The Orioles have claimed left-hander Josh Walker off waivers from the Phillies, according to announcements from both clubs. The O’s have optioned the southpaw to Triple-A Norfolk. They already had a 40-man vacancy from outrighting outfielder Jordyn Adams a few days ago, so no corresponding move was required. The Phils designated Walker for assignment earlier this week.
Walker, 30, has a limited amount of big league experience. He has thrown a combined 27 1/3 innings over the three most recent seasons. In that time, he has a 6.59 earned run average, which is obviously not strong. His 10.9% walk rate is also a bit high. However, his 24.2% strikeout rate is a good figure. His ERA has seemingly been inflated by a .380 batting average on balls in play and 59.4% strand rate. His 3.99 FIP and 2.70 SIERA paint a more optimistic portrait.
Ultimately, it’s a small sample of work and the O’s are probably putting more stock in his minor league numbers. From 2022 to the present, Walker has thrown 125 innings on the farm with a 3.96 ERA. His 12% walk rate is a bit high but his 30.6% strikeout rate is very intriguing.
For the O’s, they are playing out the string on a lost season, so they are making moves focused on the future. They sold at the deadline and have grabbed a number of players off waivers since then. Walker is in his final option season. That means he can be kept in the minors for the rest of this year but will be out of options going into 2026. He has less than a year of service time, so he is still a ways away from arbitration and even further away from free agency. If he can carve out a role in Baltimore’s bullpen, they can cheaply retain him well into the future. It also wouldn’t a surprise if they try to pass him through waivers at some point in order to keep him as non-roster depth.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
A 30 year old with a career ERA of 6.59 going to his 5th team since the start of 2024. Awesome.
Elias is at the bottom of the dumpster, chiseling away at the multiple years of slime that accumulates there. Please throw a couch on top of him.
It’s likely that this move amounts to nothing, but he’s a lefty and his K rate and FIP hint at some potential upside, and we had an open 40 man spot, so stashing him in Norfolk to see if we can unlock something doesn’t really hurt anything.
I wish I had your optimism, Floch! But in my fifth decade of Orioles fandom my only current optimism is that NFL starts in a couple of weeks.
It’s a nothingburger move. There’s really nothing to celebrate or deride here.
It cost us nothing to take a look at him and he will be cut without a second thought if it turns he has nothing to offer (which is most likely the case, of course).
mmm Nothingburger….
Sounds like grayish patties we’d get served from the college cafeteria that you had to drown with condiments to be edible. 11 or 12 pickle chips will fit and stay inside a regular bun if you’re careful and place the lettuce just right.
@Thornton: We called it mystery meat or the “Tech Burger” when I was at Tn Tech in the late 70’s.
NashvilleJeff – we had Super Chicken. Not quite a tender. Probably snouts and entrails.
I never really used the cafeteria at my college much, but that sounds like hospital cafeteria burgers, which I am very familiar with.
I’ve worked in hospitals, in all but one the food was terrible-dorm quality, agreed
At this point it’s basically open auditions for next season. Rico Garcia has been released what? Like three times this season and yet came in with the bases loaded the other night and struck out the side. Never know if you may find a useful piece here
Exactly.
And it’s worth pointing out that guys like Ryan O’Hearn and Ramon Urias were also “dumpster dive” acquisitions that turned into valuable contributors for the Orioles, so it’s not like these moves never work out. It’s not a majority that do obviously, but it’s also not a 0% success rate either.
Just stop – he’s done a masterful job restocking the system after a historic number of pitching injuries. Also give them some credit for getting more out of several wire pick ups. They won’t all work, but who cares if they want to take a shot on somebody for minor league depth.
tuck – an abundance of guys in A/A+/just getting to AA is not the same as getting 4 or 5 guys who are AAA or killing it in AA. It follows Elias’ strategy of overloading the low end hoping 1 or 2 come out of it by sheer numbers.
At the deadline he said he wanted guys who can help the team in 2026 or even down the stretch. Maybe 1 or 2 of the 15 or 16 new bodies would be ready?
As we saw with “building the rotation from the ground up” with 6 or 7 guys competing for the back end, quality tops quantity.
Urias and O’Hearn are pluses from the era, add Laureano. But I counter with equal or higher profile decisions such as Cole Irvin, Jack Flaherty, Gary Sanchez, Shintaro Fujinami….choosing Kittredge over Hoffman, signing O’Neill, Austin Slater, Adam Frazier, dumping Coulombe – he’s swung and missed much more than he makes contact. Too many misses as a GM.
Are we losing sleep over Jeff Hoffman’s ERA north of 4 and his 1.7 HR/9.
I’d rather have the money freed up to take another crack at FA this year. Bradish was a big hit for Bundy. Cano and Povich was a steal for Lopez. Despite Cano falling apart this year. Dumping Coulombe was a miss. He was a big hit for him in the prior 2 though. He found him. (Cionel Perez over Coulombe is hard to forgive though)
Historic?
@jd: Braves fans get that word………..so do the Dodger fans, Yankee fans, etc.
Sure, why not?
He’s an optionable lefty with a 10.2 K/9 and 3.99 FIP for his career so far, might as well take him for a little test drive since we are firmly in the “2026 auditions” stage of the season.
I mean it’ll take a miracle to get a shot at the wildcard at this point even if we’re definitely playing better. Some healthy arms even if inconsistent are not a bad thing to have in your pocket based on how this season has gone with injuries to pitching, going back as far as last year as well. Not an inspiring move at all, more of a “hey lets make sure someone is available just in case.”
I feel better about 2026, IF they aggressively pursue two high level starters.
Their hitting has come around overall although I think new coaching/approach will help reverse the slide Henderson and Rutschman have been on for over a year plus Cowser this yr.
Too far back in the WC due to inexcusable prep on starting pitching….Morton and Gibson combining to go 0-11 in a stretch….and then going a combined 3-15 versus the Twins, A’s, and Nationals this season is hard to overcome.
If they go .500 in their last 36 games I consider that a plus. Its not an easy schedule with 8 vs Houston & Boston, Dodgers…and several teams really fighting for playoffs with 7/10 games to close the year versus NYY who will not be holding back..
At this point after the past couple of seasons of injuries to the most talented pitchers we have. You really can’t rely on them being there through the whole season so I agree with you. A couple of #2 starters without health concerns I think makes a huge difference in the teams trajectory. By all means if you can swing a deal that doesn’t completely obliterate the farm for an ace then you have to look at that as well.
But yeah the offense can’t be as inconsistent as it was this year, Henderson is way better than his current numbers, Cowser really hasn’t gotten back on track at all since the beginning of the season. Rutschman’s approach at the plate, plus the hard contact he usually is making should amount to way better than it did this year.
It’s just a shame that last offseason, there was no replacing the value of the ace they lost (whether he’s injured now or not) and they were quite literally just looking for pitchers to hold them over until they got back their talented injured ones. Which hasn’t happened with the exception of Rogers and no way in hell anyone predicted the absolute domination hes been showing this year.
I’m just hoping for a decent run at the wildcard even if they end up a handful of games out of it. Certainly benefits young bats like Basallo, Beavers and Mayo knowing that they’re thrust in the spotlight now. I’m hoping Brandon Young can turn the corner though. He doesn’t have to be an ace but a healthy reliable guy like Kremer is definitely something to aspire to for him. Even if Kremer as well has been damn good recently.
Scruff- Being a few games above .500 the last 60 games or so is not too bad given the injuries, though it was the softest overall part of the schedule…I’d take .500 in the last 36 as that schedule is rough. (now they need 18-17 after the listless game just finished)
A clean sweep of the coaching and manager has to help. A turnaround on Henderson, Rutschman and Cowser (as you added) would be like adding a good player.
Until I see it though, I just don’t think they’ll go and get the starters they need. Cheaper relievers to improve the bullpen yes, helpful, but not enough.
I think this is fixable in the offseason. Bautista hurts a lot. I hope we sign Devin Williams. Relievers are volatile and I expect he’ll be a dog again next season.
We need another high leverage arm and a TOR starter. Sugano has been solid this year but please let him walk and get me multiple starters. I’d like Dustin May along with an established TOR guy.