The Baltimore Orioles reportedly signed veteran pitcher Chris Bassitt to a one-year deal on Wednesday evening, further upgrading their rotation.
The deal, pending a completed physical, is worth approximately $18.5 million, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. It also comes with a $3 million signing bonus and a $500,000 incentive if he starts 27 games.
Report: Orioles Sign Chris Bassitt to One-Year Deal
Bassitt last pitched with the Toronto Blue Jays, finishing with an 11-9 record and a 3.96 ERA in 2025. Despite slowly declining following his 2021 All-Star campaign with the Oakland Athletics, he’s started in over 30 games per season in the last four years.
Chris Bassitt’s deal with the Orioles, which is pending physical, includes a $3 million signing bonus and $500,000 in incentives if he starts 27 games. Which he has done each of the last five seasons, during which his 880.1 innings rank eighth among all MLB pitchers.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 12, 2026
Baltimore’s signing of Bassitt comes after the team announced earlier on Wednesday that second baseman Jackson Holliday would undergo hand surgery. He is expected to return after Opening Day, starting the season on the injured list.
Bassitt Still Has Something Left In The Tank
The 36-year-old right-handed veteran offers a vast arsenal of eight different pitches, including a primary sinker and cutter combo. Bassitt does struggle with chase rates, registering a low 25% chase rate on top of a below-average 23% whiff rate.
He holds a strong groundball ratio, with 46% of all balls hit into play finding the dirt. It’s accompanied by a 7% walk rate and a respectable 23% strikeout rate. The downside for Bassitt is that he holds one of the largest ranges of maximum exit velocity against batters, sometimes hitting 117 mph.
The veteran is primarily a sinker-ball pitcher, throwing it over 40% of the time, but does hold a .297 average and a .431 slugging percentage. His cutter fares better, holding a .205 average, but still a home-run risk with eight.
Bassitt’s arsenal holds two effective offspeed pitches: a curveball with a .172 average and a developing sweeper that acts as a secondary put-away pitch. It’s led to a strong weak contact rate at 5%, along with a groundball average that doesn’t dip below 40%.
Where Does Bassitt Fit?
The problem with Bassitt’s signing is that the team now has six starting pitchers. It’s unlikely the team will stick with that going forward, prompting a move to the bullpen for one of these pitchers.
Fangraphs currently lists Bassitt as the third starting pitcher in the rotation, pushing Dean Kremer to the sixth slot. The issue is that neither Kremer nor Zach Eflin has worked out of the bullpen before. It’s also very unlikely Shane Baz works out of the bullpen, but they could put Kyle Bradish there if they feel unsure about his workload.
Any moves or changes to the rotation with the addition of Bassit will likely be made clear during camp.
Main Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images