The Orioles took their one of their most coveted trade chips off the board Thursday evening, agreeing to a two-year contract extension with right-hander Yennier Cano covering the 2027-28 seasons, with a club option for 2029.
The deal, reportedly for $7.5 million with a $10 million option year, comes just days before Monday's 6 p.m. trade deadline — timing that matters, since Baltimore Sports Feed's trade deadline tracker noted Cano as one of the most in-demand relievers on the market, per MLB Network's Jon Morosi.
"It’s awesome to see him get rewarded for all his hard work," Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said after the Orioles 6-4 win over the Phillies on Friday, in which Cano pitched a scoreless eighth.
Albernaz added that he was glad Cano took up Orioles owner David Rubenstein's interest in working to sign players to extensions, which Rubenstein discussed at a press conference last week announcing pitcher Kyle Bradish's new five-year deal.
“I’m glad Yenny went to go talk to him,” Albernaz said.
"It's huge for me," Cano said through a translator after Friday's game. "Yesterday when my agent called me, he said, 'Do you want to stay in Baltimore?' I said, '100 percent'."
The extension caps an bounce-back calendar year. Cano struggled through a rough start to 2025 and was sent to the minors, where he retooled his arsenal — adjusting his changeup and adding a splitter and to generate more vertical drop alongside his sinker, slider, and four-seamer, and helped fuel his return to form in 2026.
For his career, Cano is 11-17 with 16 saves and a 3.78 ERA across 268 outings, 258 of them with Baltimore. His 90 career holds as an Oriole are the second-most in franchise history since 1954, behind only Darren O'Day, and his 34 holds in 2024 remain a single-season club record. Cano said Friday he'd be happy if he finished his career in Baltimore.
The move also revives memories of the Cano-Félix Bautista bullpen duo that briefly made Baltimore's relief corps must-watch, before injuries derailed Bautista's own run. Cano and Bautista made the 2023 All-Star team together, the first pair of Orioles relievers to do so since Zack Britton and Brad Brach in 2016.
"Yennier has been outstanding for us both on and off the field since his arrival in 2022," said president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Elias. "He has blossomed into one of the game's most reliable and consistent relief pitchers."
Baltimore acquired Cano from Minnesota in August 2022, along with Cade Povich, in the trade that sent Jorge López to the Twins.