Bobby Bonilla made his way to Camden Yards on July 1, and the timing was no accident.
The Orioles were hosting the White Sox, and Bonilla’s presence served as a very literal reminder that Baltimore is still cutting him a check every year on Bobby Bonilla Day. The Mets get the bulk of the internet jokes on July 1 because of the famous $1.19 million payment Bonilla receives from them, but Baltimore is in the same annual routine.
Bonilla’s visit also made one thing clear: these Orioles payments are nearing the end. His contract deferrals with Baltimore run through 2028, though the Mets will keep paying him until 2035.
That doesn’t mean Baltimore is done with deferred money anytime soon.
The Orioles will keep paying Chris Davis through 2037, and Alex Cobb remains on the books through 2032. Davis is the name that comes up most often, and not always in a kind way. The contract has become a regular punching bag, and Davis has said he felt nervous about interacting with Orioles fans after his playing days ended because of the harassment that followed him online.
But the situation was created by the Orioles themselves. Davis signed a seven-year deal in 2016 worth $23 million per year. It was a massive number in everyday terms, and it looked even worse as his production fell off, but in baseball-money terms it was fairly ordinary.
When Davis retired in 2021, only two years remained on the deal. Baltimore was running a tiny payroll and wasn’t really competing, so it could have simply paid the contract off and moved on.
Instead, John Angelos pushed the team to squeeze out as much profit as possible in his final years as owner, and the Orioles reworked the agreement so the payments would stretch all the way to 2037. That let the Angelos family oversee one of the most cheaply run, most profitable clubs in baseball for a couple more years before selling.
Now, under new ownership, the money is less of a burden than a footnote. The Orioles are willing to spend, and the $3.5 million owed to Davis each year for the next seven years, followed by $1.4 million for the five years after that, is unlikely to block a major move. If Baltimore wants to land a free agent or swing a trade for an expensive player, Davis’ deferred money probably won’t be the thing standing in the way.
At this point, it’s mostly trivia - and a yearly reminder of a player who was a lot more fun than the way he’s often remembered.
In Other News...
Orioles Reach Another Embarrassing Low As Camden Yards Turns On Them
Camden Yards has been a place where Orioles fans usually show up expecting baseball with some edge, but lately the mood has shifted from restless to openly sour. Baltimores latest skid has only deepened the frustration, and the on-field mistakes have made it harder to separate the noise from the baseball. Craig Albernaz said the fans have every right to boo, a blunt acknowledgment that the people paying to watch are reacting to what they see, not to any larger theory about patience or process.
Mike Elias is still talking like a club that can be fixed in season, saying the Orioles intend to add to the roster before the trade deadline and still believe they are right there. But belief is getting harder to sell when the losses keep piling up and the atmosphere at home keeps turning colder. For a team that expected to be in the race, the challenge now is not just finding help, but convincing its own ballpark that there is still something worth sticking around for. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Fans Are Running Out Of Patience With Mike Elias
The Orioles biggest problem has been easy to spot for a while now, and it is the same one that keeps hanging over every conversation about the roster: pitching. Baltimore has built enough around its young core to stay in the playoff picture, but the staff has not been fixed well enough to match the rest of the organizations progress, and that leaves President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias under the microscope as the season moves into its most important stretch.
The frustration is only sharpened by what happened elsewhere in the division of baseballs front-office patience. The Nationals moved on from Mike Rizzo midseason last year and have looked better since, a reminder that a reset can sometimes come before the deadline or draft rather than after it. For Orioles fans, the question is no longer whether Elias has had time to solve the pitching issues over his long run, but whether the club can afford to keep waiting any longer if it wants a real shot at building a contender. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Finally Get A Key Arm Back But The Cost Is Real
The Orioles got a much-needed rotation piece back when Dean Kremer was reinstated from the injured list, a move that brought some stability to a staff that has spent plenty of time juggling arms. To make room, Baltimore sent Trey Gibson to Triple-A Norfolk, designated catcher Dom Keegan for assignment, optioned left-hander Josh Walker and recalled Cameron Weston, a flurry of roster shuffling that shows how one return can ripple through several spots at once.
For Gibson, the demotion comes after a rough recent stretch, and Weston is back in the majors after a brief earlier look. The bullpen and catching depth were always going to feel the squeeze once Kremer was ready, and the Orioles have now paid that price in more than one area, with the next question being how long this alignment holds once the staff settles back in. [Read more 🡒]