Feb 26, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Houston Astros outfielder Cooper Hummel (1) tosses the bat after hitting a double to left field during the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

Orioles Veteran Outfielder Elects to Test Free Agency After Latest Roster Move

Originally posted on Baltimore Orioles on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 9:05 PM ET

As the Baltimore Orioles look to try and build some momentum of late, some roster decisions are having to be made with players getting healthy.

It has easily been the best stretch of baseball lately for the Orioles. This was a team that had some high expectations coming into the season but has fallen way short of those so far.

With one of the worst records in the league, a recent winning streak has helped cause a bit of optimism, but a lot more work has to be done. Fortunately, the starting rotation has picked up their performance a bit, and the lineup is starting to finally get healthy as well.

Recently, Baltimore outfielder Cooper Hummel elected to test free agency instead of accepting an assignment to the minors.

Outfielder Cooper Hummel elected free agency over an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles announced.
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) June 6, 2025

Hummel has bounced around quite a bit in the Majors the last several years, and landed briefly with the Orioles. However, his time with the team is going to be short-lived, with just one game played for the franchise.

Due to Baltimore starting to get some players healthy, Hummel likely wants to see if there are going to be more playing time opportunities elsewhere.

Losing the 30-year-old will have some impact on the depth of the organization, but as long as players continue to get healthy, the organization has plenty of talent in the lineup.

With the franchise in the midst of some success finally, it will be interesting to see if they can rally back toward .500 in the coming weeks and months with a healthy team.

This article first appeared on Baltimore Orioles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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