1:40pm: The Orioles announced that Sisco has indeed been designated for assignment. The move was necessary to open a spot on the roster for right-hander Thomas Eshelman, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Norfolk. Eshelman will take the place of lefty Bruce Zimmermann and start tonight’s game for the O’s, while Zimmermann is headed to the injured list due to tendinitis in his left biceps.
1:07pm: The Orioles have designated former top catching prospect Chance Sisco for assignment, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). They’ll now have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
Sisco, 26, was a second-round pick back in 2013 and quickly played his way into top prospect status. Sisco raked at every stop through his first few minor league seasons, and Baseball America ranked him among the sport’s 70 best prospects in both 2017 and 2018. His 2016 season, in particular, was an impressive run through Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, as Sisco combined to bat .317/.403/.430 with a 12.3 percent walk rate against a 17.7 percent strikeout rate. The O’s called Sisco up for a look late in the 2017 season, and he responded with a 6-for-18 showing that included a pair of homers and a pair of doubles. He looked very much like the organization’s catcher of the future.
That began to change in 2018, when Sisco received his first extended look at the MLB level. He played in 63 games for Baltimore that season and logged 184 plate appearances with just a .181/.288/.269 output to show for it. Sisco’s numbers improved to .211/.345/.389 in 2019-20, but he’s struggled mightily so far in 2021 both in the big leagues and down in Norfolk.
Sisco had a nice showing with Triple-A during the 2019 season, but he hasn’t consistently produced even at the sport’s top minor league level. He’s batting .205/.327/.341 through 52 plate appearances in Norfolk this season and carries an overall .264/.352/.421 slash there in parts of five seasons.
Those struggles have become more problematic as Sisco has gotten older and been unable to improve his ability to control the running game. Baseball America noted back in 2018 that Sisco would likely need “perfect footwork” to be a passable thrower from behind the dish, given bottom-of-the-scale pop times as he attempted to throw out runners on the bases. To his credit, he went 6-for-9 in thwarting thieves at the MLB level this season, but he’s also 1-for-16 in that department in Norfolk this year and has a career 21 percent caught-stealing rate in the minors.
Further complicating matters for Sisco is that he’ll be out of options next spring, meaning he’d need to either make the big league roster or go unclaimed on waivers. With his current struggles pushing him down the depth chart, that lack of future flexibility likely contributed to today’s decision to remove him from the 40-man roster.
Sisco’s status as a one-time top catching prospect who can be optioned for the remainder of the year could well hold appeal to another club, either via a small trade or a waiver claim. The most plausible scenario for him to remain with the Orioles beyond the current season would be one where he clears waivers and is later selected back to the MLB roster, but given today’s move, it may be likelier that another club takes a chance on the former top prospect.
With Sisco now in DFA limbo, the only catchers on the Orioles’ 40-man roster are Pedro Severino and light-hitting Austin Wynns. The club has an experienced option in Norfolk in the former of former Rays catcher Nick Ciuffo, but the organization’s hope at the position clearly shifted to Adley Rutschman the moment he was selected with the top pick in the 2019 draft. The switch-hitting Rutschman has utterly obliterated Double-A pitching thus far in 2021, hitting at a .287/.421/.554 pace with ten homers and five doubles through 171 plate appearances in what is typically a pitcher-friendly environment.
It’s not implausible that Rutschman could crack the Majors this season, although rebuilding clubs like the Orioles often seek to delay the arrival of their top prospects in order to gain an additional year of club control. Calling Rutschman up this season, or at any point in the first two weeks of the 2022 campaign, would give the Orioles’ control over him through the 2027 season. Waiting to call him up until 15 days of the 2022 season have elapsed would push that path to free agency back into the 2028-29 offseason.
Somebody give this guy a Chance!
Rip he won’t be missed
That’s cringe, bro
Didn’t see your response when I sent mine Steve.
In a certain way the O’s have not given him a chance. His bat could be a plus and yet he’s not gotten regular AB’s at the ML level. Also, from what I’ve watched he’s better behind the dish than Severino (who is a consistent liability). He will, I think, get a legit chance elsewhere.
He’s had Chances. He’ll never be a major league catcher. And his bat is so slow, I can’t see him ever becoming a major league hitter, either.
I wonder if they sat on this one a couple of days. Because I can’t help but think Sisco would have 100% been claimed by the Indians, who they just got swept by, a couple of days ago. Instead of them calling on Ryan Lavarnaway.
I doubt the Indians would’ve claimed him. They tend to value strong defensive catchers. Plus, Lavarnway has been on their taxi squad and knows the pitchers, whereas Sisco or any other C from outside the organization would be starting from scratch.
Could be right, although I didn’t think Lavarnaway was exactly known for his defense either.
In order of the Indians to claim him, he would have to pass through the NL first. Then through the worst teams in the AL before finding a possible chance with the Indians. That is a tall order for him to make it through. Catching is a weak department for many clubs including the Pirates. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pirates claim him with Stallings potentially being traded. He will give the Pirates much needed depth
From what I understand there is no league preference. The club with the lowest winning percentage from the previous season will be awarded the claim, regardless of the league they play in.
OK, I’ll say it: you think anyone will take a Chance?
It’s already been said.
I know. Hence my earlier message.
It’s has been said for years now. And it’s not getting any fresher.
Seriously tho folks, is he solid defensively? A .319 OBP isn’t the worst thing from a catcher…
No, he is actually pretty poor defensively. Average arm, very slow pop times, poor framing skills. The .319 OBP also comes with a disastrous .339 slug. If he didn’t have the prospect pedigree, he would have been DFA’d a while ago.
Gotcha. Thanks!
Why sugar cost it – he sucks
That’s what some O’s fans said about Mike Yastrzemski too.
Nope don’t recall anyone saying that. He was blocked by too many 1B corner outfield types already on the roster. And extensions for Davis and Trumbo sealed his fate. Albeit to the detriment of the O’s.
No, Orioles fans did not say that about Mike Yaz. You are making things up.
He is worse defensively than you make him out to be.
No. He has no arm and bottom of the league grades in pitch framing. He is better than Severino at blocking pitchers, but so are you so that’s not saying much. He progressed to the majors on one tool and he lost that while picking up this annoying habit of striking out in a third of his at bats.
He is not even better than Severino at blocking pitches. Severino is pretty bad defensively, but Sisco has no positives defensively. He is terrible at blocking pitches.
His defense does not get rave reviews.
Why is your bar for catcher offense so low?
The guy has proved he’s a classic case of AAAA. There’s no need to give broken players chances if they refuse to improve their game, like Cisco and his bad footwork behind the plate.
Since there is no AAAA level, Sisco is just another minor leaguer who could not make the jump to the bigs.
Another prospect down the drain…officially a bust!
Pirates please. Stallings could be a decent trade piece so giving Sisco a shot wouldn’t be a bad idea. Rather see him than Michael Perez.
He probably had a fit thinking he is better than Severino And he probably is
They’re both terrible, I’d rather see Cumberland
Agreed!
They really had no reason to bump him from the 40 unless……they have a catcher at AA Bowie……just sayin’…..
Full attendance, with no restrictions, at OPACY looks like it might be 10,000 this year. So the O’s CAN compete with the Rays.
Bring the kid up. Give O’s fans SOMETHING to dream about.
They’ll bring Adley up 2022 once they’ve gotten his extra year secure.
Sorry, can’t buy it. The advantage of something that MIGHT happen 5 or 6 years from now is little when compared to the boost it would give the franchise, even if Adley struggles and it doesn’t affect the win total.
And, BTW, the O’s aren’t exactly a poor-relation franchise. They have their issues (bad long term deals. deferrals, MASN) but they have a LOT of money.
In general, players have to learn to fail, because they’re going to; it’s a very humbling game. But I’ve watched him play (milb-tv), seen the interviews. He can handle it. And might as well find out at the MLB level. Right now, he’s learning nothing.
This isn’t a Wander-type scenario, who’s a lot younger. And Adley’s grown up around the game, been to college, etc.
What? This has nothing to do with delaying free agency. He needs “more time to work on his game-calling” or whatever nonsense excuse GMs are using nowadays.
No reason at all to bring him up early and lose a year of control. Besides, the top prospect for the 2022 draft is considered the best high school player since Harper and the Diamondbacks won’t stop losing so the O’s are still having to keep the long term goal in mind.
Oh ya, having the 1-1 pick is crucial. Tim Beckham and Mark Appell are on the phone. And we all know where Trout, Betts and deGrom were taken.
The revenue gains that having Jordan Lawler (or whomever) in your lineup in 2025 doesn’t even compare with the revenue they’ll receive for bring Adley up now. The hamburger today is worth more than the promise of a sirloin steak tomorrow. It’s that simple.
And please, nothing about if the kid can handle it. Joe Burroughs handled it in Cinncy this year (NFL) and you can’t begin to compare the pressure on a MLB catcher and a NFL QB.
Bring the kid up. Put some fannies in the seats. Let 2025 worry about itself.
1 -1 has better results than any other draft position in the history of the MLB draft.
There absolutely was a reason to bump him from the 40-man roster: they needed a 40-man roster spot to call up Eshelman.
(1) I didn’t know about the Zimmerman injury and
(2) It may shock O’s fans to know that , on a team with their record, they had other candidates to DFA.
It was a reasonable assumption. Tom Eschelman? Really?
Braves, go get him. Give them a former top prospect that has fallen off the map in return
Someone take a chance on the Sisco kid
He was a friend of mine.
Not the worst thing in the world for a team like the Marlins to take a chance considering Alfaro is a bust
bring up Cumberland
Sisco wasn’t in Baltimore.
Cumberland… isn’t he the former Braves pick that we gave y’all for KG? If you told me Sisco would be gone and Cumberland might be your future, I’d laugh
the return of Eshelman
Somebody gonna snatch him up.
Yay Eshelman!
The Sisco kid was a friend of mine!
Rutschmans numbers in AA are solid, but I wouldn’t use the term “obliterated” to describe them. Hyperbole much?
.965 ops?
Anything over .950 OPS is definitely “obliterating” pitching, for sure.
Miami Marlins for the love of God please give this guy a chance!
He will get his Chance in San FranSisco.
Haha all kidding aside the Giants would be a good fit they just have a knack for these kind of players.
agreed, has all the earmarks of a Giants type of pick up. Only caveat is do they have room for him on any of their minor league squads? If they do claim him, I’ll take a flyer and say watch for a separate trade that includes Joey Bart before the deadline – Bailey is the Giants catcher of the future.
Other than the last 2 months, what other players have the giants gotten to earn that “have a knack for these kind of players”? The Giants arent in the same class as the Rays or Dodgers for finding treasure.
Why do people think the giants being good for 2 months due entirely to scheduling means they are an elite team now? They can’t touch the Rays or A’s. Cole Irvin is a better find than anyone on the Giants this year, fact.
Mike Yastrezemski, Alex Dickerson, Donavan Solano and Darin Ruf have been really solid hitters for the Giants that nobody throught would be anything more than organizational depth, or bench pieces at the most. LaMonte Wade Jr. is another guy like Yaz, Dickerson, or Solano who looks like he could be another pretty decent player for the Giants. While they had success in the past, Anthony Desclafani, Alex Wood and Kevin Gausman were pretty overlooked deals when they acquired them.
He also doesn’t know what he’s talking about they have a winning record vs both Padres and Cubs and trail the dodgers 4 games to 3 ! They haven’t played a murders row by any means but it isn’t the easiest schedule in mlb either ! Also more road games then anyone ! Makes no difference in the end though both Bay Area teams will see the more talented dodgers and Astros pass them by
I imagine he’s going to be claimed or traded.
So in a baseball sense, Sisco is no Emissary of Profit.
TBH the Rays will probably get him and fix him.
There is no “fixing” Sisco.
Hey!
He has a career BA below the Mendoza
Line! Just the kind of player my Pirates are always looking for….
I resemble that.
Meanwhile also in AA the Jays have catcher Gabriel Moreno who is 2 years younger (21) and hitting 374/430/636. I’m very glad to be a Jays fan.
Bring up Cumberland and Adley!
Like with Matt Wieters, this guy was supposed to be the next Bill Dickey/Johnny Bench. I guess he’ll soon be joining Blake Swihart in the Overhyped Hall of Fame.
While its true Wieters was talked about as if he was the greatest thing since sliced bread from the moment he started in the minors, Sisco was not.. Sisco was definitely hyped to be a really good to great hitter in the lower minors and landed on a number of top 100 lists, nobody ever raved about his defense. At best it was hoped that he’d develop into somebody who wouldn’t embarrass himself behind the dish, but he was never a quality defensive prospect.
They also spent three years debating moving him to third or left field and never pulled the trigger on it.
You are crazy! Sisco was always known as a terrible defensive catcher throughout his MiLB career. You were not paying any attention clearly, NOBODY and I mean NOBODY ever compared him to Wieters or Bench or Dickey..
Now just DFA Severino (replace with Cumberland), DFA Valaika (replace with Jones until Bannon is ready), send Sceroler back to Cincinnati (bring up Wells), and DFA Lopez (bring up Baumann).
Great guy! Would love to see the Phillies add him.
Good And way overdue
This is news? I heard months ago that the O’s had no Chance.
Angels should sign him. They need catching depth.
Mariners will acquire him.
The Orioles are full of guys who people salivated over in the minors before they came up to the MLB level and completely underwhelmed. Pay no attention to the hype from within the organization about them as the Orioles hype “the future” more than any other team I’ve seen.
Ken Gerhart was a 30/30 threat, remember? Daniel Cabrera was the reason we were told the Orioles didn’t need Randy Johnson because they had his prototype in the system. We’ve seen more “this is the next Jim Palmer” blurbs about a minor league pitcher than the Orioles have losses. Even Matt Wieters, who was a good player, didn’t come close to matching the hype he got while in the minors.
It would take lightning hitting 5 or 6 other catchers simultaneously before you see Rutschman in the majors in 2021. They will of course manipulate his service time as would any other team.