Heston Kjerstad cleared outright waivers on November 2, 2026, and became a free agent after the Orioles designated him for assignment. The move ends his run with Baltimore and sends the former second overall pick into the open market.
The timing matters because Kjerstad, 27, was not just another roster casualty. He was the second overall choice in the 2020 draft, a player the Orioles hoped would become a long-term answer, yet he never got an extended look in the majors. In 2025, he posted a.192/.240/.327 line with four home runs and a 57 wRC+, then missed the last two months of that season because of an unspecified medical condition.
Kjerstad's path this year only made the question sharper. He suffered a hamstring strain in March 2026, then spent most of the season in Triple-A Norfolk after returning from the injured list in the last week of May. There, he hit.289/.337/.462 with 11 home runs and a 106 wRC+ in 333 trips to the plate, enough to earn a September recall when rosters expanded.
But the final month did not change the larger picture. In 11 games, Kjerstad went 4 for 19 with one double, nine strikeouts and no walks. The Orioles still exposed him to waivers, and no club claimed him even though he was a former top-two draft pick. That is the part that makes this move stand out: production that was useful in Triple-A, but not enough for another team to take on the cost, especially with no minor league options left to give Baltimore flexibility.
Kjerstad now reaches free agency with a career that has never quite matched the draft slot attached to it. He made his major league debut in 2023, missed the 2021 season with myocarditis, and has spent much of his professional life trying to turn brief chances into something more permanent. The next step is simple but uncertain: he is available to sign anywhere, and the market will decide whether another club sees a bat worth betting on.
