The Orioles have acquired lefty Richard Bleier from the Yankees, per a club announcement, with cash or a player to be named later heading back in return. Baltimore designated first baseman/outfielder Christian Walker for assignment to create roster space.
Bleier, 29, had been designated for assignment recently by New York. The soft-tossing southpaw managed a strong 1.96 ERA in his 23 MLB frames with the Yankees last year, but managed only 5.1 K/9 to go with strong walk (1.6 BB/9) and groundball (54.1%) rates.
While that’s obviously rather promising for a debut campaign, Bleier hasn’t compiled the minor-league record to suggest its entirely sustainable. He worked to a 3.72 ERA in his 58 Triple-A innings in 2016, notching just 25 punchouts along the way. And though he has recorded an over 3.29 earned run average in 147 frames at the highest level of the minors, exhibiting excellent command along the way, he has an anemic 3.7 K/9 in that span.
As for Walker, the move rates as a disappointment after indications earlier in the offseason that he could contend for a roster spot. That hope largely came to an end when the O’s brought back Mark Trumbo, though it seemed there was at least some possibility with a big spring — until now. The 25-year-old, a fourth-round pick in the 2012 draft, has received only minimal time in the big leagues with Baltimore. Over three seasons of work at Triple-A, he slashed .260/.324/.429. Though he split his time last year between first base and the outfield, that represented his first look on the grass.
That is surprising. He will get claimed pretty soon for sure. I would not be surprised if the Cubs took a look at him. He can play 1st and OF and Maddan likes a player that can offer versatility
I can’t see Walker making it to the NL. Sounds like the perfect fit for TB, looking for a RH bat to plug in the short side of a 1B platoon.
He can’t play either one particularly well. He’s basically Steve Pearce, only not as good as Pearce at anything.
they like to make a lot of moves
I just see the Cubs adding him as depth that’s all. But I also wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rays grab him. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see someone like the Reds or Brewers getting him
They aren’t wasting a 40 Man spot on a fringy 1B.
Probably Aaron Brooks would be the next 40 Man guy to go. Brooks is better for an NL team than Walker
Good luck to Richard Bleier with the O’s. Too much emphasis today on Ks. Only stats that should matter to a reliever are inherited runners scoring + your own base runners that cross the plate.
That is 100% true @nysoxsam
Thing is they use different balls in the minors. I am not sure minor league numbers mean all that much when it comes to sustainability in MLB. Look at Sanchez and Birds HR rate in minors vs MLB, year everyone expects them to be MLB HR machines due to their small samples, including me (assuming Birds shoulder is 100%).
Besides the different seams and weight of the ball, better IF defense, shifts and scouting reports, along with a bigger strike zone could play big for a GB pitcher who is less affected by the juiced ball than FB/K pitchers
MiLB and MLB share the same rule book, the baseball’s are exactly the same in the Majors as they are in the Minors besides the league and commissioner stamp on the outside.
The balls are not the same. They differ in many way, mainly the seams are lager giving the pitchers more grip on breaking balls.
Sorry, they don’t. Same weight, same circumference, same core, same material, same number of stitches. Every balls stitching is a tiny bit unique do to them being hand stitched, but there is nothing different enough to give one ball more of a competitive edge over the other.
Walker can be a decent grab for the White Sox.
Saladino/Leury can play most anywhere in the infield, so there isn’t much need for Carlos “Yolmer” Sanchez.
I do expect them to move Abreu eventually, although it may not happen until next offseason. Walker can take some hacks at the DH slot until the team makes that trade.. I’m not sure if Davidson will stick at third once Frazier’s contract is up, so he may be in line for either one of 1B or DH moving forward. Jameson Fisher is also a future possibility I suppose. This system is lacking quality 1B depth, so maybe the best route is to look for a “Sam Travis” type return in one of their trades.
#TankforBeer