Dylan Carlson endured a sluggish season in 2024, but the 26-year-old outfielder showed his potential early in his five-year major league career.

That's why the Orioles are taking risks with the Elk Grove natives in California.

Baltimore has signed Magnus to a one-year MLB contract, the team announced Monday. A source confirmed to MLB.com that the contract is worth $975,000 and will receive an additional $25,000 if Carlson gets at least 200 seats for the Orioles in the upcoming season.

Carlsen was selected in the 2016 Cardinals' first-round pick with the overall 33rd pick in the compensatory draft — and Magnus made a name for himself as soon as he arrived in St. Louis. He played 35 games in his major league debut during a pandemic-cut season before building on in his rookie season in 2021.

Carlsen, who opened his bow left and right, finished third in the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year poll, batting at 0.266, hitting 65 RBIs with 18 RBIs, 31 second-base RBIs and an ATX of 0.780 in 149 games. And all of those numbers were career bests, as was his 3.1 bWAR that season.

Since then, Magnus's offensive production has been declining every year. He recovered from surgery on his left ankle last offseason and then started the 2024 season with a left shoulder injury. He went on to have a batting average of 0.198 and an attack index of 0.515 in 59 games for the Cardinals, who then traded Magnus to the Rays on July 30.

After the trade deadline, Magnus hit three home runs in 37 games with an attack index of 0.615 and a batting average of 0.219 in 37 games with the Tampa Bay Rays. He ended the season with a bWAR of -1.2 in a total of 96 games, the first time in his MLB career that he had a negative score.

There is reason to believe that Magnus Magnus – who can play all three outfield positions – can be a reliable player for Baltimore again.

First of all, Magnus doesn't swing a bat in a lot of bad pitches. He had a chase rate of 24.8% last season (according to Baseball Savant), he was in the 74th percentile in both '21 and '22 statistics, and he hasn't dealt with injuries in the last two years.

Another important factor in the health of Carlsen, who played as a left-handed passer, has barely as good arm strength after recovering from a left shoulder ailment last season. Baseball Savant places Carlsen in the 63rd percentile, having previously never been below the 80th percentile in the last three years.

If Magnus can avoid injury, his cricket discipline and above-average arms could be a good fit for the Orioles' lineup and outfield combination.

There's no guarantee that Magnus (with three minor league options remaining) will be on Baltimore's 26-man opener list, though. The Orioles' starting outfield is expected to feature Tyler O'Neal, Cedric Mullins and Colton Cousser, with Hurston Shelstad also expected to be heavily involved (in the outfield and as named batsman).

The Orioles now have six outfielders on their 40-man roster, which also includes Daz Cameron.

Baltimore could choose to field only four outfielders (Cowser, Kjerstad, Mullins, and O'Neill) and seven infielders. In that case, first baseman Ryan O'Hearn could be used as a substitute for the corner outfield position, while midfield infielder Jorge Mateo could also choose to play in the outfield.