A longtime pitching coach for the Orioles will not return to the organization next year, as director of pitching Chris Holt is departing the club, two sources confirmed to The Baltimore Banner.

Holt was hired away from the Houston Astros in 2019, following general manager Mike Elias to Baltimore. He spent two years as a minor league pitching coordinator before moving up to become the Orioles’ major league pitching coach in 2021. Ahead of the 2024 season, Holt was moved to an overarching role as director of pitching, in which he oversaw the development of pitchers throughout the organization.

Forrest Herrmann, a minor league pitching coordinator, will take over as Baltimore’s director of pitching, one source confirmed. The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network first reported the moves for Holt and Herrmann.

The transition throws more change into Baltimore’s coaching ranks. Already, co-hitting coaches Matt Borgschulte and Ryan Fuller opted to depart, with Borgschulte landing as the Minnesota Twins’ hitting coach. Bench coach Fredi González and major league coach José Hernández will also not return.

There could be more movement to follow, as Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton’s contract expires Thursday, another source said. So does Triple-A hitting coach Mike Montville’s contract.

Herrmann joined the club in 2021 as a minor league pitching coach and became a coordinator for the lower levels of the system ahead of the 2024 season. Before Baltimore, Herrmann spent time with the minor league systems for the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners.

Herrmann has leaned into a tandem-starter system believing it can help cut down on injuries at lower levels of the game. At that age, Herrmann said, health and development are the same thing.

“It allows for more players to have that structure in their week, and their routine, where they can be on predictable recovery cycles and they can very strategically allocate reps and allocate training economy to goals throughout the week,” Herrmann told The Banner’s Jon Meoli. “More players definitely have access to that within the tandem system than your traditional five-man rotation, or [a] six-man rotation.”

An early trade

Outfielder Daz Cameron returns to the organization in a trade, the Orioles announced. Baltimore acquired Cameron, who played for the Norfolk Tides in 2023, from the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations. Cameron played 66 games for Oakland this season with a .200 average. Last year, with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate, Cameron hit .268.

Free agent elections

The Orioles announced right-hander Burch Smith and outfielder Daniel Johnson elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

In addition, as the offseason begins, the Orioles’ six players eligible for free agency elected to reach the open market: right-hander Corbin Burnes, outfielder Anthony Santander, left-hander John Means, catcher James McCann, outfielder Austin Slater and right-hander Brooks Kriske. The Orioles have until Monday to give qualifying offers to players, and Santander and Burnes are candidates to receive the one-year, $21.05 million deal.

If a player rejects the qualifying offer and signs elsewhere, his previous team receives a draft pick.

Baseball operations promotions

Baltimore announced a slew of baseball operations promotions Thursday, including the rise of Mike Snyder from senior director of pro scouting to vice president of pro scouting. In that role, Snyder will continue with his duties overseeing the team’s professional scouting and player analysis throughout the majors, minors and Asian professional leagues. He’ll also assist with contract negotiations, 40-man roster construction, player transactions and departmental hiring.

Brendan Fournie became the senior director of baseball strategy and operations, and Di Zou rose to role of senior director of baseball systems and analytics operations.

“I am proud to announce these promotions, which reflect the growth of our front office and the ascent of the organization as a whole,” Elias said in a statement. “The pro scouting department has made a tremendous positive impact in shaping our roster and farm system. The baseball analytics group has provided the high-quality information and cutting-edge tools that shape everything we do in our offices in the Warehouse and across our scouting and player development operations. The work of these staff members has been indispensable in our winning more games than any team in the American League the last two seasons. I’d like to thank David Rubenstein and the entire ownership group for their commitment and investment toward continual improvement in baseball operations.”