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The Opener: Roster Moves, Cabrera, Lynn

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With trade season officially in the past, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Post-Deadline Roster Moves:

While the trade deadline has come and gone, yesterday’s trades figure to continue impacting the rosters of clubs going forward. While clubs need to clear 40-man roster space for acquired players at the time of the deal, most active roster moves take longer to be completed. Some players arrive in town quickly enough to report to their new clubs the same day a trade takes place, as newly-minted Royals shortstop Paul DeJong did yesterday after switching dugouts to join the Royals after being dealt by the White Sox mid-series, but travel often takes a day or two. After a busy deadline day where upwards of 30 trades were hammered out, there figures to be plenty of roster maneuvering today both for buyers who need to make room for additions as well as for sellers who need to replace their departing players internally.

2. Cabrera to undergo imaging:

After a busy deadline day that saw the Marlins deal a long list of players that includes lefty Trevor Rogers and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, the club is facing an injury scare regarding one of its rotation members who stayed in place. As noted by El Extrabase’s Daniel Alvarez-Montes, right-hander Edward Cabrera “tweaked” his left knee while covering first base during the sixth inning of yesterday’s 9-3 loss to the Rays and needed to be taken out of the game. Manager Skip Schumaker told reporters (including Alvarez-Montes) following the game that the Marlins plan to send Cabrera for imaging and further details about his injury will be available today.

It’s the latest frustrating setback for Cabrera, 26, who has been limited to just nine starts amid a variety of injury woes this year. When he is healthy enough to take the mound, he’s struggled badly with a 6.65 ERA and a 5.58 FIP in 43 1/3 innings of work that have seen him walk 13.6% of opponents. If Cabrera winds up missing additional time due to yesterday’s knee issue, the club could turn to right-hander Valente Bellozo to round out the rotation. The 24-year-old rookie made two starts for the club earlier this year, pitching to a 4.50 ERA and 3.06 FIP in ten innings of work.

3. Lynn dealing with knee issue:

Cabrera wasn’t the only NL starter to struggle with a knee issue yesterday. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat relays that veteran right-hander Lance Lynn struggled with a “bark-y” right knee during his start for the Cardinals last night. The issue caused a dip in velocity, but Lynn still managed five innings of one-run ball against the Rangers before exiting. Lynn noted that he and the club will monitor the issue and see how he recovers today following last night’s start before determining a path forward. The Cardinals appear to be decently well-equipped to handle the loss of Lynn if the veteran, who sports a decent 4.04 ERA and 4.44 FIP in 106 1/3 innings of work this year, requires a trip to the injured list. The club just added right-hander Erick Fedde to their rotation mix on Monday in a three-team deal where they also acquired Tommy Pham and dealt Tommy Edman to the Dodgers.

Yankees Reportedly “Backed Out” Of Jack Flaherty Trade Following Medical Review

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The Yankees and Tigers had a “preliminary” trade agreement in place that would’ve sent right-hander Jack Flaherty to New York prior to the trade deadline earlier today, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, but the Yankees ultimately pulled the plug on the deal after reviewing the right-hander’s medical records. It’s not clear what the Yankees would’ve traded to Detroit to acquire Flaherty had the deal gone through. The righty, of course, ended up traded to the Dodgers just before the deadline.

Flaherty, 28, was long expected to be one of the most coveted starters on the market this summer after a sensational start to the season with Detroit where he delivered a 2.95 ERA and 3.11 FIP through eighteen starts. He hasn’t been fully healthy this year, however, as he skipped a start due to back discomfort early this month. He’s looked good with a 1.53 ERA and 18 strikeouts in three starts since then, but evidently the Yankees nonetheless had concerns after reviewing his medicals. The club was rumored to be in “extensive trade talks” with the Tigers after Detroit scratched the righty from his scheduled start yesterday, but ultimately no deal came together.

It’s not necessarily a surprise that New York would be somewhat gunshy about the possibility of trading for an injured pitchers. As Rosenthal notes, the club traded for right-hander Frankie Montas in a deal with the A’s at the 2022 trade deadline despite lingering concerns about his shoulder, and Montas ended up struggling in a brief stint with the club before undergoing surgery. Given the fact that the Yankees reportedly planned to shop southpaw Nestor Cortes before the deadline in the event that they landed Flaherty, it would’ve been a substantial risk for the club to deal away an established arm to make room for a pitcher who they had some level of injury concern about. The Yankees instead focused their attention on the bullpen today, shipping out lefty Caleb Ferguson while adding righties Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos.

By contrast, the Dodgers have a deep staff of internal rotation options led by Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw with even more arms like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler expected back from the IL later this year. Given the club’s deep group of starters, it’s understandable why they’d be willing to stomach injury risk in acquiring a rental arm like Flaherty. The addition of Flaherty was paired with the addition of center fielder Kevin Kiermaier in a deal with the Blue Jays today to bolster the club’s depth after the Dodgers added Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech in a three-team trade yesterday, as well as infielder Amed Rosario in a separate deal.

According to Rosenthal, word spread around the league that the Yankees had concerns regarding Flaherty’s medicals in the run-up to the deadline, although the only other team to actually see those medicals for themselves was the Dodgers. It’s unclear to what extent other offers for Flaherty’s services were impacted by concerns coming out of the Bronx about his medicals, though it’s worth noting that Jon Heyman of the New York Post highlighted the Red Sox alongside the Dodgers and Yankees as among the teams known to have interest in Flaherty. Boston’s only established starting pitching acquisition ended up being DFA’d veteran James Paxton as they instead opted to shore up their bullpen with Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia alongside the addition of a young, unproven potential starter in Quinn Priester.

Support MLBTR’s Writers

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Today marked our 19th trade deadline here at MLB Trade Rumors.  Many of you have been loyal readers since the beginning and have seen how this operation has grown and improved.  During the most frenzied period today, all seven MLBTR writers were on at the same time, writing up trades.

MLBTR largely remains free and ad-supported; that will be the case with all the posts our team writes today.  You may have seen that we’ve been writing additional analysis/opinion-based articles for the last four years, as part of our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription package.

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Minor MLB Transactions: 7/30/24

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Catching up on some minor transactions from around the league…

  • Guardians right-hander Spencer Howard has elected free agency after being designated for assignment last week. The right-hander was acquired by Cleveland in a trade with the Giants earlier this month after he had been DFA’d in San Francisco. A second-round pick by the Phillies in the 2017 draft and a former consensus top-40 prospect in the game, Howard has struggled badly at the big league level throughout his career. In parts of five seasons with the Phillies, Rangers, Giants, and Guardians, the righty sports a 7.00 ERA in 144 innings of work with a 5.63 FIP and a 19.9% strikeout rate. In recent seasons, his struggles in the majors have extended to his time at Triple-A, where he now sports a career 4.83 ERA in 143 1/3 frames.
  • Pirates left-hander Josh Fleming elected free agency after being designated for assignment last week. Fleming signed a split contract with the club back in February and was outrighted off the club’s roster in May, though he was selected back to the roster last month. Though he struggled in his first stint with the Pirates, he’s looked quite good in 12 1/3 innings of work since returning to the big leagues with a 1.46 ERA, though he’s only notched four strikeouts in that time. Still, teams on the hunt for lefty bullpen depth could consider turning to Fleming on the back of that solid recent work and his strong 58.4% career groundball rate.
  • Red Sox right-hander Alex Speas was outrighted to Triple-A after being designated for assignment to make room for catcher Danny Jansen on the club’s 40-man roster. Speas, 26, never appeared at the big league level for Boston after being claimed off waivers from the Astros late last month. Since making his MLB debut with the Rangers last year, the right-hander has just four big league appearances under his belt over which he owns a 9.00 ERA and matching 30% strikeout and walk rates. He’s struggled badly at the Triple-A level for four different organizations this year with a collective 11.47 ERA in 24 1/3 innings of work between the Astros, A’s, White Sox, and Red Sox affiliates.
  • Mets right-hander Shintaro Fujinami was outrighted to Triple-A after being designated for assignment to make room for the return of Kodai Senga from the injured list last week. Fujinami boasted impressive strikeout rates in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but paired that high-octane stuff with control issues. He signed with the A’s during the 2022-23 offseason but struggled badly with them as he pitched to an 8.57 ERA with a 13% walk rate. His 4.85 ERA and 4.13 FIP with the Orioles were more palatable, leading the Mets to sign him to a one-year deal, but he’s struggled to a 10.95 ERA at the Triple-A level this year without pitching in the majors.

Minor 40-Man Moves: Twins, A’s, Blue Jays, Red Sox, White Sox

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With the trade deadline behind us, here’s a look at a handful of smaller 40-man transactions from throughout the day that weren’t previously covered:

  • The Twins selected the contract of right-hander Randy Dobnak and designated Josh Staumont for assignment. Dobnak, 29, signed a five-year extension with Minnesota prior to the 2021 season following a strong start to his career where he posted a 3.12 ERA (142 ERA+) with a 3.56 FIP in 75 innings of work across 19 appearances (15 starts). Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well since he inked that deal as he struggled to a 7.64 ERA in 14 appearances in 2021 and hasn’t appeared in the majors since. He was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster in September of 2022 but has put up a decent 3.61 ERA in 99 2/3 innings of work at Triple-A this year. Staumont, meanwhile, signed a big league deal with the club over the winter and has posted decent numbers with a 3.70 ERA and 3.53 FIP this year but has struggled badly in recent weeks with 11 runs (10 earned) surrendered in his last 5 1/3 innings of work.
  • The Athletics selected the contract of right-hander Gerardo Reyes. The 31-year-old made his big league debut with the Padres back in 2019 but struggled to a 7.62 ERA in 26 innings of work. More recently, he’s pitched for the Angels in each of the past two seasons with a 6.94 ERA in ten appearances. Despite those lackluster numbers, he’s struck out a solid 27% of batters faced during his big league career and has a solid 3.82 ERA in 33 innings of work at the Triple-A level this year. He’ll step into the Oakland bullpen after the club dealt Lucas Erceg to Kansas City earlier today.
  • The Blue Jays selected the contract of infielder Luis De Los Santos today in order to replace Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the active roster following his trade to Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old initially signed with the club out of the Dominican Republic back in 2015. He’s bounced between the Double- and Triple-A levels in recent years with a career .217/.342/.375 slash line at the highest level of the minors, although this year he’s managed to flash a bit more offense with a solid .243/.393/.400 line and 16.7% walk rate in 28 games. The youngster has experience at all four infield spots and figures to step into the club’s bench mix.
  • The Red Sox designated right-hander Trey Wingenter for assignment today. Wingenter was acquired by Boston earlier this month in a trade with the Tigers after he triggered an assignment clause in his contract, prompting the club to add him to their 40-man roster. Wingenter made just two appearances for the Red Sox and struggled badly in each of them, allowing a combined seven runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three in 2 1/3 innings of work. Prior to that rough tenure in Boston, Wingenter had a career 5.28 ERA and 3.82 FIP in 90 games with the Padres and Tigers. His career 31.9% strikeout rate stands out from his otherwise lackluster results and could garner him some interest from bullpen-needy clubs on the waiver wire.
  • The White Sox selected the contract of left-hander Fraser Ellard today. Ellard, 26, was an 8th-round pick by the club back in 2021 and climbed the minor league ladder to reach the Triple-A level this year. In 40 2/3 innings of work this season, Ellard owns a 3.76 ERA with an eye-popping 33.5% strikeout rate against an elevated 11.6% walk rate. That big-time strikeout stuff should get Ellard plenty of opportunities in a Chicago bullpen that has been brutally bad this year with a collective 4.79 ERA, including a league-worst 6.22 ERA in the month of July. He’ll step into the lefty spot in the bullpen vacated by Tanner Banks earlier today, joining fellow southpaws Jared Shuster and Sammy Peralta.

Dodgers Designate Nick Ramirez, Gus Varland For Assignment

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After a busy deadline day, the Dodgers cleared some space on the 40-man roster by designating left-hander Nick Ramirez and right-hander Gus Varland for assignment.  Ramirez has previously been outrighted in his career, so if he clears waivers, he can opt to reject another outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Ramirez came to L.A. in a trade from the Yankees back in early April, and he has a 6.35 ERA over 11 1/3 innings this season amidst several trips back and forth from the majors and Triple-A Oklahoma City.  Because he has been recalled the maximum five times from the minors, Ramirez no longer be sent down again without first clearing outright waivers, so the Dodgers may be parting ways entirely by simply pursuing a DFA route.

Over 162 2/3 innings in parts of five Major League seasons, Ramirez has a 4.20 ERA, a 47% grounder rate, 18.5% strikeout rate, and 8.7% walk rate.  He has been a pretty durable reliever capable of pitching more than one inning, and his big league tenure was highlighted by a 2.66 ERA over 40 2/3 IP with New York last season.

Varland is in his second MLB season, and he has also been a frequent visitor on the Triple-A shuttle though he hasn’t hit his maximum number of recalls.  The righty has made seven appearances and posted a 3.00 ERA in six relief innings for Los Angeles, though with more walks (four) than strikeouts (three) in that small sample size.  A member of the Dodgers organization since 2021, Varland briefly went to the Brewers via the Rule 5 Draft in 2023 and he made his big league debut in a Brewers uniform, but Milwaukee returned him to Los Angeles later in the season.

With the trade deadline now passed, either pitcher could have an increased chance at being claimed off waivers, as teams can now no longer freely pursue trades in order to add new arms to their depth charts.  Ramirez in particular might have extra appeal as a left-hander, which could make him more apt to elect free agency should he clear waivers.

Pirates Select Jake Woodford

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The Pirates announced several roster moves today in the aftermath of the trade deadline. The club selected the contract of right-hander Jake Woodford and added left-hander Jalen Beeks to the roster after acquiring him from the Rockies yesterday. In addition, the club placed right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski on the 15-day injured list, transferred right-hander Daulton Jefferies to the 60-day IL, and designated right-hander Ryder Ryan for assignment.

Woodford, 27, signed with Pittsburgh on a minor league deal last month after being designated for assignment by the White Sox following two spot starts with the club where he surrendered a combined ten runs on fifteen hits while striking out seven and walking five in 8 1/3 innings of work. The right-hander’s two difficult appearances in Chicago come on the heels of an up-and-down tenure with the Cardinals. Selected by the club in the first round of the 2015 draft, Woodford made his debut in the 2020 season and after struggling in a cup of coffee that year proved to be a solid swingman and multi-inning reliever for St. Louis in 2021 and ’22. Over those two seasons, Woodford posted a 3.26 ERA and 3.93 FIP in 116 innings of work.

Those strong numbers came in spite of a paltry 15.4% strikeout rate that paired with a decent but unspectacular 7.5% walk rate. A strong 45.8% groundball rate helped to explain Woodford’s success to some extent, but the main reason he was able to post such strong numbers was that a microscopic 6.9% of his fly balls left the yard for home runs during those two seasons. That allowed him to float an above-average 76.3% strand rate while allowing a slightly below average .285 BABIP. Unfortunately, the right-hander’s production seemed to regress to his performance in 2023 as he struggled badly to a 6.23 ERA and 6.61 FIP as his walk rate climbed to 9.9% while his luck in avoiding the long ball reversed, leaving him with 11 homers allowed in just 47 2/3 innings of work.

Now Woodford figures to get another shot at the big league level with Pittsburgh after looking good in seven starts with the club at the Triple-A level. He’s allowed an ERA of just 2.29 in those 35 1/3 frames and his strikeout rate has ticked up to a respectable 26% against a 3.5% walk rate, offering some optimism that he may be able to post stronger results going forward. Woodford appears unlikely to return to the spot starter role he held with the White Sox, instead serving as a multi-inning reliever in a Pittsburgh bullpen that just lost Mlodzinski. A first round pick by the Pirates in the 2020 draft, Mlodzinski has looked good in a swing role for the club this year with a 3.18 ERA and 3.16 FIP in 34 innings but now figures to be sidelined for some time due to a right shoulder strain.

Clearing up a pair of spots on the club’s 40-man roster are Jefferies and Ryan. Jefferies has been on the shelf due to inflammation in his throwing elbow since early this month but now will be out until at least early September. As for Ryan, the right-hander was a minor league signing by the club back in December who made the club’s Opening Day roster and has been riding the shuttle between Triple-A and the majors ever since. In 17 innings of work for the club at the big league level, Ryan sports a lackluster 5.29 ERA, although his solid 21% strikeout rate and a 3.80 FIP both suggest his underlying performance may have been better than that production would suggest. That said, his numbers at Triple-A inspire little confidence, as he’s struggled to a 4.61 ERA in 27 1/3 innings at the level this year. The Pirates will have one week to attempt to pass Ryan through waivers. The Pirates would be able to outright him to the minors if he clears waivers, but the righty has already been outrighted previously and could opt to reject that assignment in favor of free agency if he so chose.

Orioles, Pirates Swap Minor Leaguers Billy Cook And Patrick Reilly

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On a day in which both teams made several moves to augment their major league rosters, the Orioles and Pirates also connected on a minor league trade, with the O’s sending 25-year-old utility player Billy Cook to the Bucs in exchange for 22-year-old right-hander Patrick Reilly. The teams have already made the trade official, according to the transaction tracker on MiLB.com.

The Orioles drafted Cook in the 10th round of the 2021 draft, and he has risen through the ranks of the Orioles system over the past four years. In 85 games between Double and Triple-A this season, he is batting .275 with 17 doubles, four triples, and 12 home runs, good for a 120 wRC+. He has also stolen 16 bases. On the other side of the ball, Cook has played first, second, and third base, as well as all three outfield positions. Earlier this year, he told David Laurilla of FanGraphs that he thinks his skills play best in the outfield, but he understands his ability to play the infield is important, too. While Cook is not the most highly regarded prospect (MLB Pipeline had him as the No. 28 prospect in Baltimore’s system, but he was unranked by Baseball America, FanGraphs, and The Athletic entering the season), it is impressive that he has managed to carve out a regular role at Triple-A Norfolk, considering the sheer amount of young talent in the Orioles’ organization. He will need to be added to the Pirates 40-man roster after the season if the team wants to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

The Pirates took Reilly in the fifth round of last year’s draft. He has made 19 starts at High-A this year, pitching to a 3.38 ERA and 4.65 FIP in 88 innings of work. His 108 strikeouts are particularly impressive, although his 41 walks are less than ideal. That said, he has cut down on free passes since his time at Vanderbilt, where he walked 93 batters over 144 innings. Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs ranked him as the No. 22 prospect in the Pirates’ system in June, while MLB Pipeline had him at No. 20 prior to the trade. Baseball America was higher on Reilly, ranking him at No. 8 entering the season. The evaluators at BA gave him a 45 future value grade, while MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs both gave him a 40. All three sources are high on his mid-90s fastball, but BA was equally enamored with his slider and less concerned by his control issues. The evaluators at BA also seem to be the most optimistic that Reilly can stick as a starter in the long term, writing that he “has the arm to make it work.”

While Reilly is widely considered the more promising young player, the Pirates clearly see something they like in Cook, who is much closer to making his MLB debut. Meanwhile, it’s easy to see why the Orioles, whose organization is loaded with position player talent, were happy to swap a 25-year-old hitter for a 22-year-old pitcher.

Diamondbacks Place Christian Walker On 10-Day IL, Designate Miguel Castro

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The Diamondbacks placed Christian Walker on the 10-day injured list earlier today, as the star first baseman is suffering with a left oblique strain.  First baseman Pavin Smith was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move to Walker’s IL placement, and right-hander Miguel Castro was designated for assignment in another move to create roster space in the wake of Arizona’s deadline-day trades for Josh Bell and Dylan Floro.

Walker left Monday’s game due to what was described as soreness in his left oblique area, and he received some good news today in the form of a relatively positive MRI result.  Walker told reporters (including Nick Piecoro and Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic) that his strain was of the minor variety, and he estimated roughly a three-week stint on the IL.

While oblique injuries can linger and a three-week-absence is still a big chunk of the two months remaining in the regular season, it’s obviously a sigh of relief for Walker and the D’Backs and the first baseman’s season doesn’t appear in jeopardy.  The Diamondbacks’ quick move to acquire Bell from the Marlins today was a clear sign that Walker would be missing some significant length of time, but if Walker is indeed able to return in three weeks’ time, Bell will become an interesting backup or part-time DH option to bolster Arizona’s bench.

Landing Bell and recalling Smith are stopgap options for the Diamondbacks, as there’s no way to truly replace Walker’s all-around contributions.  In addition to being arguably the game’s best defensive first baseman, he has been a consistent force at the plate, including his 23 home runs and .254/.338/.476 slash line in 461 plate appearances this season.  With the Snakes in a pitched battle for a wild card spot, they’ll face an extra challenge in trying to stay afloat while missing one of their top players for the better part of August.

Castro has a 5.93 ERA over 13 2/3 innings and only 11 appearances this season, as the righty just returned to action just prior to the All-Star break after missing close to three months on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation.  It is safe to say his injury impacted his performance, yet with the D’Backs bringing new bullpen arms into the fold, Castro is now the odd man out.

Castro signed a free agent contract with Arizona during the 2022-23 offseason that paid him a guaranteed $3.5MM salary for 2023, and carried a $5MM vesting option for 2024 which triggered if Castro appeared in at least 60 games last season and passed a season-ending physical.  He easily locked in that extra year with 75 appearances, tossing 64 2/3 innings in a workhorse role out of the bullpen and posting a 4.31 ERA.

If Castro is claimed on waivers, a new team will assume the remaining $1.6MM or so remaining of his 2024 salary, which probably isn’t too likely given his lack of production.  Should he clear waivers, Castro has enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment to the minors and instead opt for free agency.

Orioles To Call Up Jackson Holliday

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The Orioles announced a flurry of roster moves in the aftermath of today’s trade deadline this evening. The club has selected the contract of second baseman Terrin Vavra and placed infielder Jorge Mateo on the 60-day injured list, while left-hander Matt Krook was designated for assignment. Perhaps most notable among this flurry of roster moves is a report from Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner that top prospect Jackson Holliday is set to join the team in Baltimore, although Kostka notes it’s not yet clear whether or not he’ll be formally added to the roster just yet.

Holliday, 20, was the first overall pick in the 2022 draft and entered the 2024 season as the consensus top prospect in baseball. He made his MLB debut back in April but looked overmatched in the majors at the time, slashing just .059/.111/.059 in 36 trips to the plate across ten games before returning to Triple-A. Holliday hit .252/.418/.429 over his next 40 games in his return to the minors, a solid overall slash line but a far cry from what Holliday had done in the past. His production in early June was especially troubling, as he hit just .212 with a 26.7% strikeout rate and a .394 slugging percentage in ten games before being placed on the minor league IL due to what the club referred to at the time as a “barking” shoulder.

Fortunately, the young phenom returned to action after just two weeks and has looked more like himself at the plate, slashing an excellent .273/.426/.507 in 101 trips to the plate since coming off the shelf. Holliday was initially restricted to DH-only duties upon his return but has gradually begun to mix in time on the infield dirt in recent days, with six of his past nine games coming at either second base or shortstop. Even if the Orioles don’t yet feel Holliday is ready for everyday reps in the field, a deep mix of infield talent that also includes Ramon Urias and Vavra should allow them to offer Holliday as much rest as he needs while still allowing him to be their regular second baseman.

Should Holliday prove to be ready for the show upon his return to the club’s roster, it will help to assuage concerns regarding how the Orioles will make up for the losses of Mateo and Connor Norby, the latter of whom was shipped alongside Kyle Stowers to Miami in exchange for lefty Trevor Rogers earlier today. Mateo has been a serviceable but unspectacular second baseman for Baltimore this year, slashing .229/.267/.401 with an 86 wRC+ and middling defensive numbers and 13 stolen bases in 68 games for the club this year. A useful utility player with the ability to backup every spot on the diamond except for first base and catcher, the Orioles are sure to miss Mateo even as he was likely to be pushed out of the regular lineup by Holliday regardless of the left elbow subluxation that figures to keep him sidelined until at least late September.

Also helping to fill the void up the middle is Vavra, who missed most of the 2024 season due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder and was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster back in November. He’s remained with the club in the minors since then and sports a respectable .269/.377/.423 slash line in 123 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level since returning from injury. Vavra struggled badly prior to his surgery last year but in 2022 posted a solid 99 wRC+ in 103 trips to the plate with the Orioles. Vavra offers the club an additional left-handed bat for their bench mix capable of playing both outfield corners as well as second and third base.

As for Krook, the lefty has pitched just one inning in the majors since the club acquired him from the Yankees back in February to act as optionable bullpen depth from the left side. That brief appearance did not go well, as he allowed three runs (two earned) on a walk and home run while striking out two in his lone appearance. Meanwhile, his results at Triple-A have been somewhat middling as he’s pitched to a 4.11 ERA in 35 innings at the level with a strong 27% strikeout rate that’s held back by his massive 16.4% walk rate. The Orioles will now have one week to attempt to pass Krook through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, the Orioles will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues to act as non-roster depth.

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