Kyle Bradish’s Journey to Becoming the Orioles’ Highest-Paid Pitcher

In the midst of an underwhelming and frustrating year, the Baltimore Orioles have made another move showing their faith in this group of players.

On July 18, the Orioles announced that righty Kyle Bradish signed a five-year extension worth $90 million, making him the highest-paid pitcher in franchise history.

Bradish’s extension comes in the middle of what has been an impressive bounceback year. After missing substantial time in 2024 and 2025, the 29-year-old has posted a 3.74 ERA along with 10 quality starts.

In 2023, Bradish emerged as an ace-level arm, helping lead the team to the playoffs. However, following Tommy John surgery, doubts arose over whether the righty could find his spark again.

With Bradish now under contract in Baltimore for many years to come, let’s look back at how the former Angel made his way to Charm City and what kind of legacy the righty can leave in Baltimore.

Making His Way to Baltimore

As a youngster growing up in Arizona, Bradish played his high school ball at Millennium High School in Goodyear, Arizona, just west of Phoenix. Kansas City Royals utilityman Josh Rojas also attended Millennium High School.

After graduating in 2016, Bradish made his way to New Mexico State to play for the Aggies. Across three seasons, the righty recorded a 25-8 record with 311 strikeouts across 274 innings. The righty’s strong college career warranted the Los Angeles Angels selecting Bradish with the 121st pick in the 2018 MLB Amateur Draft.

In 2019, his only year in the Angels’ organization, the former Aggie recorded a 4.28 ERA with 120 strikeouts and a 1.42 WHIP with the Inland Empire 66ers, who are now the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Following the 2019 season, Bradish was one of four pitching prospects traded to Baltimore in return for Dylan Bundy. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the 2020 minor league season, Bradish had to wait until 2021 to make his Orioles system debut.

The then-24-year-old proceeded to make quick work of the farm system, earning his way to the Norfolk Tides’ Triple-A team by the end of May. Across 24 appearances, 22 of which were starts, the right-hander posted a 3.68 ERA with an 11.75 K/9 and a .241 opponent batting average.

After recording a 1.83 ERA and 0.81 WHIP across four starts in Triple-A, Bradish was swiftly promoted to the big league team to make his major league debut on April 29, 2022.

Bradish’s MLB Career So Far

Making his debut just a few weeks before Adley Rutschman, Bradish was one of the first pieces brought up to signify the end of the team’s rebuild. In his rookie year, the former Aggie recorded a 4.90 ERA across 23 starts.

It was in 2023 when Bradish truly started making a name for himself on the biggest stage.

As the Orioles played their way to a 101-win season, Bradish emerged as the bonafide ace of the team. A 2.83 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP and 168 strikeouts earned the righty a fourth-place finish in the AL Cy Young race.

With the rebuild seemingly ahead of schedule and the core of players hitting the ground running as they made their big league debuts, plenty of eyes were on the O’s in 2024 to see what Bradish and others could do with more experience under their belts.

However, 2024 was the beginning of an injury saga that would keep Bradish on and off the mound for two seasons.

Heading into spring training in 2024, Bradish was diagnosed with a sprained UCL in his throwing arm. The injury postponed the righty’s season debut until May 2.

Coming off the injury, Bradish dazzled. In the eight starts he made in 2024, the then-27-year-old posted a 2.51 FIP with 53 strikeouts in 39.1 innings. However, following that eighth start, Bradish was diagnosed with another UCL sprain, leading the team to decide that he needed Tommy John surgery.

Bradish would make his return to the big league team on August 26, over 14 months after originally being placed on the IL for the second time. In the few weeks that Bradish was active, the righty managed a 2.53 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 32 innings of work.

In total, Bradish only made 14 starts across 2024 and 2025. While he was not on the field nearly as much as fans would have hoped, his performances in those limited outings provided hope that once Bradish could get healthy, he could return to his 2023 form.

This season, Bradish has had his healthiest campaign since his fantastic 2023 season. His 20 starts have resulted in a .244 opponent batting average and an 8.74 K/9.

While Bradish’s sustained return to the mound is coming during yet another disappointing year for the Orioles, it is evident that he is a talented arm with too much ability to let leave.

What Does the Future Hold?

With the trade deadline quickly approaching, the majority of the talk surrounding MLB is about the immediate outlook of teams. The deadline can either be the starting gun for a race to the postseason or the white flag for others.

For the Orioles, it is unclear what direction Mike Elias and the front office will take. A strong end to July could make the team buyers, while a downturn could lead to a repeat of the 2025 trade deadline.

However, with the Bradish extension, the front office is taking another step toward securing the future of the team. Shane Baz’s extension earlier this year means several spots in the rotation should be locked in before we get to spring training.

The start of the 29-year-old’s career has not been the smoothest ride, similar to the challenges Matt Damon experienced in “The Odyssey.” The trials Bradish has faced have certainly been frustrating, especially considering how the righty found success in his limited outings in 2024 and 2025.

Bradish has proven himself as an ace-caliber arm when he can stay on the field. This fully guaranteed $90 million contract should help take some pressure off the righty while giving him stability as he continues to prove he can remain healthy.

If Bradish can stay healthy, the Orioles may have just found their first ace since Mike Mussina left in 2000.