The Orioles have announced that they have outrighted catcher Aramis Garcia and pitcher Chris Ellis to Triple-A Norfolk. They now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.
Garcia was claimed from the Reds on October 15th, and quickly passed through the Orioles’ waivers. He was projected to earn only $800K during his first trip through arbitration, but Cincinnati opted to cut him loose with Tyler Stephenson entrenched as the team’s primary catcher. Garcia dealt with a left middle finger sprain during the 2022 season that forced him to the 60-day injured list, limiting the former second-round pick to 47 games where he slashed a weak .213/.248/.259 with a single homer. The 29-year-old has a better track record in Triple-A, where he has hit .264/.329/.447 across parts of four seasons.
The Orioles primarily relied on a combination of Robinson Chirinos and Anthony Bemboom to supplement Adley Rutschman in 2022. With Chirinos’ impending free agency, it is likely that Garcia will join Bemboom in competing for a backup catcher position in the spring, with the defeated remaining a depth piece in Triple-A.
Ellis, a former third-round pick, underwent season-ending arthroscopic shoulder surgery in early May after dealing with shoulder inflammation. He struggled in his two starts this year, pitching only 4 1/3 innings and allowing 5 runs while walking 6 batters before being placed on the injured list. Ellis is arbitration-eligible after the 2024 season.
Nevertheless, Ellis had a strong start to his Orioles career in 2021 after being waived by the Rays. With the Birds, he made six starts (25 1/3 innings) and pitched to a 2.49 ERA. However, advanced metrics weren’t so bullish, giving Ellis a high 5.22 FIP due in part to his low 15.2% strikeout rate and a high 12.4% walk rate. Additionally, Ellis has a career 6.02 ERA in 318 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level across parts of six seasons.
Well, I am glad Chris Ellis is still with us
Baltimore is slowly, but surely, working its way back into legitimacy.
Just ask Boston…
What happened to the edit selection????
Chris Ellis DFA was inevitable but I could see them bringing him back on a minors deal again.
Os need to open a lot more 40 Man spots though with only 4 FA’s (including Lyles) and all the guys to protect from the Rule 5 along with the expectation that they’ll be active in FA.
You do they need to protect that isn’t on the 40 already? I can only come up with Grayson and Joey Ortiz.
Can’t see anybody taking Drew Rom but he would be another possibility.
I think Rom, Rodriguez and Ortiz are must protects then Brnovich and Johnson are guys who might get plucked if left off, same for Ryan Watson or Morgan McSweeney. So that’s probably 4 spots at least, then you’ll need to drop guys for FA signings.
Also forgot Maverick Handley as a protectable backup catcher. Solid AA numbers with the bat to go along with supposedly strong defense. Could definitely see someone grabbing him to be their backup catcher.
Catchers are tough to keep around. I doubt anyone would take him.
For me it’s just Ortiz,ROM, and G-Rod.
Those other guys are just guys. Maybe we decide we want to protect Brnovich but that’s all I really see.
Johnson also. We did just trade for him
Do either of these players need to accept the outright assignment? Or can they now elect to become a minor league free agent?
Proactively opening the roster spot for Judge in order to announce his signing before Thanksgiving.
That would surely be a Thanksgiving, without a turkey…
Still don’t see an edit selection MLB Trade Rumors, what gives?
You misspelled Trea Turner.