Veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt has agreed to a one-year, $18.5 million deal with the Orioles, a source told MLB.com on Wednesday.
The club has not confirmed the agreement.
Following a down year with the Blue Jays in 2024, Bassitt bounced back in ’25, posting a 3.96 ERA (108 ERA+) over 32 appearances (31 starts) for Toronto. He then pitched well out of the bullpen during the Jays’ deep postseason run that ended in Game 7 of the World Series. In seven appearances, he gave up one run on three hits while walking two and striking out 10 in 8 2/3 innings.
Bassitt was extended a qualifying offer by the Mets in 2022, making him ineligible to receive one this offseason. Thus, there is no Draft pick compensation attached to him, or penalty for signing him.
As he enters his age-37 campaign in 2026, Bassitt has proven he still has something left in the tank after 11 Major League seasons. The veteran right-hander isn’t a high-strikeout pitcher — his K rate has been steady around 22% over the past four seasons — but he has a knack for inducing soft contact.
Bassitt ranked in the 80th percentile in hard-hit rate (36.6%) last season and in the 85th percentile in average exit velocity (87.7 mph). He also had an above-average ground-ball rate, at 46.1%.
A sinker-heavy pitcher with a wide assortment of pitches in his arsenal — he also has a cutter, curveball, four-seamer, sweeper, splitter, slider and changeup — Bassitt’s most effective pitch in 2025 was the curveball, which he threw 16.3% of the time. Opponents batted .170 against it.
Bassitt was a 16th-round selection in the 2011 Draft by the White Sox and made his MLB debut with Chicago in 2014. He was traded that offseason along with Marcus Semien and others to the A’s, and after undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the entire 2017 campaign, he returned and became one of the best starting pitchers in the American League.
From 2018-21, Bassitt posted a 3.23 ERA (130 ERA+) for the A’s and earned an All-Star selection in ’21. Just prior to the 2022 season, he was traded to the Mets ahead of his final year of team control. He pitched well for New York, finishing that campaign with a 3.42 ERA over 30 starts. That offseason, he signed with the Blue Jays.
Despite entering his late 30s, Bassitt has shown he can still be an above-average member of a starting rotation, and as his postseason performance this past October shows, he is versatile enough for a bullpen role as well, if needed.
