The Orioles and outfielder Leody Taveras have agreed to a contract, a source told MLB.com’s Jake Rill. The club has not confirmed.
Taveras, 27, was released by the Mariners last June after Seattle had claimed him off waivers from the Rangers the prior month.
He was originally signed out of the Dominican Republic by Texas in 2015, and after making his Major League debut in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign he spent the first five-plus seasons of his career with the Rangers.
Taveras’ best season came in 2023, when he posted a .733 OPS with 14 home runs and 14 steals to help the Rangers win their first World Series title. He made a memorable catch to rob the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez of a homer in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series that fall.
In Game 1 of that series, he launched a solo homer off Houston’s Justin Verlander in a 2-0 victory.
Following that noteworthy 2023 campaign, Taveras saw his offensive production decline. In ’24, he finished with a .229/.289/.352 slash line with 12 homers and 23 steals. And last season, he managed just a .601 OPS before being released by Texas. In 28 games with Seattle, he hit .174/.198/.272 over 98 plate appearances.
Taveras joins an outfield group in Baltimore that currently includes Dylan Beavers (the organization’s No. 2 prospect per MLB pipeline; No. 83 overall), Tyler O’Neill, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad.
