The Orioles announced this afternoon that they’ve claimed left-hander Jed Bradley off waivers from the Braves and designated infielder Paul Janish for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
The DFA of Janish is largely procedural, as the Orioles non-tendered him last December and had already outrighted him back off the 40-man roster once this summer before selecting his contract again late in the year. He wasn’t likely to be carried on the 40-man roster throughout the offseason, though if he again clears waivers — which is likely — he could re-sign a minor league pact to return to the organization with which he has spent the past two seasons. The 34-year-old Janish is a standout defender at shortstop and a nice depth piece for any organization, but his upside at the plate is limited; he’s a career .216/.284/.289 hitter in 1277 big league plate appearances and slashed .248/.333/.280 with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate this season.
As for Bradley, the former top prospect and first-round pick (15th overall by the Brewers in 2011) made his Major League debut with Atlanta this season, yielding four runs on seven hits and six walks (two intentional) with four strikeouts in seven innings for the Braves. Bradley’s career never took off as the Brewers hoped, as he moved from the rotation to the bullpen in the minors and struggled a great deal between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015. However, Bradley logged a 3.09 earned run average with 108 strikeouts against 40 walks in 107 2/3 innings between the rotation and bullpen at Triple-A this year (13 starts, 22 relief appearances) and will give the Orioles some needed left-handed depth in the organization if he survives the winter on Baltimore’s 40-man roster.
It’s another guy showalter can use instead of Britton lol
Expose Hiium!
This is a nice depth move. Personally, I get the feeling that Bradley could be DFA’d again at some point this winter, however that shouldn’t matter, considering he made it all the way to the Orioles on the waiver wire and that he has an additional season of team control if outrighted, therefore, it’s a relatively safe bet that the O’s will be able to keep him around. He seems like he could be solid out of the pen if he can get his control down. I’d imagine he’s a guy who a team can get a 3.60 ERA out of, but his K and BB numbers could be exceptionally underwhelming. Regardless of whether he’s outrighted or not, I believe that he’s going to spend a considerable amount of time at Norfolk, as he has options left, unless there are a good amount of injuries or he repeats his 2016 performance at AAA in 2017.