opening day, but it wasn’t guaranteed he’d be back in 2025 given he’s not expected to be a starter and he’s a career .224 hitter. Still, the Orioles tendered a contract to a favorite of manager Brandon Hyde’s for his speed and versatility. He’s projected to earn $3.2 million.

Rivera joined the Orioles as a waiver claim in August and helped keep the offense afloat as it struggled with injuries. The four-year veteran has a career .676 OPS, but he hit .313 with a .948 OPS in 27 games with the Orioles.

In addition to Mateo, Rutschman and Mullins, Baltimore tendered contracts to the following players: infielders Ryan Mountcastle and Ramón Urías; relievers Gregory Soto and Keegan Akin; and starting pitchers Dean Kremer, Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells.

Like Mullins and Rutschman, Mountcastle is also due for a significant raise. MLB Trade Rumors projects the slugger to make $6.6 million — up from $4.1 million in 2024. With top prospects Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo waiting in the wings, Mountcastle’s future in Baltimore is uncertain, but perhaps he’s more likely to stay after the club’s announcement that the left field wall will be moved back in.

Earlier this year, it appeared Urías’ days in Baltimore were numbered. But his performance at the plate (.745 OPS) was perhaps the best of his career, and he filled in valiantly when Jordan Westburg was injured in the summer.

When the club declining Danny Coulombe’s team option, that increased the likelihood that southpaws Soto and Akin would return in 2025. The Orioles acquired Soto at the trade deadline from the Philadelphia Phillies for pitching prospects Seth Johnson and Moisés Chace. He struggled at first but ended the season as one of the Orioles’ most dominant relievers. Akin, meanwhile, had an under-the-radar campaign in middle relief, leading all Orioles relievers in wins above replacement by FanGraphs’ estimation.

Kremer, who is entering his first year of arbitration, put up another solid campaign in the Orioles’ rotation, while Wells and Bradish both ended the year on the injured list after undergoing elbow surgery. Rogers finished the season in the minor leagues, stumbling after the club acquired the left-hander at the deadline for prospects Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby.

The 12 players the Orioles either signed or tendered contracts to Friday are collectively estimated to make more than $45 million in 2025, according to MLB Trade Rumors. In 2024, those players combined to make about $27.5 million.

Teams and their tendered players have until Jan. 9 to agree on a 2025 salary. If they’re unable to do so, the sides will exchange proposed salary figures for the player. If the team and player remain at an impasse, a panel of arbitrators will pick one of the two suggested salary figures — and no other possible value — during a hearing in late January or February.

Webb becomes free agent: Earlier this month, the Orioles chose to part ways with one of their best relievers. They did so again Friday.

The Orioles nontendered Webb, the club announced Friday. The move makes Webb, who posted a 3.09 ERA in 78 2/3 innings in two seasons with Baltimore, a free agent.

The decision comes a few weeks after the ballclub declined reliever Danny Coulombe’s $4 million team option for 2025. In 81 innings over the past two years, Coulombe posted a 2.56 ERA and a sparkling 0.951 WHIP.

Webb, 31, joined the Orioles as a waiver claim in 2023 and experienced immediate success. Despite struggling in the 2023 postseason, he won a roster spot out of spring training in 2024 and was a consistent performer out of the bullpen despite missing six weeks with an elbow injury late in the year. Webb was entering his second season of arbitration and was projected by MLB Trade Rumors for a modest pay raise from $1 million in 2024 to $1.7 million in 2025. Instead, the Orioles are choosing to go in a different direction.

Webb and Coulombe both missed time with elbow injuries in 2024 but managed to put up perhaps career-best performances on the mound. Hyde frequently used both relievers because both pitchers have platoon-neutral profiles that allow them to succeed versus both right- and left-handed hitters.

The pair of relievers combined for a 2.71 ERA and 1.00 WHIP this past season. The Orioles’ bullpen ranked 23rd in MLB with a 4.22 ERA in 2024. Remove Webb and Coulombe’s innings, and Baltimore’s relievers would have ranked 27th out of 30 MLB teams with a 4.50 ERA. The only teams that posted a worse bullpen ERA were the Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Colorado Rockies — three clubs that finished last in their respective divisions.

Baltimore’s bullpen survived in 2024 without closer Félix Bautista, but it worsened as the season progressed. Bautista is expected back for the start of 2025. Setup men Yennier Cano, Seranthony Domínguez and Pérez will return as well to round out the back end of Hyde’s bullpen. And Soto and Akin are also expected to return after they were tendered contracts Friday.

Around the horn

Two former Orioles were nontendered by their clubs Friday. Outfielder Austin Hays, whom the Orioles traded to Philadelphia in July for Domínguez, wasn’t tendered a contract by the Phillies entering his final year of arbitration with a projected salary from MLB Trade Rumors of $6.4 million. Reliever Dillon Tate, whom the Orioles designated for assignment in August, was nontendered by the Toronto Blue Jays as he entered his final year of arbitration with a projected salary of $1.9 million. Both players are now free agents.

Former Orioles outfielder Austin Slater agreed to a one-year contract with the Chicago White Sox worth a reported $1.75 million earlier this week. Slater spent the final two months of the 2024 season in Baltimore after the club acquired him to be a platoon outfielder.

Former Orioles reliever Matt Krook signed a minor league contract with the Athletics earlier this week. Baltimore acquired Krook in a cash trade with the New York Yankees in February. The left-hander posted a 3.92 ERA for Triple-A Norfolk and appeared in only one game for the Orioles in 2024.

Former Orioles pitching coach Chris Holt was hired by the Boston Red Sox to be their bullpen coach, the club announced Friday. Holt was an original member of Elias’ pitching development staff in 2019 and rose to become the Orioles’ pitching coach and director of pitching. Baltimore and Holt parted ways earlier this offseason.

Gunnar Henderson finished fourth in AL Most Valuable Player Award voting behind winner Aaron Judge and finalists Bobby Witt. Jr. and Juan Soto. Henderson put up MVP-worthy numbers (9.1 wins above replacement, .893 OPS, 37 homers) but wasn’t a finalist among a strong class. Shohei Ohtani won the National League MVP Award, joining Orioles legend Frank Robinson as the only players in MLB history to win MVP in both leagues. Robinson did so with the Cincinnati Reds in 1961 and the Orioles in 1966.

Corbin Burnes finished fifth in American League Cy Young Award voting behind winner Tarik Skubal, finalists Seth Lugo and Emmanuel Clase and fourth-place finisher Cole Ragans. Burnes posted a 2.92 ERA in 194 1/3 innings in his first season in Baltimore. He is a free agent and is expected to receive a contract worth approximately $200 million.

The Orioles added game times to their 2025 schedule. Monday through Thursday home games will remain at 6:35 p.m. with Friday night contests at 7:05 p.m. Most Saturday games will be at 4:05 p.m., while Sundays will remain at 1:35 p.m.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 667-942-3337 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.