Left-hander Keegan Akin lost his arbitration hearing against the Orioles, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. He will earn $2.975MM in 2026. Akin filed at $3.375MM but will earn $400k less than that figure in his final trip through arbitration. Akin is a client of All Bases Covered Sports Management.
The 30-year-old (31 in April) has thrown 368 innings for the Orioles since debuting in 2020. He spent his first two seasons in 2020-21 as a swingman before converting to a full-time reliever in 2022. He had a 3.20 ERA in 81 2/3 innings that year and stood out with a 49.3% groundball rate and just a 6.1% walk rate. He struggled mightily in 2023, posting a 6.85 ERA in 23 1/3 innings and missing most of the season with a lower back injury. He had his best season in 2024. Akin had a 3.32 ERA in 78 2/3 innings that year while posting career-best strikeout and walk numbers (24.9% K-BB rate).
More to come.