Things haven't gone as planned for the Baltimore Orioles to start the season, a team that many were expecting to be one of the better in Major League Baseball once again.
At 13-20 overall and 4-6 over their past 10 games, the Orioles already sit five games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the American League East.
The unfortunate reality of the Orioles over the past few years isn't that they haven't lived up to expectations at times, but it's that some of their top young players will likely walk in free agency when the time comes.
With Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, and Gunnar Henderson all expected to get paid handsomely, the Orioles have some tough decisions to make.
Henderson, a guaranteed MVP candidate whenever he's on the field, will be the most expensive. According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, that number might be as high as $600 million when he hits free agency in 2029.
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“Henderson was the one player mentioned by every executive as the best bet to beat Soto. And even then, executives said, it's a long shot. Henderson debuted at 21 and will reach free agency after the 2028 season at 27. He plays a far more important position than Soto's right field, and even if Henderson does eventually move to third base, the positional advantage still will be true,” Passan wrote.
“In his two full seasons, Henderson has already put up more than 15 WAR, including a nine-win showing last year that was better than any year Soto ever posted. Even then, Henderson needs more years of consistent quality before he can be looking at $600 million, let alone $765 million.”
The 23-year-old has done nothing but swing the bat at a high level throughout his career and has continued to play well this season, despite lower numbers than usual. He's currently hitting .260 with a 113 OPS+.
However, career-wise, he has 72 home runs in 369 games and an OPS+ of 139. Those are the type of numbers that get players big deals, and the Orioles haven't shown the willingness to hand those out yet.