Orioles Outright Levi Stoudt

The Orioles have sent right-handed pitcher Levi Stoudt outright to Double-A Bowie, the team announced this morning. He was designated for assignment last week to open up a spot on the 40-man roster after Baltimore traded for Seranthony Domínguez and Cristian Pache. This is the first time Stoudt has been outrighted in his career, and given his limited MLB service time, he has no choice but to accept the assignment.

The Mariners selected Stoudt in the third round of the 2019 draft, but due to a UCL injury and the canceled minor league season in 2020, he did not make his professional debut until 2021. After parts of two seasons in Seattle’s system, he was sent to Cincinnati ahead of the 2022 trade deadline as part of the package for Luis Castillo. He made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2023, making four appearances (two starts) over four separate stints with the big league club. Across 10 1/3 innings, the righty gave up 11 earned runs on 16 hits. He was once a well-regarded pitching prospect, but given his poor performance in the majors and similarly disappointing minor league numbers (6.23 ERA, 7.40 FIP), it came as little surprise when the Reds DFA’d him over the offseason.

The Mariners claimed Stoudt off of waivers this past February, but his second stint in Seattle was short-lived. After he pitched to a 6.92 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) at Triple-A, Stoudt was DFA’d again in June. This time, the Orioles picked him up and brought him back down to Double-A to work exclusively as a reliever. He has a 4.26 ERA but a much more impressive 3.23 FIP over nine games (12 2/3 innings) with the Bowie Baysox. He has struck out 31.0% of batters he has faced, a huge improvement over his 14.9% strikeout rate as a starter with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. Presumably, he will continue to work as a multi-inning reliever with Bowie after the outright.