The Orioles have claimed infielder Emmanuel Rivera off waivers from the Marlins, per announcements from both clubs. Rivera was designated for assignment by the Marlins a few days ago. The Orioles opened a 40-man spot by designating infielder Terrin Vavra for assignment.
Rivera, 28, is in his fourth major league season and he will now be joining his fourth major league club. He’s been in 314 big league games between the Royals, Marlins and Diamondbacks, largely serving as a light-hitting infielder with strong glovework.
In 969 plate appearances, he has hit .239/.302/.354 for a wRC+ of 81. That includes a line of .214/.294/.269 and a 61 wRC+ this year. He has logged just under 2,000 innings at third base in his career, racking up 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 5 Outs Above Average.
The Orioles had a surplus of position players not too long ago but it has been thinned out in recent weeks. Jordan Westburg, Jorge Mateo and Heston Kjerstad all landed on the injured list at the end of July. Austin Hays was traded to the Phillies and the club also traded Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers to the Marlins. Coincidentally, Norby’s promotion earlier this week nudged Rivera off that club’s roster.
The club recently gave Coby Mayo a shot at the hot corner with Westburg out, but sent Mayo back down after he got just one hit in his first 20 plate appearances, striking out 10 times. Ramón Urías is covering third now but his defensive metrics are oddly down this year. He has a strong reputation for his glovework but has -3 DRS and -7 OAA at third base in 2024.
Perhaps the O’s will try Rivera at third with Urías going back to being a multi-positional guy. Liván Soto is on the roster but he has options and could be sent down when Rivera reports to the club. Rivera is on pace to qualify for arbitration this winter and could be retained if he lasts on Baltimore’s roster through the season and they decide to tender him a contract.
Vavra, 27, was once a notable prospect but has struggled in recent seasons. A third-round pick of the Rockies in 2018, he went to the O’s in the August 2020 trade that sent Mychal Givens to Colorado. Vavra then slashed .275/.406/.449 across multiple levels in 2021 for a wRC+ of 138. Baltimore added him to their 40-man roster in November of that year to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
In 2022, he served as an up-and-down depth player for the O’s and performed well. He slashed .258/.340/.337 in his 40 major league games, exactly league average performance. He also had a strong slash of .324/.435/.451 in 45 Triple-A games. But in 2023, he missed time due to shoulder issues, eventually getting diagnosed with a torn labrum in his right shoulder that required surgery. He only played 43 games that year, majors and minors combined.
Outrighted off the roster in November, he got his spot back in July when Mateo hit the injured list but was optioned the next day. He has a line of .243/.350/.368 in Triple-A this year, which translates to a 92 wRC+.
Vavra is in his final option year and will be out of options next season, though he has less than a year of service time. The O’s will have to place him on waivers in the coming days since the trade deadline has passed. It’s been a rough couple of years but if any club is interested in his pre-surgery form, they could control him for many years to come. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, his previous outright gives him the right to elect free agency.
The Orioles love their retread infielders more than their own prospects
Lol! Yeah, a Yankee fan is probably an expert on retreads, so I’ll take your word on it.
Sean Manaea is pitching a perfect game through 5 innings against the O’s right now.
The perfect game ended after 17 batters. He then hit a batter and gave up a HR.
To Austin Slater of all people. Ex Giant vs ex Giant.
And it’s over. But Manaea has been really good this year. Better than I expected.
I would really like to see some stats on what teams claim the most guys off waivers, because it really seems that Baltimore is at the top and it’s not close
What did I even do to make you upset?
Rutschman. Henderson, Cowser, Holliday and now Mayo all struggled initially. Not Vavra. He was comfortable from the get go. Dude had/has super utility guy written all over him. Injuries. Bummer!
I wonder how a guy can be 6’2 225lbs (probably more) and be almost completely devoid of any power at offensive premium position?
Not much solid barrel contact? Too handsy a swing, not enough shoulder and trunk leverage? Not an effective swing plane for power shots, unlike what Jackson has done since the callup?
This is the single dumbest move Elias has made. Vavra has a strong skillset – consistency in contact – that the Orioles are lacking. He was an on-base machine when he was first called up. Last year he was hurt, so what. This year they wasted an option year with that call up to not even use him. Vavra can play everywhere and is part of that cadre of guys. Like losing Stowers, this will hurt everyone more than the stat line shows. It’s a dumb risk for an unnecessary roster move.
You have to think something was on the management’s radar when they bumped him for Rivera, like defense or certain kinds of matchups. TV never really had a position or one that he owned, and I can’t see him finding a place anywhere in the current lineups or coming off the bench to replace a starter.
I just thought he’d be such an optimal bench player. But knowing the org’s obsession with launch angle, Vavra doesn’t really fit their mantra (and is he blonde enough for Mike? It would seem not…). Such a shame. Vavra is always a standout every time I go to Norfolk. Clutch player.