The Orioles announced Thursday that they’ve re-claimed infielder Pat Valaika off waivers from the Diamondbacks and designated right-hander Branden Kline for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Baltimore designated Valaika for assignment earlier this month, surely hoping to pass him through waivers and retain him without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to the 27-year-old. Instead, the Diamondbacks claimed him and briefly hung onto him until needing a roster spot of their own following the acquisition of Starling Marte. The O’s have been on the lookout for infield depth since losing Valaika, and they’ll now welcome him back into the organization at Kline’s expense.
A career .214/.256/.400 hitter who has shown plenty of pop from the right side of the dish, Valaika has experience at each of second base, shortstop and third base. However, he’s also punched out in nearly 29 percent of his trips to the plate in the big leagues, which has contributed significantly to his inability to reach base at a passable rate. Valaika does have a minor league option remaining and a career .275/.315/.498 slash 695 Triple-A plate appearances, making him a reasonable depth option for the rebuilding Orioles to carry on the roster even if he doesn’t break camp with the club this spring.
The 28-year-old Kline made his MLB debut in 2019 but was hit hard, logging a 5.93 ERA and a 34-to-19 K/BB ratio in 41 innings of relief. He averaged a hearty 96.3 mph on his four-seamer in that time but generated below-average spin and yielded hard contact at far too great a clip (49.2 percent, per Statcast). Kline has had some success up through the Double-A level but has yet to post strong numbers in limited time with Triple-A Norfolk or in the Majors.
Would be an interesting pendulum if the Orioles DFA’d him and the Rockies claimed him.
hot potato
He’s pretty awful. There are only a couple teams in baseball that would realistically claim him, with the O’s being the most obvious. Guaranteed though that if you’re a fan of an AL East team, at some point in his tenure in Baltimore he will break your heart with an out-0f-nowhere, long home run at the worst possible time. He’s that kind of annoying dude.
Oh trust me, I know he is bad. But Patty Barrels will always have the first half of the 2017 when he was a godlike pinch hitter. Of course it couldn’t last, but he made for several good days back then.
There should be a rule where if a player is designated for assignment more than once in the same offseason, anyone who claims him must keep him on their 40-man league roster for at lesat a month.
there shouldnt. it just means more midling player locked into roster spots that could otherwise be filled if a better player is designated.
Maybe they should have thought of that before they claimed him?
Then it’s just guys going unclaimed and being released to sign minor league deals. For the player it’s better to hold on to a 40 man spot even if they are changing organizations every few weeks until the season starts.
Oh yeah?
Or the player should receive a month’s pay if he is DFA’d again. At the very least, they should be compensated for being passed around like the easy girl at the frat party.
I can guarantee you Valaika hasn’t moved yet. He wouldn’t know if he was going to be in AAA or the MLB either. Even if he was with one organization this spring.
net loss
Trash coming in, trash going out.
Mildly surprised we let Kline go. He was hit hard but he does still have a 96-97 MPH fast ball and options remaining. Wouldn’t be surprised to see another bottom feeder take a shot on him.
Great re- pickup on Valaika. If given a chance he will produce. He will definitely out hit Urena and provides good versatility.