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Orioles To Sign Wade LeBlanc

By Steve Adams | January 28, 2020 at 7:22pm CDT

The Orioles have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran left-hander Wade LeBlanc, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Passan. He’ll be in Major League camp during Spring Training and would stand to earn an $800K base salary upon cracking the MLB roster.

Baltimore represents a prime location for a 35-year-old veteran on this type of contract to make a legitimate bid for a roster spot. The Orioles have already traded away Dylan Bundy this winter, leaving their rotation with a composition of John Means, Alex Cobb (health permitting) and journeyman Asher Wojciechowski. The Orioles’ only other rotation moves this winter have been to sign former Twins prospect Kohl Stewart to a big league deal and to select righty Brandon Bailey from GM Mike Elias’ former Astros organization in the Rule 5 Draft. Other internal candidates for starting gigs include right-hander David Hess, who struggled substantially in 2019, and left-hander Keegan Akin, who has yet to make his MLB debut.

It’s the sort of woeful rotation mix one would expect from an organization that is more intent on securing the first overall pick in the 2021 draft than on winning games in the upcoming season. And while that may not be good news for O’s fans, it does provide an avenue for a veteran like LeBlanc to seek out a bounceback opportunity.

LeBlanc was harmed as much as any starter in the game with last year’s juiced ball, as he yielded a staggering 2.1 homers per nine innings pitched and saw his ERA balloon by nearly two full runs over its 2018 levels (5.71 in ’19 versus 3.72 in ’18). In spite of the poor bottom-line run prevention (or lack thereof), the veteran southpaw still maintained similar K/BB tendencies to the ones he showed in a solid three-year stretch that preceded the 2019 season.

From 2016-18, LeBlanc tossed 292 innings (35 starts, 66 relief appearances) and pitched to a 3.91 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9 between the Mariners and the Pirates. His soft-tossing arsenal will face a tough task in the American League East if he does land on the big league roster, as he’ll be moving from the spacious T-Mobile Park and a division that generally skews a bit more toward the pitcher-friendly side of things to the cozier Camden Yards and hitter-friendly AL East. The lack of competition for a starting spot in Baltimore, though, should give LeBlanc a legitimate chance to land a roster spot this spring.

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Baltimore Orioles Transactions Wade LeBlanc

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View Comments (28)
Post a Comment

28 Comments

  1. spinach

    5 years ago

    Nice signing, upside, was rather good couple years ago.

    Reply
  2. thorshair

    5 years ago

    The former Yankees great

    Reply
  3. Long Duc Dong

    5 years ago

    They didn’t want to. It was just there turn.

    Reply
  4. pburns65

    5 years ago

    gary thorne will tout him as an early cy young candidate

    1
    Reply
    • dynamite drop in monty

      5 years ago

      Ugh I read this in his voice

      Reply
      • duffy126

        5 years ago

        I hope you pronounced his name incorrectly, too

        1
        Reply
        • dynamite drop in monty

          5 years ago

          Lol nice touch

          Reply
    • mstrchef13

      5 years ago

      While mispronouncing his name repeatedly.

      Reply
  5. Rsox

    5 years ago

    O’a need depth, this about as depth as it gets.

    2
    Reply
  6. sadosfan

    5 years ago

    I bet he has an awesome accent

    Reply
    • sadosfan

      5 years ago

      His nickname should be gambit.

      Reply
  7. coldbeer

    5 years ago

    Over/under total wins for the Os in 2020…12.5.

    What you taking???

    Reply
    • McNulty

      5 years ago

      Over/under coldbeer’s IQ…12.5.

      What you taking???

      3
      Reply
      • AssumeFactsNotInEvidence

        5 years ago

        Cold beer once lost a game of checkers to a monkey

        1
        Reply
  8. BirdBelters.com

    5 years ago

    LeBlanc is a veteran that will give us stability through innings. He can go deep in games and if he pitches well, we’ll flip him for some young flyer prospects.

    Cashner got us two International prospects last year. A Venezuelan SS and an a nice Outfielder , Elio Prado, who is on some Top30 lists for the O’s.

    LeBlanc is worth a shot.

    1
    Reply
  9. Briffle2

    5 years ago

    800k seems real low for a guy that’s been around as long as he has.

    Reply
  10. gorav114

    5 years ago

    Great value, surprised he couldn’t score a 2-3 million major league deal.

    Reply
    • AssumeFactsNotInEvidence

      5 years ago

      A 36 year old with an ERA around 6? I’m not surprised that deal was not available.

      4
      Reply
      • jorge78

        5 years ago

        He’s just turned 35 and next year is considered his age 35 season…..

        1
        Reply
        • AssumeFactsNotInEvidence

          5 years ago

          He is 35 years old and 175 Days, Jorge!

          Let me ask you a question.

          Will major leagues teams be playing baseball on August 7th? Wade LeBlanc will turn 36 that day. Better luck next time, Hip hip Jorge!

          Reply
  11. Amanda2019

    5 years ago

    thank you baltimore you just gave boston atleast 15 more wins this season

    Reply
  12. moody

    5 years ago

    He’ll crack the rotation, but a bounce back? Has any pitcher ever bounced back in Baltimore?

    Reply
    • Moneyballer

      5 years ago

      You bounce worse on that team. I see a full season statline of around 7-12 with a 4.56 era as being a moderately successful campaign all things considered.

      Reply
  13. manrock

    5 years ago

    As Boston finishes 3rd in that division

    Reply
  14. Moneyballer

    5 years ago

    LeBlanc keeps LeBlancin along! (I’ll see myself out)

    Reply
  15. 8

    5 years ago

    I mean they some how got two very solid 17 year old international prospects for Cashner so why not? I guesses dumbrowski inst a GM anymore tho.

    Reply
  16. LosPobres1904

    5 years ago

    Damn he’s still around?

    Reply
  17. LosPobres1904

    5 years ago

    Damn he’s still around?

    Reply

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