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Orioles Notes: Kittredge, Cowser, Reilly

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Back in January, the O’s signed reliever Andrew Kittredge to a one-year, $10MM deal. They haven’t yet received any return on that investment but that may soon change, since he’s currently on a rehab assignment.

“All good news with how he’s throwing the baseball and how he feels,” said manager Brandon Hyde, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. “I think he throws again this weekend and then he’ll do a back-to-back and maybe another one. We’ll see how it goes.”

Kittredge required a left knee debridement procedure in March and has been on the 15-day injured list all year so far. He’s now made four rehab appearances, the last three being scoreless Triple-A outings. Based on Hyde’s comments, it seems he’ll get into a few more games and should join the Baltimore bullpen after that.

The righty had a 2.80 earned run average in 70 2/3 innings with the Cardinals last year. His 23% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 45.2% ground ball rate were all solid figures. If he can get back to that level of performance, he’ll be a nice upgrade to the relief corps. However, it might require a tough decision on who goes out. The only members of the bullpen who are optionable are the high-leverage arms: Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin. That could put pressure on a struggling pitcher like Cionel Pérez or Charlie Morton, who both have ERAs north of 8.00.

Regardless of that decision, it’s possible that Kittredge could eventually emerge as a trade candidate this summer, if he performs well after being reinstated from the IL. The O’s are now 15-27 and will have to engineer a big winning streak to avoid being deadline sellers. Kittredge’s deal contains a $9MM club option for 2026 with a $1MM buyout.

Kubatko also relayed a minor update on outfielder Colton Cowser, saying that he did some “light outfield work” yesterday. He suffered a broken thumb just a few days into the season, an injury which came with a timeline of six to eight weeks.

He was subsequently transferred to the 60-day IL, so he’s not eligible to return until late May, though that doesn’t seem likely even though it’s been over six weeks now. He will presumably need to ramp up his activities further before even beginning a rehab assignment. Kubatko notes that the injured thumb is still wrapped in a brace. For now, the Orioles will continue with the outfield mix consisting largely of Cedric Mullins, Ramón Laureano, Tyler O’Neill and Heston Kjerstad.

The club also announced to reporters, including Kubatko, that pitching prospect Patrick Reilly had UCL surgery yesterday. The O’s didn’t provide a timeline for Reilly but he’ll surely be sidelined into the middle of the 2026 season.

Acquired from the Pirates last summer in a deal which sent Billy Cook the other way, Reilly has been with Double-A Bowie since the deal. He has logged 41 innings for the Baysox with a 3.29 ERA. For his entire minor league career, he now has 139 2/3 innings with a 3.54 ERA, 30.1% strikeout rate and 12.3% walk rate.

Coming into 2025, Baseball America ranked him the #16 prospect in the Orioles’ system while FanGraphs had him at #25. He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December of 2026 if not protected before then, but he’ll spend most of the intervening time rehabbing from this surgery.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Tony Kemp Announces Retirement

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Veteran infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp has announced his retirement via social media (X link, Instagram link).

“After 12 years of professional baseball and nine seasons in the big leagues, I’ve decided to hang up the spikes,” Kemp wrote. In a lengthy farewell, he went on to thank his parents, his wife, his brother, Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin, all of the organizations for which he suited up in the majors (Astros, Cubs, A’s, Orioles) and all of the training staffs who incredibly helped him avoid spending even one day of his career on the injured list. The 5’6″ Kemp also offered a heartfelt message for “undersized” ballplayers everywhere:

“To the undersized ballplayer: I see you, I hear you, and I understand you. With all of the metrics and data in the game of baseball today, there is still one measurement they can’t compute: your heart. Continue to play the game the right way and respect it. The game will reward you, I promise. Leave no doubt and give everything you have like someone is watching you play baseball for the first time. I’m rooting for you all.”

Kemp, 33, was the Astros’ fifth-round pick out of Vanderbilt back in 2013. He was in the big leagues three years later, appearing in 59 games and hitting .217/.296/.325 in a small sample of 136 plate appearances. Kemp received a fleeting cup of coffee with the 2017 Astros (39 plate appearances) but landed his first real look in the majors in 2018. He totaled 97 games and 295 plate appearances for Houston that year and delivered a nice .263/.351/.392 batting line (110 wRC+) with a strong 10.8% walk rate against a tiny 14.9% strikeout rate.

The following season, Kemp turned in a decent performance through 66 games with Houston before being flipped to the Cubs in a deadline deal that brought catcher Martin Maldonado to the Astros. He struggled in a short 44-game tenure with the Cubs, who traded him to the A’s in an offseason deal netting them first baseman Alfonso Rivas III.

It proved to be a terrific move by the Athletics. Kemp delivered the best work of his career in green and gold, spending four seasons with the A’s and playing quite well for the first three. From 2020-22, he posted a .252/.341/.361 slash (105 wRC+) with savvy baserunning and quality defense at both second base and in left field. Kemp never hit for much power, but during that three-year peak with the A’s he drew walks at a 10.5% clip and flashed continually plus bat-to-ball skills, fanning in only 12.5% of his plate appearances.

The 2023 season was a tough one, as Kemp hit just .209/.303/.304 in 417 turns at the plate. Oakland cut him loose that offseason. Kemp went on to sign minor league deals with the Reds, Orioles and Twins. He briefly appeared in the majors with Baltimore last season, getting into five games but going hitless in 10 plate appearances.

Kemp spent a dozen years in pro ball, saw MLB time in nine seasons with four teams, and will retire with a .237/.324/.351 batting line in 739 MLB games and 2247 plate appearances. He picked up more than six years of big league service and, per Baseball-Reference, secured more than $8.5MM in career earnings (in addition to his $250K signing bonus out of the draft). Kemp was a popular teammate and a fan favorite based on his self-described “grinder mentality” on the diamond. Congrats to Tony on a successful career, and best wishes in whatever steps lie ahead.

MLBTR Podcast: Devers Drama, Managerial Firings, And Jordan Lawlar

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Should the Orioles try to extend Cedric Mullins or Tomoyuki Sugano (35:05)
  • How real are the Twins and the Tigers? (39:00)
  • What should the Cardinals do in right field if Jordan Walker doesn’t get going? (44:50)
  • Why do the Mets seemingly do better with external pitching additions than their homegrown arms? (49:25)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images

Jordan Westburg Suffers Setback In Rehab

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Orioles manager Brandon Hyde announced to reporters, including Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun, that infielder Jordan Westburg has suffered a setback in his rehab. There is no estimated timetable for his return at this time but his running progression has been shut down.

Despite the lack of details, it’s obviously bad news for the O’s. Westburg landed on the 10-day injured list at the end of April due to a left hamstring strain. Just over a week ago, he was on the cusp of a rehab assignment, per Jake Rill of MLB.com. Returning after a fairly minimal absence seemed possible.

Now that’s all up in the air. Perhaps this will end up just being a brief setback, but it’s possible there could be knock-on effects. A player who misses just over a week might be able to return without even going on a rehab assignment. But the longer an absence lingers, the more time it could potentially take to get back in game shape.

Time will tell how serious this setback is, but it’s less than ideal for the Orioles. They are currently in a deep hole, sporting a 15-25 record, with only the lowly White Sox below them in the American League standings. There’s still plenty of season left and they can certainly climb back in it, but the front office may have to make some tough buy/sell decisions in the middle of July, which is now just two months away.

Westburg was a key part of the club’s success last year. He hit .264/.312/.481 for a 125 wRC+ while bouncing around between the three infield positions to the left of first base. But this year has been markedly different, as he hit just .217/.265/.391 before hitting the IL.

In Westburg’s absence, the Orioles have been getting good production from Jackson Holliday at second base. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson isn’t performing quite as well as last year but is still well above average at the plate.

At third base, the O’s have been without Westburg and Ramón Urías lately, though Urías was reinstated from the IL today. Outfielder Dylan Carlson was optioned as the corresponding move. With those two both on the IL, Emmanuel Rivera filled in admirably, putting up a .346/.393/.423 line. That has been propped up by an unsustainable .450 batting average on balls in play but the O’s could hardly have expected more from an emergency call-up. Urías is playing third base in the first game of today’s double-header but Rivera might continue to get some playing time as those two cover for Westburg.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

Orioles Activate Zach Eflin

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The Orioles have activated right-hander Zach Eflin from the injured list ahead of his start against the Angels this afternoon, per a team announcement. Right-hander Colin Selby was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to make room for Eflin on the active roster. In an additional move, southpaw Trevor Rogers was activated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A.

Eflin, 31, went on the shelf just over a month ago with what was described at the time as a “low-grade” lat strain. The right-hander has been a revelation for the Orioles ever since he was acquried from the Rays ahead of last year’s trade deadline. He pitched to a 2.60 ERA in nine starts down the stretch last year, and his first three starts of 2025 saw him post a 3.00 ERA despite an unusually small 11.8% strikeout rate. The Orioles were 5-6 after Eflin’s last start with the club, but since losing him from the front of their rotation the wheels have come off. The club has posted a brutal 9-18 record since then, however, and much of those struggles have been attributable to lackluster performances in the rotation.

Since the day Eflin went on the shelf, Baltimore has the worst rotation in baseball by FIP (6.10), and the third-worst by ERA (5.97). Tomoyuki Sugano has pitched quite well with a 2.72 ERA despite his 4.61 FIP and 14.2% strikeout rate, but that doesn’t appear to be particularly sustainable and the rest of the rotation has ERAs north of 5.00 across the board. Perhaps adding Eflin to the rotation ahead of Sugano can help stabilize things, particularly if he rediscovers the bat-missing abilities he flashed when he struck out 21.0% of opponents down the stretch last year. Even so, more reinforcements appear to be necessary if the Orioles are going to have a serious chance of getting back into the playoff picture.

One other potential rotation option was also activated from the IL today alongside Eflin: Rogers. Acquired from the Marlins in exchange for Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby at last year’s trade deadline, Rogers struggled badly in four starts for the Orioles before being optioned to Triple-A late last year. He could have been in the mix for a rotation job this spring had he not suffered a kneecap subluxation in January that slowed his start of the season. He’s been ramping back up ever since, and is finally healthy enough to be activated from the shelf. With that being said, he’s currently set to act as Triple-A depth for the club rather than come up and pitch in the majors immediately. Perhaps that’s a sensible decision, seeing as he’s struggled to a 7.50 ERA across four rehab starts this year.

Making room for Eflin on the active roster is Selby, who made his big league debut with the Pirates back in 2023. He struggled to a 9.00 ERA in 24 innings of work, and since then has bounced between the Royals and Orioles organizations with just 10 2/3 frames in the majors total over the past two years. Most recently, he’s logged 3 2/3 innings of 4.91 ERA ball for Baltimore this year. He’ll head to Triple-A as a potential depth option for the birds going forward.

Orioles Outright Matt Bowman To Triple-A

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TODAY: Bowman accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A after clearing waivers, the Orioles announced.

MAY 8: The Orioles announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Matt Bowman for assignment and recalled fellow righty Colin Selby from Triple-A Norfolk. Selby will give the O’s a fresh arm for today’s series finale in Minnesota, which is set to begin at 12:10pm CT. Selby was already on what was a full 40-man roster, so Baltimore now has a vacancy after designating Bowman.

Bowman, 33, pitched in each of the past two games against the Twins and now finds himself on the outs in Baltimore as the O’s look to get some reinforcements for a beleaguered pitching staff. Bowman actually came to the O’s last summer after opting out of a minor league deal with Minnesota. The Orioles eventually passed him through waivers but re-signed him on a new minor league deal after he opted for free agency.

Baltimore selected Bowman to the major league roster late in spring training. He’s been a heavily used arm for manager Brandon Hyde, appearing in 16 of the Orioles’ 35 games (46%). The journeyman right-hander posted a sparkling 1.98 ERA through his first dozen appearances but has hit a rough patch of late, surrendering seven runs across his past four outings. Overall, Bowman carries a 5.19 earned run average with a sub-par 15.2% strikeout rate but a terrific 3.8% walk rate.

Bowman pitched for four teams in 2024, including both the Twins and Orioles. He’s now suited up for seven teams across parts of seven major league seasons. In 233 1/3 frames at the MLB level, he’s produced a 4.24 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate. Bowman doesn’t miss many bats and has never thrown hard — his 91.3 mph average on his sinker in 2025 is an exact match for his career mark — but he’s consistently proven capable of avoiding hard contact. Opponents have mustered a putrid 86.3 mph average exit velocity against Bowman in his career and posted similarly bleak barrel and hard-hit rates of 5.1% and 29.6%, respectively.

Because he’s out of minor league options, Bowman couldn’t simply be optioned to Norfolk to bring up a fresh arm. The O’s will have five days to find a trade partner for him before they have to place him on outright or release waivers (which is another 48-hour process). He could be waived at any point prior to that, of course, but his DFA will be resolved within a maximum of one week.

Orioles Outright Walter Pennington

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The Orioles announced on Friday that lefty reliever Walter Pennington cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. He’d been designated for assignment on Wednesday as the corresponding move when the O’s acquired Luis F. Castillo from Seattle.

Pennington, 27, had been designated for assignment and released by the Rangers at the end of April. Baltimore grabbed him off release waivers. He made one appearance apiece at High-A Aberdeen and with Norfolk. Pennington hasn’t been able to find the strike zone, walking six of 10 batters faced while allowing seven runs (five earned) in one combined inning.

Initially drafted by the Royals, Pennington was traded to Texas last summer in the Michael Lorenzen deadline deal. He’s only a season removed from posting a 2.13 ERA with a 32.2% strikeout rate over 63 1/3 Triple-A innings. Pennington had been pitching at the Rangers’ complex before they moved on, and his pair of appearances with Baltimore affiliates were alarming.

Now that he’s cleared waivers, the O’s can keep Pennington in Norfolk without carrying him on the 40-man roster. He’ll obviously need far better control than he has shown in his limited work so far, but he’d be a solid depth arm if he can find last year’s form. He recorded an even 3.00 earned run average with 17 punchouts and 11 walks over his first 18 big league innings last season.

MLBTR Podcast: Replacing Triston Casas, A Shakeup In Texas, And The Blue Jays’ Rotation

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What does the trade deadline look like for the Orioles if they’re out of contention? (37:10)
  • Can the Tigers extend Tarik Skubal and what does his contract look like? (45:05)
  • Who are some fun under-the-radar contributors this year? (51:05)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images

Orioles Acquire Luis F. Castillo From Mariners

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The Mariners announced that they’ve traded righty Luis F. Castillo to Baltimore for cash. Seattle had designated him for assignment yesterday as the corresponding move for the Leody Taveras waiver claim. Baltimore optioned Castillo to Triple-A Norfolk and designated lefty Walter Pennington for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot.

Castillo, the now-former teammate of the Seattle All-Star starter of the same name, has five major league appearances under his belt. He signed a minor league deal over the offseason and was selected onto the big league roster in early April. Castillo took a pair of turns through the rotation. He surrendered seven runs (six earned) on 12 hits and seven walks across seven innings. He struck out five.

Those were Castillo’s first two major league starts. His previous big league experience consisted of a trio of relief outings for the Tigers in 2022. Castillo spent the next two seasons in Japan. He didn’t miss many bats but managed a 2.96 ERA over 94 1/3 innings for the Orix Buffaloes a year ago. The 30-year-old has made four starts for Seattle’s top farm team in Tacoma. He has managed a 12:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio while surrendering eight runs through 14 1/3 frames.

Castillo sits in the 91-92 MPH range with both his four-seam fastball and sinker. There’s not much swing-and-miss upside but he has a full slate of minor league options. He’ll join Brandon Young and Chayce McDermott as depth starters who are on optional assignment to Norfolk.

Pennington, 27, heads back into DFA limbo for the second time in as many weeks. He was designated for assignment and released by the Rangers at the end of April. Baltimore grabbed him off release waivers. He made one appearance apiece at High-A Aberdeen and with Norfolk. Pennington hasn’t been able to find the strike zone, walking six of 10 batters faced while allowing seven runs (five earned) in one combined inning.

Initially drafted by the Royals, Pennington was traded to Texas last summer in the Michael Lorenzen deadline deal. He’s only a season removed from posting a 2.13 ERA with a 32.2% strikeout rate over 63 1/3 Triple-A innings. Pennington had been pitching at the Rangers’ complex before they moved on, and his pair of appearances with Baltimore affiliates were clearly alarming. He’ll likely wind up back on waivers in the next few days. If he goes unclaimed, he would not have the requisite service time to decline an outright assignment.

Orioles To Sign Naykel Cruz

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The Orioles have agreed to a deal with Cuban left-hander Naykel Cruz, per Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. The contract is pending a physical. Cruz is expected to report to High-A or Double-A once the signing is official, Romero adds.

The 25-year-old Cruz held a showcase for big league teams back in November. He pitched in parts of four seasons in the Cuban National Series — Cuba’s top professional league — and was a member of Team Cuba in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (though he only pitched two-thirds of an inning in that tournament). The southpaw has also briefly appeared in the Mexican League, pitching in seven games back in the 2022 season.

During his four seasons in Cuba’s top league, Cruz posted a 4.18 ERA with shaky strikeout and walk rates of 19.1% and 15.4%, respectively. Prior to that offseason showcase, Romero wrote that Cruz had bumped his velocity from the 91-92 mph he averaged during his days pitching in the CNS to 94-95 mph.

Cruz’s age and previous experience in CNS make him eligible to sign as a professional rather than an amateur. That doesn’t mean he’s required to sign a major league deal, however. In all likelihood, he’s signing a minor league pact for a yet-unknown bonus.

By all accounts, Cruz isn’t an especially high-profile prospect, though that hardly means he can’t contribute at the big league level. Plenty of players who signed as international prospects and received middling bonuses have developed into major leaguers. Given his age, prior experience, the fact that he was eligible to sign as a professional and the fact that he could potentially go right to Double-A, Cruz is a bit more notable than many shot-in-the-dark international signings. It’s hardly likely that he pitches for the Orioles later this season, but it’s also not entirely out of the realm of possibility, especially given the state of Baltimore’s pitching staff at the moment.

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