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Orioles Designate Cesar Valdez For Assignment

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The Orioles announced Wednesday that right-hander Cesar Valdez has been designated for assignment for a second time this season. Baltimore also recalled second baseman Jahmai Jones and righty Konner Wade from Triple-A Norfolk, optioned right-hander Joey Krehbiel to Norfolk and placed infielder Ramon Urias on the 10-day injured list due to a right adductor strain.

Valdez, 36, only had his contract selected back to the big league roster yesterday. It’ll be a daylong stint on the MLB roster for the righty, who pitched two-thirds of an inning in last night’s game and surrendered two runs (one earned) on a hit and a walk. Valdez has now been scored upon in six of his past seven Major League appearances and 12 of his past 19 dating back to June 1.

Up to that point, Valdez had emerged as an unlikely closer in Baltimore. The journeyman right-hander notched eight saves for the O’s through the season’s first five weeks and carried a 1.23 ERA into mid-May before a swift collapse cost him the closer’s gig and eventually his spot on the roster. Dating back to May 11, Valdez has been tagged for 28 earned runs on 51 hits and 11 walks with 28 strikeouts through 31 1/3 innings. The O’s will either place him on outright waivers or release waivers within the next couple of days.

Given the timing of the Urias IL placement, it seems quite possible that this injury will end his season. He’s somewhat quietly had a nice run as a utility option with the O’s since making his MLB debut last summer, as the 27-year-old has batted .286/.365/.425 with eight home runs and 16 doubles in his first 323 big league plate appearances. A .376 average on balls in play has surely helped his cause, but Urias also owns an impressive 25 percent line-drive rate and a 42.9 percent hard-hit rate.

Urias has split his time between second base, shortstop and third base, although he doesn’t have particularly strong grades. Still, his solid showing at the plate to date suggests he could be a bat-first utility option for the O’s moving forward.

Orioles Select Cesar Valdez

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The Orioles have selected the contract of reliever César Valdez, per a club announcement. To create space on the active and 40-man rosters, outfielder DJ Stewart has been placed on the 60-day injured list due to a right knee osteochondral defect.

Valdez is back with the big league club after being outrighted off the 40-man roster last month. The changeup specialist began the year in a high-leverage role, picking up eight saves while working to a 1.42 ERA over the first month of the season. He ran into some disastrous results from May onward, though, posting a 7.44 ERA in his last 32 2/3 frames before he was bumped from the roster.

Assigned to Triple-A Norfolk after he cleared waivers, the veteran has earned his way back with a strong showing. Valdez has tossed 12 2/3 innings of three-run ball with the Tides, racking up ground-balls at a massive 64.7% clip in that brief minor league showing. The 36-year-old still hasn’t accrued enough service time to be arbitration eligible, so the O’s could bring him back next season for scarcely more than the league minimum salary if they feel it worthwhile to devote him a 40-man roster spot all winter.

Stewart will undergo a cleanup procedure on his injured knee, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). He’s expected to be full-go for Spring Training in 2022. The 27-year-old picked up 318 plate appearances this season but posted below-average numbers on both sides of the ball. Stewart hit .204/.324/.374 while rating poorly as a defensive corner outfielder. As with Valdez, he’s yet to reach arbitration, so the O’s could keep him in the fold for almost no financial cost if they’re willing to keep him on the roster over the winter.

Orioles Claim Joey Krehbiel, Designate Manny Barreda

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The Orioles have claimed right-hander Joey Krehbiel off waivers from the Rays and designated right-hander Manny Barreda, per a club announcement. The O’s also announced that righty Dusten Knight, who was designated for assignment over the weekend, has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk.

Krehbiel, 28, pitched a scoreless inning during his lone appearance with the Rays this season, whiffing a pair and issuing a walk. He’s spent the rest of the 2021 season with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, logging a 4.19 ERA with a sizable 29.5 percent strikeout rate and a tiny 5.1 percent walk rate through 43 innings. It’s the fourth season that Krehbiel has logged some time in Triple-A, and he’s fanned 26.1 percent of the opponents he’s faced at that level in his career. Krehbiel has just four big league innings under his belt, but he’s yet to allow a run in that time.

Barreda, 33 next month, recently had his contract selected and made his big league debut. He allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings over the life of three appearances prior to today’s DFA — a brief debut for a player who has grinded through parts of 11 minor league seasons as well as five full seasons pitching in Mexico. He’s posted a 3.89 ERA in 39 1/3 innings between the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates for the O’s, and he carries a career 3.45 ERA in just over 500 minor league innings.

Like Barreda, Knight was another 30-something rookie who made his big league debut in 2021. He’s notched an even 3.00 ERA in 36 Triple-A frames this season but was tagged for 10 runs (nine earned) in 8 2/3 frames during his own brief look at the MLB level. He’ll remain with the Orioles organization for the remainder of the year, at least, but he’ll be a minor league free agent at season’s end.

Orioles Designate Dusten Knight, Select Thomas Eshelman

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The Orioles announced a quartet of roster moves this morning, including the news that right-hander Dusten Knight has been designated for assignment.  The 40-man roster spot will be filled by righty Thomas Eshelman, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Norfolk.  In addition, the Orioles have called up recent waiver acquisition Brooks Kriske from Triple-A and optioned righty Spenser Watkins to the minors.

Knight is one of many players who made their big league debuts with the 2021 Orioles, as the 31-year-old righty posted a 9.35 ERA over his first 8 2/3 innings in the Show.  The Giants selected Knight in the 28th round of the 2013 draft, and after playing in the Giants and Twins farm systems into the 2019 season, Knight pitched in the Mexican League and in independent ball before catching on with Baltimore on a minor league contract this past winter.

Eshelman is back with the O’s after being outrighted off their 40-man roster earlier this season, which marked the third time Eshelman has been DFA’ed and then outrighted during his three seasons with Baltimore.  All of Eshleman’s 92 career Major League innings have come in an Orioles uniform, and the righty has struggled to a 5.87 ERA and an 11% strikeout rate over that stretch.  This season has been particularly rough, as Eshelman has an 8.02 ERA and more walks (10) than strikeouts (7) over his 21 1/3 innings pitched.

Orioles Claim Brooks Kriske From Yankees

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The Orioles announced they’ve claimed reliever Brooks Kriske off waivers from the Yankees and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. Righty Jorge López was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to open space on the 40-man roster.

Kriske hasn’t yet found any big league success. He’s been up-and-down with New York over the past two seasons and combined for 11 1/3 innings of twenty-run ball. The righty has punched out a fine fifteen batters in that time, but he’s also issued thirteen walks and been tagged for six home runs.

As one would expect, Kriske has been much better in the minor leagues. He owns a 2.59 ERA in 48 2/3 frames in Double-A, and he’s been almost as good this season with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Through 28 1/3 Triple-A innings, the 27-year-old has posted a 3.81 ERA with a massive 36.6% strikeout rate and 16.8% swinging strike percentage. Kriske has issued a few too many walks in the minors as well, but he’s shown more promise against high-level hitters than his major league resume might indicate.

Kriske still has one additional minor league option year remaining beyond this season. Assuming he sticks on the 40-man roster, he can be shuttled between Baltimore and Norfolk through the end of 2022. The Orioles have had arguably the league’s worst bullpen, so they’re in search of any arms who might be able to establish themselves as reliable members of the pitching staff next year. It’s no surprise the front office would take a flier on Kriske in hopes that he can translate some of his minor league success into the majors at some point.

López’s IL transfer is merely a procedural move. He was already expected to be out for the season after spraining his right ankle last week. The 28-year-old posted a 6.07 ERA across 121 2/3 innings this year.

Orioles Select Pat Valaika

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The Orioles announced they’ve selected infielder Pat Valaika back to the big league roster. Baltimore also recalled righty Marcos Diplán from Triple-A Norfolk. Left-hander Tanner Scott has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left knee sprain, while utilityman Jorge Mateo was placed on the 60-day IL due to right lumbar inflammation.

Valaika has logged substantial big league action with the O’s in each of the last two seasons. He flashed some intriguing power potential last year, popping eight home runs in 150 plate appearances en route to a solid .277/.315/.475 showing. But he struggled badly over a slightly longer look this year, posting a .192/.251/.280 line over 212 trips to the dish. He was designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers last month. Valaika will be eligible for arbitration this offseason, but given his disappointing season, he looks like a non-tender candidate.

Baltimore grabbed Mateo off waivers from the Padres last month, with the rebuilding O’s in a far better position than the win-now Padres to give regular playing time to the former top prospect. (Mateo is out of minor league option years, so he’d spent much of his San Diego tenure in a bench role). The 26-year-old showed fairly well in his look with the Orioles, hitting .280/.328/.421 with a pair of homers and five stolen bases over 116 plate appearances. His season comes to a premature end because of the injury, but he’s seemingly done enough to warrant a spot on Baltimore’s 40-man roster over the upcoming offseason.

Unlike Mateo, Scott isn’t officially ruled out for the rest of the year by his IL placement. Nevertheless, manager Brandon Hyde suggested to reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) the hard-throwing reliever is unlikely to make it back this season. Scott appeared in 62 games and tossed 54 innings of 5.17 ERA ball, striking out a solid 27.9% of opponents but issuing walks at an elevated 14.7% clip. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason.

Orioles Select Eric Hanhold, Move Matt Harvey To 60-Day IL

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Eric Hanhold’s contract has been selected from Triple-A.  To create a 40-man roster spot, Matt Harvey has been moved from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL, which will officially end Harvey’s season.

Harvey went to the injured list earlier this week due to right knee inflammation, and the knee issue will cut short what has been an otherwise healthy season for the 32-year-old.  That is a very notable silver lining given how injuries have plagued Harvey and stalled what once looked to be a very promising career, though beyond just staying on the field, Harvey didn’t have a great 2021.

Signed to a minor league deal with the O’s in February, Harvey earned the contract’s guaranteed $1MM salary after he was added to the team’s active roster prior to Opening Day.  The righty has posted a 6.27 ERA/4.85 SIERA over 127 2/3 innings with Baltimore, with only a 16.3% strikeout rate that ranks in the seventh percentile of all qualified pitchers.  While Harvey has a .331 BABIP and 60.4% strand rate, he has also allowed a lot of hard contract, so there hasn’t been too much misfortune baked into Harvey’s numbers.

Harvey will likely have to settle for another minor league deal from the Orioles or another team this winter as he looks to continue his career.  With only a handful of games under his belt as a reliever at the MLB level, Harvey could potentially try to drum up interest by marketing himself as something other than a starter, perhaps opening himself up to long relief, swingman, or bulk pitcher roles to take advantage of his durability without being a full-fledged regular starting pitcher.

It was almost exactly two years ago to the day that Hanhold joined the Orioles organization, after Baltimore acquired him from the Mets via a waiver claim.  Hanhold’s MLB resume consists of 2 1/3 innings with the Mets in 2018, and he has a 4.69 ERA over 340 career minor league innings.  With only a modest 19.15% strikeout rate during his minor league career, Hanhold has relied on some strong grounder rates to retire batters.

Roster Notes: Twins, Rockies, Orioles, Yankees

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The Twins are likely to be without Taylor Rogers and Randy Dobnak for the rest of the season, per MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter). Rogers has missed most of the second half after spraining a finger at the end of July. Before the injury, Rogers was again effective for the Twinkies, appearing 40 times and posting a 3.35 ERA with nine saves and eight holds, though he does have four blown saves as well. Dobnak has essentially been a non-contributor. He went on the injured list with a finger sprain on June 21, and he struggled to open the year.

Let’s check on a couple of roster moves made early on Saturday…

    • The Rockies have reinstated Robert Stephenson from the paternity list and optioned Ben Bowden to Triple-A, per the team. The 26-year-old Bowden has a 6.56 ERA/4.84 FIP in 35 2/3 innings. Stephenson has been a productive member of the Rockies’ bullpen, tossing 38 1/3 innings with a 3.76 ERA/4.02 FIP.
    • The Orioles have recalled Dean Kremer from Triple-A, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Kremer joins the club as their 29th man for today’s twin bill against the Blue Jays. Kremer will make his 13th start of the season and look to improve upon a 7.25 ERA/6.52 FIP.
    • The Yankees outrighted Jonathan Davis to Triple-A today, per the team. Davis has been an extra man in the Yankees outfield, appearing in just 12 games after being claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays.

Quick Hits: Pujols, Harvey, Bundy, Anderson

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The idea of Albert Pujols playing one final season in a Cardinals uniform always seemed a bit fanciful, considering that Paul Goldschmidt now occupies first base in St. Louis, and that Pujols’ dropoff in production created doubt that he would even play beyond the 2021 season.  However, Pujols has had a bit of a revival as a specialist against left-handed pitching, crushing southpaws to the tune of a .302/.336/.635 slash line and 13 home runs over 134 plate appearances this season.

As Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, signing Pujols in 2022 has some baseball value to a Cardinals team that may have a DH spot to work with in next year’s lineup.  That is on top of the natural symbolism of bringing Pujols back for what would be his 22nd — and quite possibly final — MLB season in what Yadier Molina has already announced will be his own final season.  If Adam Wainwright also re-signs with the team and decides to hang it up next winter (which is no sure thing given how well Wainwright continues to pitch), the 2022 season will carry a storybook feel for an entire era of Cardinals baseball, as well as a renewed charge towards another title.

More from around baseball…

  • The Orioles placed Matt Harvey on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right knee.  O’s manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including BaltimoreBaseball.com’s Rich Dubroff) that Harvey will undergo testing on the knee, and it isn’t yet known if the veteran right-hander will be able to pitch again this season.  After signing a minor league deal with the Orioles in the offseason, Harvey ended up spending the entire year on Baltimore’s big league roster, and the oft-injured righty has tossed 127 2/3 innings over 28 starts.  That is the silver lining amidst an otherwise tough season results-wise, as Harvey has a 6.27 ERA/4.84 SIERA and one of the lower (16.7%) strikeout rates in the league, not to mention some poor hard-hit ball numbers.
  • Dylan Bundy is “very confident” that he’ll be able to return to the Angels before the season is through, the right-hander told The Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher and other reporters.  Wednesday saw Bundy throw his first bullpen session since being placed on the 10-day IL with a shoulder strain back on August 25, and Bundy said the plan is for another bullpen on Saturday.  It remains to be seen if Bundy will be able to build up enough strength to make it back, or if he has already thrown his last pitch as an Angel, considering Bundy is a free agent this winter.  “As far as free agency, the only thing I’m thinking about is not being on the IL at the end of the year,” Bundy said.  Bundy has struggled to a 6.06 ERA/4.55 SIERA over 90 2/3 innings,
  • “I don’t have a lot of conversations with them on that front,” Brian Anderson told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters about extension talks with the Marlins.  General manager Kim Ng said last December, soon after her hiring, that she wanted a season to personally evaluate Anderson before deciding on a potential extension.  By that standard, Anderson hasn’t done much to impress, hitting only .249/.337/.378 and being limited to 264 plate appearances in an injury-riddled year.  Anderson is currently considering multiple options in regards to an ongoing shoulder problem, and surgery is a possibility, with Anderson prioritizing playing as close to a full season as possible in 2022.  The Marlins control Anderson’s rights through the 2023 season, so an extension could still be in the cards if he is able to recover and get back to his old form next year.

Orioles Select Manny Barreda

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The Orioles announced they’ve selected right-hander Manny Barreda to the big league roster. Baltimore also confirmed the previously-reported recall of pitching prospect Mike Baumann, who is in line to make his major league debut. In corresponding moves, reliever Zack Burdi was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk and righty Jorge López was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right ankle sprain. To create space on the 40-man roster for Barreda, Baltimore transferred righty Hunter Harvey from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Barreda’s promotion is the culmination of a winding journey up the minor league ranks. He began his professional career as a 12th-round selection of the Yankees way back in 2007. Barreda spent the next seven years in the New York system, topping out at Double-A before being released. From 2015-17, Barrera sandwiched a couple of stints in the Brewers and Braves organizations between work with the Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League. He spent the entirety of the 2018-19 seasons with Tijuana.

The fourteen-year pro made it back to affiliated ball this March when he landed a minor league deal with the Orioles. He’s spent almost the entire season with Norfolk, working 34 1/3 innings (almost exclusively in relief) of 4.19 ERA ball. Barreda has managed solid strikeout and walk numbers at the minors’ top level to earn his first big league call just more than a month away from his 33rd birthday.

López left his appearance yesterday afternoon against the Royals after sustaining the injury. Manager Brandon Hyde called it significant and said it could end López’s season (via Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball). If that proves to be the case, the 28-year-old will end the year with a 6.07 ERA/4.64 SIERA over 121 2/3 innings.

Harvey’s IL transfer is a formality. The 26-year-old has been on the IL since July 2 due to a right lat strain. With more than sixty days already logged, moving him to the longer term IL doesn’t have any effect on his eligibility to return. Harvey is on a rehab assignment with Norfolk.

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