The Orioles Are Running Out Of Time To Extend Gunnar Henderson

The Orioles Are Running Out Of Time To Extend Gunnar Henderson

The Baltimore Orioles had a terrible offseason. No, it wasn’t because they lost Corbin Burnes. No, it wasn’t because their big addition was Tyler O’Neill. It has everything to do with the fact that they couldn’t get one extension done for one of their premium young players. The O’s are running out of time to extend Gunnar Henderson.

If Baltimore is trying to get a deal done, they’re not trying hard enough. The Royals got an 11-year deal done with Bobby Witt Jr. this time last year. If you’re not willing to offer Henderson more than that right now, you may as well kiss him goodbye now.

The key to sustaining success in Baltimore has nothing to do with whether they can add big name free agents. It has everything to do with if they can keep this young core in place. I’m not in the building. I have no idea how those conversations are going. All I know is the fact that NONE of the group of Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, or Jackson Holliday have been extended. Are they really trying?

Henderson, 23, is the crown jewel of that group. Last season, the Montgomery, Alabama, native was a 9.1 WAR player. That means he was worth about $72 million per year. It’s so hard to find infielders who can rake like this. It was a year that included 37 homers, 21 steals, and a 159 OPS+.

Sure, the Orioles still have time but also not really. This is the last year of control prior to when Henderson reaches Arbitration. He’s a free agent after the 2028 MLB Season and I’m just going to tell you this right now. If he hits the open market, he’s going to get more than what Juan Soto just signed for. We all know that Baltimore can’t hand out that type of deal.

It’s fork in the road time for Baltimore. Maybe a deal can’t be reached because Scott Boras is his agent. Maybe that’s truly the case. If it is, the O’s have two options:

A: It’s time to go all in. Screw the future. Go win a title while Henderson is still on the team.

B: This time next year, it’s time to start seeking out trades because the truth of the matter is, you could have basically whatever you wanted in return if you actually traded this guy.

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