Orioles offseason deadlines: Who stays, who goes and why Monday matters before an MLB lockout

The Baltimore Orioles face their first hard deadline of the offseason on Monday, Nov. 2, when option decisions and qualifying offers are due — and a looming labor fight could squeeze the rest of the winter into a few weeks. For fans at Camden Yards, the next month will largely decide which familiar names return in 2027 and how much room the front office has to fix a team that finished 79-82.

Here is what has already happened, what is still pending and the dates that matter between now and a possible lockout on Dec. 1.

The World Series ended Wednesday night, and Baltimore moved quickly. The Orioles declined their half of right-hander Zach Eflin’s $25 million mutual option for 2027, paying a $2 million buyout and making him a free agent, according to MASN and Yahoo Sports. Eflin had Tommy John surgery in April after one start and is expected to miss most of next season.

Reliever Ryan Helsley went the other way, opting in to his $14 million player option for 2027 after injuries limited him to 17 games, SB Nation reported.

The club also gave outfielder Rece Hinds, 26, a guaranteed one-year major league deal for 2027. According to MLB Trade Rumors, citing The Baltimore Banner, the salary is $4,700 above next season’s league minimum, which will not be set until a new labor deal is reached. Hinds, acquired from Miami in August, is out of minor league options and has hit .171 in parts of three big league seasons, but he posted 53 home runs over 1,183 Triple-A plate appearances.

Teams have until Monday to rule on remaining contract options and qualifying offers, and players on the 60-day injured list must be reinstated. Here is where the Orioles’ open questions stand, based on reporting by BaltimoreBaseball.com and MASN.

Mountcastle, a fixture in the lineup for years, missed nearly all of 2026 with a fractured left foot and a strained oblique. Robert, claimed off waivers from the New York Mets, hurt his left hamstring after three games with Baltimore. SB Nation reported that talks about a possible new deal with Robert may be ongoing.

Rogers is the biggest name among Baltimore’s four free agents, alongside Chris Bassitt, Andrew Kittredge and Keegan Akin. Both BaltimoreBaseball.com and MASN have described a qualifying offer as likely. If the Orioles extend the one-year, $23.15 million offer, Rogers has until 4 p.m. on Nov. 17 to accept or decline. If he declines and signs elsewhere, Baltimore would receive a compensatory draft pick.

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden ranked Rogers 15th among his top 40 free agents and projected a three-year, $64 million contract, BaltimoreBaseball.com noted.

Seven Orioles are eligible for salary arbitration: Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser, Félix Bautista, Codi Heuer, Albert Suárez and Leody Taveras. Henderson, Westburg, Cowser and Bautista are certain to be tendered contracts, according to BaltimoreBaseball.com, while Heuer, Suárez and Taveras could be let go. The tender deadline is 8 p.m. on Nov. 20.

Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, and a lockout is widely expected. Once the agreement lapses, teams cannot sign or trade players on the 40-man roster. That is why Orioles beat writers expect a burst of free-agent signings in November: the last lockout, in 2021-22, froze the market until March.

The Rule 5 draft is scheduled for Dec. 9 but may not happen if there is a lockout. Before that, the Orioles must decide by Nov. 17 which minor leaguers to add to the 40-man roster. MASN listed outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. and pitchers including Michael Forret and Juaron Watts-Brown among the prospects who would be exposed if left off.

Baltimore enters the winter with a new general manager, Jared Banner, working under president of baseball operations Mike Elias. His first test is a compressed calendar: the rotation is losing Eflin, Bassitt and possibly Rogers, while Kyle Bradish is among the pitchers being reinstated from the injured list. Pete Alonso, who led the American League with 43 home runs and 113 RBIs, gives the lineup a power anchor, but the outcomes for Mountcastle and Robert will decide how crowded first base and the outfield look by spring.

For a broader look at where former Orioles landed this fall, see which former Orioles played in the 2026 World Series. What happens on Monday will be the first clear signal of how aggressive Baltimore plans to be before the market freezes.

Featured image: Fans at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Photo: Keith Allison / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.