The Orioles have selected the contract of right-hander Spenser Watkins, manager Brandon Hyde announced to reporters Monday (Twitter link via Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun). Baltimore also recalled right-hander Alexander Wells from Triple-A Norfolk and placed righty Dean Kremer on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain. Outfielder DJ Stewart was optioned to Norfolk last night, so Watkins and Wells will fill the vacancies created by that move and by Kremer’s placement on the IL. Baltimore’s 40-man roster had previously been at 39 players, but it’s now full following Watkins’ selection.
This will be the second straight season that the 29-year-old Watkins has logged big league time in Baltimore. The longtime Tigers farmhand made his big league debut in Baltimore last year after signing a minor league deal in the 2020-21 offseason. Watkins had solid numbers in eight Triple-A games (six starts), pitching to a 3.53 ERA with a 20.4% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate in that time.
The big leagues were another story, however. Opponents jumped on him for 49 runs in just 54 2/3 innings — an 8.07 ERA. Watkins started off his big league career with just three runs through his first 16 1/3 innings, and he closed out the 2021 season with a more solid stretch of three runs allowed in his final 7 2/3 frames. The middle stretch of games proved brutal, however, as he served up 43 runs in 31 innings over seven starts and one relief appearance. Watkins has a 3.86 ERA in 625 1/3 innings at the minor league level, and he’ll now aim to carry some of that success over in his second go-around in the Majors.
As for the 25-year-old Wells, he signed with the O’s as an international free agent out of Australia back in 2015. He, too, made his MLB debut in Baltimore last season and experienced a rough set of results, serving up 32 runs in 42 2/3 innings (6.75 ERA). As with Watkins, Wells has considerably better numbers in the minors, where he’s pitched to a 2.87 ERA in 529 2/3 innings. That includes a 3.29 ERA in 54 2/3 Triple-A frames last year. Wells has punched out just 19.6% of his minor league opponents in his career, but he also boasts an outstanding 3.9% walk rate.
This guy was walking near a baseball Diamond when he got call up by Baltimore.. He probably doesn’t even know what’s going on!
Yeah, but he’s getting paid at a $700k annual rate. Hopefully for his sake he can stay in the bigs long enough to cover his income needs for a year. Not bad for a 30th round draft pick to see the big leagues without having to buy a ticket!
Spenser for Hire.
Obviously, you do not follow baseball.
Like deck chairs on the Titanic
the deck chairs comments are in mid-season form
Do you think the Orioles would spring for an expensive Titanic ticket? No way. They probably wheedled The Skipper for a free ride on the USS Minnow and got him a ride.
In Watkins case, he ain’t even a chair. More like Standing Room Only on the Titanic.
Unfortunately the O’s are still a year or 2 away from where their prospect capital will be developed enough to allow them to compete along with some possible addons to fill in gaps.
Their current active roster only has 2 guys that are 25 or younger – Mountcastle and backup OF McKenna. And they are both 25. The 2 MLB top 30 prospects currently on the active roster (Ps Baumann and RP Bautista) are both 26 already. They do have some prospects on their 40 man they probably want to get a look at and see if they can develop into pieces going forward, but frankly most look like complementary pieces at best excepting perhaps Ps Bradish and D L Hall, and IF Vavra.
Of course they have the 2 crown jewels in Rutschmann and P Rodriguez coming and hopefully a few more prospects can help fill in the club’s regular group – IF Westburg, OF Stowers and maybe some other pop ups. But it appears to me they still have a way to go and even internal development is unlikely to fill all the gaps.
But this org has been successful recently and theoretically can bring needed resources to bear once they’ve gotten their core more filled out. Tough division though, with the other teams in it not slackers in internal development plus spending to be competitive in most cases as well.
I do think they should have been a bit more aggressive in adding some short term FAs, if only to add deadline trade chips, rather than hope for better from some of these later 20’s pitchers and such on the roster. I don’t see Jordan Lyles, Cs Chirinos & Benboom, Owings, and Odor – their only FA adds – delivering much payback in that regard or much added competitiveness on the field now. Perhaps Means, Mancini, and Santander are next out the door – hopefully they decide to hang on to some guys to build with (Mullins, Hays, ?) like Cleveland is doing.
Henderson & Cowser also. Further off Coby Mayo has the potential to be an impact piece. Guys like Westburg and Kjerstad have chances to be regulars also.
The problem is pitching depth. Beyond the big 2 & perhaps Bradish there’s not a lot of promise in the systems arms. Elias has really avoided drafting arms & it’s become apparent in the lack of depth.
Nyyfan- this is my exact contention. If this year is X, the Orioles are ALWAYS X + 2 years from competing in the current mindset.
Every year one to two guys will move to the later arb years where it is time to pay them. They won’t be paid. They will be traded for “prospects”. I’d put $100 on Mancini not being an Oriole come August 1, and I would think they’d jump at a chance to trade Means, leaving them with exactly zero starting pitchers that a competent team would employ in their rotation. Santander too, and one of their top hopes is that Santander has a great start so he become attractive in a trade too before they’d have to pay him a little.
They’ll bring up Rutschman after his service time is manipulated, but within the next year or two its time to look at Mullins because he will be getting expensive.
And so on.
So they will always have a couple guys coming up to replace folks going out the door, but always be 2 years away from competing because they won’t add anyone from the outside other than warm bodies to fill slots.
With that track record they should have let D.J. Stewart pitch.
Why? To watch DJ trip over the pitching rubber and tear an ACL?
Rutschman will be 25 in Feb, Hall 24 in 9/22, Rodriguez 23 in 11/22, Bradish 26 this year too. Next year is go time. Maybe get these guys up here this season, another losing season, with little pressure to acclimate. The other prospects like Cowser, Mayo, Henderson, Westburg and the like are most likely all possible pieces to trades to build around the above 4 players plus Means, Mullins, Mountcastle and Hayes. Everybody else on the 40, including Mancini, are most likely trade pieces as well The one key to all this? The Angelos son’s are in it for the long haul and are willing to take the lid off their ugly version of a payroll cap to allow trades and FA activity to happen. As some of you know, I’m bullish here. For those of you skeptical about the Angelo’s intentions, that’s fair and I respect your view(s). Cheers