In 2023, it was Yennier Cano and Ryan O’Hearn. In 2024, it was Albert Suárez. Last year, it was Jeremiah Jackson.
One of the strengths of the Orioles under Mike Elias has been finding diamonds in the rough. Cano was viewed externally as an afterthought of the Jorge López trade in 2022. O’Hearn was acquired for cash. Suárez was signed out of Korea to no fanfare. Jackson was a castoff and was signed as a minor league free agent.
Who could come out of nowhere to help the Orioles get back on track in 2026?
Here are 10 under-the-radar additions made by the Orioles this offseason and how they could potentially make an impact:
Outfielder Leody Taveras
When the Orioles signed Taveras to a one-year, $2 million contract in November, it was expected that he would serve as outfield depth on the 40-man roster, similar to what Dylan Carlson provided last season.
Instead, since the Orioles didn’t add another center fielder this winter, it appears Taveras could play a larger role than originally expected. Taveras is a plus defender and a switch-hitter, but he’s struggled at the plate in recent years, spending most of 2025 in Triple-A.
But he’s still only 27 years old and a few years ago put up solid numbers (.266 average and .733 OPS) for a Texas Rangers team that won the World Series.
Utility player Weston Wilson
With Taylor Ward, Tyler O’Neill, Jordan Westburg, Pete Alonso, Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo, the Orioles have plenty of right-handed hitters to play in the corner infield and outfield. But Baltimore’s struggles against left-handed pitchers in 2025 were so concerning, it can’t hurt to have depth players who can hit southpaws.
The Orioles last week claimed Wilson, a 31-year-old journeyman, off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies. In his brief major league career (245 plate appearances), he has hit .250 with a .834 OPS against lefties. While he doesn’t have any minor league options remaining, he provides positional versatility with experience at every spot on the field except catcher.
Infielder Payton Eeles
The Orioles surprised some when they traded catcher Alex Jackson to the Minnesota Twins in November before the nontender deadline after the backstop’s success in 2025 and the expectation that he’d serve as the club’s third catcher.
Elias said after the trade that it was a byproduct of other teams having a larger need at catcher than the Orioles, as well as Baltimore’s interest in Eeles, whom Elias called a “nice player.” At 5-foot-5, Eeles went undrafted in 2023 but made it to Triple-A just a year later. In his Triple-A career, Eeles has hit .272 with a .790 OPS while displaying solid speed, patience and contact ability.
Eeles will almost certainly begin the 2026 season in Norfolk, but injuries to middle infielders could create a path to Baltimore if he can keep up his performance at Triple-A.
Outfielder Jhonkensy Noel
The Orioles rang in the new year by claiming “Big Christmas” off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians. He was designated for assignment two days later, but he cleared and was assigned to Norfolk.
Few players in baseball have the raw power that Noel possesses. The question for Baltimore is whether he’ll return to his 2024 form when he hit 13 homers in 67 games for Cleveland or if his disastrous 2025 (.480 OPS) was a sign of more to come.
Noel will earn an invite to big league spring training, and while his chances of making the club are slim, the talent combined with his age (24) presents an interesting opportunity for both the righty slugger and the Orioles.
Outfielder Will Robertson
Few players in baseball had a bigger discrepancy between their performance in Triple-A and the major leagues than Robertson.
With the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox, the 28-year-old outfielder hit .289 with a .958 OPS in Triple-A compared with a .129 average and a .316 OPS in the majors. Robertson was claimed off waivers in December and then was DFA’d in January and assigned to Norfolk.
Catcher Sam Huff
After the Orioles traded Jackson, it opened up a spot for a potential third catcher on the active roster — or at least another backstop for depth in the minors.
Two weeks ago, they signed Huff to a minor league contract that presumably carries with it an invite to big league spring training. Huff, 28, spent the first nine years of his professional career with the Rangers before playing for the San Francisco Giants in 2025.
The righty-hitting catcher has put up solid numbers in his brief time in the majors (.247 average and .732 OPS) but he struggled in 20 games for the Giants last season. When Huff was with Texas, he played under Donnie Ecker, the former Rangers offensive coordinator who was hired as Craig Albernaz’s bench coach.
Right-hander Hans Crouse
Two years ago, Crouse posted a 2.84 ERA in 25 1/3 innings with the Los Angeles Angels, but his 2025 campaign was derailed with a lat muscle injury, resulting in the righty throwing only one inning in the minors before his release.
But his success in 2024 makes Crouse an intriguing bullpen option if he’s healthy. Had the 27-year-old pitched enough innings that year to be qualified on Baseball Savant, he would have rated in the top-10th percentile in expected batting average, hard-hit rate, whiff percentage and strikeout rate.
Right-hander Jean Carlos Henriquez
Twelve years after he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays, Henriquez is back with an MLB organization.
Henriquez pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2014 and 2015 before the Rays released him. A decade later, the 32-year-old put up impressive numbers in the Dominican Winter League — a 2.05 ERA and 1.02 WHIP — to earn a shot with the Orioles this spring on a minor league contract.
At 6-3, Henriquez features a funky delivery with a sidearm slot and a mid-to-high 90s mph fastball.
Right-hander Enoli Paredes
Another reliever signed to a minor league deal, Paredes has experienced some success in the big leagues with a 3.00 ERA in 54 innings with the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs. The 30-year-old spent the entire 2025 season in Triple-A with the Atlanta Braves.
The Astros signed Paredes in 2016 out of the Dominican Republic. At the time, Elias was Houston’s assistant general manager. Paredes sports a four-seam fastball that cuts — an orientation that Baltimore’s pitching team has had success working off of — and a plus slider.
Left-hander Eric Torres
Of the players on this list, none had a better 2025 season than Torres.
The 26-year-old southpaw posted a 1.59 ERA in 39 2/3 relief innings in the American Association, widely considered baseball’s best independent league. He then dominated the Puerto Rican Winter League, striking out 39 batters without allowing a run in 23 1/3 frames. The Orioles signed him to a minor league contract earlier this month.
Torres was a 14th-round pick by the Angels in 2021 and struggled mightily in the high minors before he was released last spring. But it appears he revived his career in 2025, and the Orioles need left-handed relievers.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
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