The Orioles have acquired first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations, per announcements from both clubs. O’Hearn had recently been designated for assignment by the Royals. In order to open up a spot on the 40-man roster, the O’s designated right-hander Chris Vallimont for assignment.
O’Hearn, 29, will join a new organization for the first time in his career, as he was drafted by the Royals in 2014 and has been with them until today. He made his way to the majors by 2018 and had a tremendous debut in that season. He was selected to the club’s roster at the end of July and got into 44 games over the latter months of that campaign. He hit 12 home runs in that brief spell and produced a batting line of .262/.353/.597, with his 153 wRC+ indicating he was 53 percent better than league average in that time.
However, the subsequent four seasons have increasingly made that look like a mirage. From the beginning of 2019 to the present, O’Hearn has hit 26 home runs in 298 games and slashed .211/.282/.351, producing a wRC+ of just 68. That production was 32 percent below the league average hitter in that time but was especially disappointing given his defensive limitations. O’Hearn is primarily a first baseman who has occasionally seen time in the outfield corners. Since those positions come with higher expectations for offensive production, a tepid showing like O’Hearn’s was increasingly untenable.
The Royals had already tendered O’Hearn a contract for 2023, avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a $1.4MM salary for 2023. However, once they made their signing of Jordan Lyles official, they designated O’Hearn for assignment and have now sent him to Baltimore. For the O’s, they’ve been busy trying to add left-handed first baseman and/or corner outfielders for most of the offseason. They’ve signed Nomar Mazara and Franchy Cordero to minor league deals and also claimed Lewin Díaz off waivers, though they later designated Díaz for assignment and traded him to the Braves. A similar situation played out with Jake Cave, who was claimed off waivers from the Twins but then lost to the Phillies on a subsequent waiver claim.
The O’s are set to have right-hander Ryan Mountcastle as their primary first baseman in 2023 but they seem to be hoping to find a left-handed option to give manager Brandon Hyde some options in setting his lineups. O’Hearn certainly has noticeable splits in his career, as he’s hit just just .169/.244/.257 against lefties. He’s been much better the rest of the time, with a .228/.302/.414 line, though that’s still below average with his wRC+ coming in at 90 against righties. Regardless, the O’s will take a shot on him and see if they can get O’Hearn to take a step forward. He has one option year remaining and could therefore be sent to the minors for a time for some extra at-bats down there. FanGraphs calculates his service time at 4.002 right now, meaning he can be retained for 2024 via arbitration, though a significant stint in the minors would prevent him from reaching the five-year service mark this year and give the club an extra year of control beyond that.
As for Vallimont, 26 in March, he has yet to make his major league debut. Drafted by the Marlins, he was traded to the Twins in 2019 and got added to Minnesota’s roster in November of 2021 to protect against selection in the Rule 5 draft. He had just finished a season in which he posted a 6.03 ERA over 21 starts in Double-A, but with a huge 31.1 percent strikeout rate. He also walked 14.6 percent of the batters he faced, but the Twins were intrigued enough to give him a roster spot.
In 2022, he returned to Double-A and posted a huge 9.95 ERA over his first seven appearances and was designated for assignment in May. The O’s grabbed him off waivers sent him to their own Double-A affiliate and saw him turn things around for a time. He registered an ERA of 0.69 over three starts and got sent up to Triple-A. However, the new level proved a challenge for him, as he ran up a 5.38 ERA the rest of the way. The O’s will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Vallimont still has a couple of option years and could interest teams that are looking for some pitching depth.
Baltimore probably lost out on Dominic Smith.
Probably? Smith already signed.
I figured O’Hearn was Baltimore’s backup option, since this trade was reported right after Dominic Smith signed.
Dom Smith wants near full-time ABs in MLB. Orioles were probably never in on him.
O’Hearn has an option remaining. He’ll be in Norfolk to start the season, most likely, If he lasts that long in the org,
Cheaper bat for them anyway.
Hosmer renunion in KC?
Why would either side want to do that??
NY Post Heyman has him linked to the Cubs. Reports are that the Cubs have been pursuing Hosmer for awhile back and should be signing shortly.
… what am I missing here? Vallimont was excellent in the minors, lot of promise there and he was carried on the roster most of the year. And this guy’s OPS has been… what, .611 the past two years? I get left bat, but one homer in 67 games isn’t going to instill fear in an opponent.
Yes you’re missing a lot. Vallimont is a 26 year old minor league pitcher who was atrocious the last two years. O’hearn has tons of power and unlike Vallimont actually put up great numbers in the minors. Pretty clear that O’hearn is the more valuable asset. I have no idea where you’re getting “Vallimont was excellent in the minors” from.
No disrespect, but if you think O’Hearn has tons of power, you haven’t watched much baseball
No, O’hearn does have tons of power. He has a 60 power grade on Fangraphs… maybe do a single second of research before commenting?
Maybe the problem is watching fangraphs instead of baseball?
@rols1026 thanks for demonstrating that you jumping down my throat was nothing more than a chump who thinks 1 HR is “power” talking out of his ass. I asked a legitimate question and you came knives out. Absurd. 60 grade… look at the stats, hoss.
I watch tons of baseball, guarantee I’ve seen O’hearn bat way more than you have… if you don’t think he has power you’ve clearly never seen him play…. You just read his basic stats and make dumb conclusions
Power and the ability to tap into that power are 2 different skills. Plenty of guys have flamed out in the minors who had high grade power. Nobody is saying O’Hearn is going to bash.
Soo, no contact and a “60 power class” equates to tons of a power in the mlb. Noted. Thanks for the lesson, and not taking things on a personal level.
That’s exactly what I’m saying Mils. Nobody is saying he’s going to hit 40 HRs or even 10…. But it is undeniable that he has tons of raw power. It’s a fact, not an opinion. Yet these clowns wanna double down on being wrong without doing a second of research…
Ryan O’Hearn is soo powerful guys.. let me tell you… wait for it.. wait… 60. What that means, I have absolutely no idea. But, my buddy rols says it’s a tons worth. Not very good at contact, not the best defender, not really a good ball player.. but, man..that power grade.
@rols1026 lolololol so powerful his power numbers are dog turds
Where did I say “Tons of power in mlb”??? Maybe you should try reading…. And remember, this is a fact. Ohearn has tons of power. It’s not an opinion lol
So you’re openly admitting you don’t understand scouting grades? And you’re proud of that?? Yikes….
@rols1026 scouting grades are subjective. No power numbers support your “fact,” clown.
That’s about as relevant to me as Pokémon cards. I’ll take your word for it.. the dude is powerful. So are mountain goats, trains, and tornadoes.
So I’m a clown because I know that Ryan O’hearn has power. Got it. Smh.
Nice job Newman you’re starting to catch on
He may have power at the minors but his majors numbers are something that I wouldn’t be proud of nor applaud.
Also he is in his late 20’s and most likely someone that will not last long with the O’s.
I think what rols is saying….is that O’Hearn is like a poor man’s Brandon Belt….without the great glove….
Belt has mostly been considered a defense first 1B with below average power for his position due to hitting between 18-29 HR’s throughout his career when most power hitting 1B hit 35+
But one would be wrong to say that Belt doesn’t have raw power because he does….it just hasn’t translated to tons of HR’s.
O’Hearn could hit 25 HR’s in the right lineup but there is no guarantee he will hit more than 15 as power grades sometimes don’t pan out in the big leagues….
Nobody is right or wrong in this debate. Only time will tell.
I don’t understand O’Hearn. Elias thinks he can fix something with him, clearly.
I don’t know that he can but the Royals are so far behind the times analytically that this guy will be exposed to all new info in Baltimore. Whether or not it works out is anyone’s guess.
Don’t expect O’Hearn to come north with the team. He might last long enough to be assigned to Norfolk, since he has one option.
It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall and listen to the discussion about trading for him: do they really think they can tweak him to improve his results or is it just a flyer on a guy who hit well in the minors but has never been able to translate that to MLB. I hope it is the former because it seems like a longshot that a 29 year old with a poor track record is finally going to emerge as a legitimate MLB hitter solely of his own volition.
Excellent in the minors? He’s been horrendous the past couple of seasons. If he’s bad in the minors, that doesn’t bode well for his outlook in the majors, particularly since nothing about his tools is exciting.
Chill out. Last time I looked at his stats he had an 0.69 WHIP in AA and earned his AAA promotion, and was doing well through his first few AAA starts. Looking at them now, I see he did poorly in Norfolk to round out the year. He was better in Baltimore’s system than in the Rangers’ system though. And 19 games is a small sample size.
Fangraphs ranked Vallimont #83 prospect in 2021. Who knew?
Minor league depth? I can’t imagine someone like this being a positive contributor at the MLB level unless they truly miss the negative WAR from a first baseman that they used to get from Chris Davis…
Chris Davis 2.
I was hopeful he could reproduce that first season of 2018 but it never happened in the majors. And he had opportunities. Maybe a change of scenery will help.
Is this the FA Splash Elias told us was coming?
Out: Tyler Nevin
In: Ryan O’Hearn
Pretty sure Nevin is the better of the two.
I’m not sure either way. But I could not see Nevin ever contributing at the MLB level. O’Hearn actually did very well in his first taste … in 2018 at 24 years of age. Far better than Nevin did in his comparable first taste last year at 25.
Might Elias have swapped them just because O’Hearn is a lefty? That’s the way I am leaning.
The guy mashes AAA pitching, but outside of 2018 can’t produce at the major league level. 29 years old…if they can get him to produce in the big leagues like AAA (big if) then this will work out just fine.
Probably trade him to Bloom for Houck and Bello.
Considering everything within this deal, it was a good move by the O’s. They have acquired a possible backup at First Base and if it doesn’t workout you haven’t overpaid for it.
O’s are going to have an interesting battle for 26th man/backup First Baseman in spring training
Someone has to drink all the beer on St Paddy’s Day.
Why why why? A stupid move for the sake making a move
That’s right—-Elias makes so very many stupid moves….I see that you’ve been following the bouncing ball closely since 2018..
What a loquacious malcontent genius you are.
He has more upside than Hosmer. Also a lower floor. Unlike Hosmer, he’s never been a malcontent in the clubhouse.
Essentially traded Lyles for OHearn
They should have retained Lyles instead of signing Gibson. That’s the swap.
Now if you had said they traded Lewin Diaz for O’Hearn, that would make sense. Though I am not sure that is an upgrade, either.
Yet another good move by the Orioles in an off-season full of good moves! Lol.
Pretty solid depth addition. He hits the ball hard and has shown good plate discipline at times, and he still has an option, so there’s no harm in trying to get him straightened out at AAA, plus he only has 4 years of service time so he could be retained past 2023 if the Orioles are able to fix him.
The only thing good is that KC is paying $700k of his $1.4MM contract. That’s still a big investment for a guy slated for either Norfolk or the DFA list.
Now if the Orioles truly have identified a change to his offensive approach, then I hope it works. But I am not counting on a 29 year old finally figuring out how to hit MLB pitching by still following the approach he has taken thus far.
I definitely wouldn’t bank on it either, but it does happen. Max Muncy and Jose Bautista, for example.
Can’t believe you left out Nelson Cruz.
I just tried to find where I read that the Royals were going to pay $700k of OHearn’s salary and came up blank. So I have to assume the Orioles will be paying him $1.4MM on top of what they purchased him for. Considering that, this guy is probably on the OD roster if healthy. Oh boy…
the orioles recieved 200,000 extra draft money,for international draft in 2023.royals dont give them the cash they just have 200 less and the orioles have 200 more.im not positive,but i believe the orioles have to pay the 1.4 mil.in the big picture hes a back up they hope they wont need.elias seems to know what hes doing so i wont argue over what hes doing.hes restored the system.and there is hope for another winning season.
Maybe he’ll benefit from the new shift rule. He’s been in a long funk as a part time player in KC.. Kind of dangerous off the bench. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he goes over 100 wOPS+ and/or wRC+ with more PT.
Thanks for the view from a Royals fan.
From what I’ve seen of O’Hearn, he seems similar to Chris Davis when the O’s first got him from Texas in the Koji trade. Grades out with solid power potential but hasn’t put it together in the big leagues yet. His glove at first isn’t as bad as the scouting reports but in the outfield he looks like (the Orioles version) Bobby Bonilla. Solid pickup for what they gave up
What exactly did they give up? If they paid more than $200k, it sounds like an overpay since that would be approaching a Million for a minor leaguer.
The O’s have no payroll. pissing away a million won’t hurt.
It’s probably Sig mejdal who sees something that isn’t being unlocked with O’Hearn. The O’s don’t make moves just to make them. No idea if this will work out but the O’s have done enough to give them the space to do so before criticizing.
KC is stuck in the 90’s analytically so he’s going to be introduced to very new things in Baltimore. Maybe that change will be what he needs. Maybe he’ll be playing for the Sugarland Skeeters in July. Guess we’ll see but this isn’t much of a money gamble.
I favor the Orioles spending money on talented players.
I do not support spending money just to spend. Spending upwards of $1.6MM on a player who may not have even been claimed off waivers is wasteful spending, imo.
As far as giving the Orioles “space… before criticizing” because they have “done enough” – presumably with other players -I can’t name a batter they have helped yet. A couple of pitchers seem to have improved under their tutelage (Voth, Cionel) but the Orioles have not have any impact on any of the batters they have acquired.
Exactly. I’m pretty sure that having a legitimate competition for who is going to be the ace of a pitching staff because you have 2 guys who are a given for a sub 3.50 ERA and 180-200 IP+ has much more an impact on wins and losses than who is going to be the 26th man or be first up on the Norfolk shuttle.
Plus O’Hearn move reminds me too much of Garrett Atkins, the more I consider it. That was $4 million flushed down the toilet, though Atkins had shown more at the MLB level. at the time of acquisition.
Always after me lucky charms
O’Hearn ISO MLB career avg .171; Nevin ISO MLB career avg .088
O’Hearn HR% 3.6; Nevin HR% 1.5
O’Hearn SO% 26.8; Nevin SO% 25.3%
O’Hearn BB% 9.2; Nevin BB% 11.9%
O’Hearn EV 91.2; Nevin EV 87.7
O’Hearn Hard Hit % 46.5; Nevin Hard Hit % 37.7
O’Hearn’s ISO, HR%, BB%, EV, and Hard Hit % are all higher than MLB averages.
Nevin’s ISO, HR%, SO%, EV, and Hard Hit % are all lower/worse than MLB averages.
O’Hearn is a left handed hitter; Nevin is a right handed hitter.
O’Hearn’s ISO, HR%, BB%, EV, and Hard Hit % are all higher than MLB averages.
O’Hearn per 162 games hits .219 with a .293 OBP. 19 doubles, 18 homers, 136 K’s. These are all below MLB averages and would be worse if you throw out the only good streak he had FIVE seasons ago. Throw that out and you have a guy that makes Ryan Flaherty look like an all star. This is with more than 2 full seasons’ worth of MLB games. If he was any good the Orioles wouldn’t be plucking him from the Royals where he was unable to earn a full time spot for cash considerations.
Nevin hasn’t been any good either but also has only had 1/3 of a season of experience. Nevin is also 4 years younger.
Ha! Rols…I believe in u