Orioles Sign Yennier Cano To Extension

Cano, 32, has had an up-and-down tenure with the O’s. He was acquired in the 2022 trade which sent Jorge López to the Twins. That deal quickly went south for Minnesota, as López struggled as a Twin and was flipped to Miami a year later. The O’s made out well, getting both Cano and Cade Povich. Prospects Juan Nunez and Juan Rojas, also acquired in the deal, are still in the system as well.

At the time, Cano only had ten big league appearances under his belt. The following year, he looked like an absolute steal. In 2023, he gave Baltimore 72 2/3 relief innings with a 2.11 earned run average. His 23% strikeout rate was only average-ish but he only walked 4.3% of batters faced and induced grounders on 58% of balls in play.

HIs 2024 season was good but not quite as elite. His walk rate ticked up to 9.6% and his ERA finished at 3.15. Things got worse in 2025, as Cano posted a 5.12 ERA. There was some bad luck in there but his strikeout rate dropped five points relative to the year before and his grounder rate dropped by eight ticks. He got optioned to the minors for a spell that summer.

He has mostly been back on track here in 2026. He has a 2.21 ERA in 36 2/3 innings. His 21.2% strikeout rate is almost an exact match for last year’s but he has cranked the ground balls back up to a 65.1% clip, more than ten points above last year. He has also reined in the walks, as his 5.5% clip is more than four ticks better than last year.

Despite the strong results, he hasn’t been used in the highest leverage situations. Those opportunities have gone to guys like Andrew Kittredge, Tyler Wells and Rico Garcia, but the O’s clearly have some faith in Cano, given this deal. It was reported this week that the Orioles are willing to move a right-handed reliever as they walk a buy/sell line at the deadline but this would appear to take Cano out of the mix. Perhaps that increases the chances of Kittredge, Wells or Garcia being moved.

Cano first qualified for arbitration last winter and is making $1.6MM this year. If he had gone year by year through the arbitration system, he probably would have made a similar amount of money to what he’ll get on this deal, maybe a little bit more. But there are probably some reasons why he preferred to lock in the money now.

As mentioned, he had a down year in 2025. Also, any pitcher can have a career-altering injury at any time. This gives him protection for either of those scenarios. He is giving up the ability to enter free agency after 2028 but a lot of things could have happened between now and then. He was also going to reach free agency at a relatively old age. Born in Cuba, he signed with the Twins and began his professional career in 2019, his age-25 season. He didn’t make the majors until his age-28 campaign. He wasn’t going to hit the open market until he was almost 35.

Perhaps he could have gotten a big deal at that point if he dominated through 2027 and 2028. That scenario will now lead to the O’s picking up his club option instead, while Cano has coverage for any less-rosy scenario. For the O’s, their risk is flipped. If Cano gets hurt or struggles in the coming years, they will have overpaid, but they could also get a bargain if he can continue putting up good numbers.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported that Cano would get a total of $7.5MM over the guaranteed years and also relayed the club option value. Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner relayed the specific salaries in the guaranteed years. Photos courtesy of Eric Canha, William Navarro, Imagn Images