Orioles sign Basallo to 8-year extension reportedly worth $67M

The Baltimore Orioles signed top catching prospect Samuel Basallo to an eight-year contract extension with a 2034 club option, the club announced Friday.

The deal is worth $67 million guaranteed and includes a $5-million signing bonus, a source told Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Basallo's new pact, which is the largest pre-arbitration extension for a catcher, will start next season and can max out at $88.5 million with performance bonuses and escalators, according to Passan.

"The agreement with Samuel is just a catalyst for the next exciting period of Orioles baseball," team owner David Rubenstein said in a statement. "I thank Mike Elias, Koby Perez, and the entire baseball operations group for their effort and diligence in securing Samuel as a key piece of the future of the organization."

The 21-year-old has played in just four games after making his MLB debut Sunday. He's gone 4-for-14 with five RBIs since getting promoted but hit 23 homers with 67 RBIs and a .966 OPS over 76 contests in Triple-A this season.

Basallo's deal is also interesting considering the Orioles already have Adley Rutschman as their starting catcher. The 27-year-old two-time All-Star has struggled during an injury-plagued 2025 campaign but is arbitration-eligible through 2027.

However, Orioles manager Tony Mansolino said he believes having strong catching depth is a strength.

"Any time you have two guys that can catch at a high level, on a big-league team, you have a massive advantage over teams that don't," Mansolino added, according to Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun.