Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Orioles Rumors

Blue Jays To Play Home Games In Buffalo

By | at

The Blue Jays will play their home games for the 2020 season at their Triple-A site in Buffalo, reports Dan Connolly of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Jays have been searching for a home site since government regulations in Canada ruled out Toronto’s Rogers Centre. They thought they’d reached a deal with the Pirates to utilize Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, but the Pennsylvania Department of Health quashed that plan. The Blue Jays also explored the possibility of playing at Camden Yards in Baltimore, which the Orioles reportedly approved, but that arrangement was also pending government approval in Maryland.

All the while, the Jays have reportedly been working to upgrade their facilities at Buffalo’s Sahen Field, bringing the clubhouses lighting up to par with MLB standards (or at least as close as possible). The organization’s strong preference has been to play its home games at a Major League facility, but it seems they’ll instead settle in a familiar setting for many of the club’s young players.

The Jays have since officially confirmed the report, issuing a statement which indicates they’ll stage the “majority” of its 2020 home games in Buffalo. Said president and CEO Mark Shapiro within the release:

“This process has no doubt tested our team’s resilience, but our players and staff refuse to make excuses – we are determined to take the field on Opening Day today, and for the coming months, with the same intensity and competitiveness that our fans expect.”

Orioles Select Pat Valaika, Place John Means On Injured List

By | at

The Orioles have selected the contract of infielder Pat Valaika, per a club announcement. He’ll join the 40-man and active rosters to open the season. Baltimore also placed lefty John Means on the injured list alongside righties Hunter Harvey and Dillon Tate.

A career .214/.256/.400 hitter who has shown plenty of pop from the right side of the dish, Valaika has experience at each of second base, shortstop and third base. However, he’s also punched out in nearly 29 percent of his trips to the plate in the big leagues, which has contributed significantly to his inability to reach base at a passable rate. Valaika does have a minor league option remaining and a career .275/.315/.498 slash 695 Triple-A plate appearances, making him a reasonable depth option for the rebuilding Orioles to carry on the roster even if he doesn’t break camp with the club this spring.

Means, last year’s AL Rookie of the Year runner-up, would’ve been Baltimore’s Opening Day starter but has been slowed recently by some arm fatigue. The organization has downplayed its severity and noted that Means had a similar issue last year that caused him to miss only one start. For the time being, there’s no indication that they expect the absence to be lengthy, but it’s nonetheless a tough blow to the young lefty, who enjoyed an out-of-the-blue breakout last season and was surely honored by the Opening Day nod. That start will go to journeyman left-hander Tommy Milone instead.

Harvey, once one of MLB’s top prospects, has seen his career decimated by injury but has worked his way back into Baltimore’s bullpen mix after several lost seasons. He could very well be in the team’s closer mix at some point this year or next, assuming he’s healthy. Tate, too, is another former high-end prospect and was a top-five overall draft pick that simply hasn’t developed as hoped. The Orioles are his third club — he went from the Rangers to the Yankees in the Carlos Beltran swap and then the Yankees to the O’s in the Zack Britton trade. At this point, the hope is that Tate, like Harvey, can emerge as a late-inning bullpen piece.

Blue Jays, Orioles Discussing Sharing Of Camden Yards

By | at

10:22am: The O’s have given their blessing, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

7:23am: Already bounced by Canada and turned away by the state of Pennsylvania, the Blue Jays are now engaged in talks with the Orioles about the use of Camden Yards. Dan Connolly and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic write that the O’s are amenable, with a few caveats.

The biggest question, as we’ve now learned from experience, isn’t whether the local logistics can be arranged. It’s whether the final authorities will grant approval for whatever scheme is worked out.

In this case, that means convincing the state of Maryland to permit another professional sports resident and, more importantly, to facilitate the flow of traffic of visiting teams to and from other states. That was the issue that gummed up the both of the Blue Jays’ prior schemes to play ball through the pandemic.

Before formal approval is sought, the two teams still need to hammer out a means of hosting the Jays. Per the report, the newly nomadic ballclub would not be permitted to utilize either of the regular clubhouses. Instead, they’d be housed in some kind of makeshift facility — potentially, one constructed in the Camden Yards concourse.

It’s quite the situation to be sorting out on Opening Day, though thankfully the Jays’ schedule allows a bit of remaining breathing room. If the Camden Yards effort fails to pan out, the barnstorming Blue Jays will likely be forced to settle for a minor-league facility — quite likely their top affiliate in Buffalo, New York.

John Means Out For Opener; O's To Start Tommy Milone

By | at

  • Orioles left-hander John Means will miss Opening Day because of arm fatigue, Joe Trezza of MLB.com tweets. As a result, offseason minor league signing and fellow southpaw Tommy Milone will start the Orioles’ opener against Boston on Friday. It’s not known when Means will be able to debut in 2020, but the Orioles are surely hoping it will be sooner than later. The 27-year-old Means was one of the few bright spots on Baltimore’s talent-deprived roster last season, after all, as he logged a 3.60 ERA/4.41 FIP with 7.03 K/9 and 2.21 BB/9 across 155 innings.

Blue Jays Will Reportedly Play 2020 Home Games In Pittsburgh

By | at

JULY 21: The Blue Jays will play “home” games at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park this year, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

JULY 20, 3:18pm: The Pirates issued a statement Monday confirming they’re in “active discussions” with MLB and the Blue Jays about Toronto playing in Pittsburgh.

1:00pm: The Orioles’ Camden Yards has emerged as a possible destination for the Blue Jays, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports. General manager Ross Atkins said Monday (via Dan Shulman of ESPN) that “our focus is on getting into a major league facility.”

8:24am: The Jays have sent operations people to Buffalo to assess Sahlen Field, Scott Mitchell of TSN tweets. They’d need “about a week” to repair lighting and clubhouse issues, according to Mitchell.

JULY 19: After the Canadian government denied approval for the Blue Jays to play games in Toronto this season, the Jays still don’t know where they still be playing just 10 days removed from their first scheduled “home” game, hosting the Nationals on July 29.

To this end, a number of different options are being explored, such as another Major League venue — Pittsburgh’s PNC Park.  Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Jays have “looked into playing select home games at PNC Park in 2020.”  As noted by Mackey in a follow-up tweet, the Blue Jays and Pirates only share seven conflicting dates for home games, with six of those coming after September 7.

If nothing else, a temporary move to Pittsburgh would give the Jays some time to spend the next six weeks getting another stadium up to Major League standards.  For instance, there has been some hint that Buffalo’s Sahlen Field (home of the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate) could undergo the clubhouse, lighting and overall infrastructure upgrades necessary to host MLB games, though nothing has been finalized on that front.

Talking to reporters (including Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi) yesterday, Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro was “confident that Buffalo is a viable alternative,” even while noting that a move to Sahlen Field is “not a done deal.”  By comparison, the Jays’ Spring Training facility in Dunedin, Florida is “100 per cent seamless right now and ready to go….but from a player-health standpoint has some challenges,” given Florida’s COVID-19 spike.

Looking at the most recent coronavirus data, Pennsylvania is doing relatively well in managing its COVID-19 cases, though its most severely-hit region is Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located.  Areas with large population centers will naturally have bigger COVID numbers than less densely-populated areas, of course, though it underscores the difficulty faced by the Jays since all adequate MLB-level facilities in major cities.

If the Jays are discussing a possible timeshare with the Pirates, it stands to reason they’re exploring arrangements with other teams as well.  Shapiro mentioned “other alternatives” besides Buffalo and Dunedin that were under consideration, and right-hander Anthony Bass told the Associated Press and other media that GM Ross Atkins prioritized finding a Major League stadium after discussions with players.

“I just said, ’Look, we want to play in a major league ballpark.  We feel that’s the best opportunity for us,’ and he agreed and said, ’I listened to you guys loud and clear and that’s what we’re going to do for you because that’s what the team wants,’ “ Bass said.

Stevie Wilkerson Suffers Broken Finger

By | at

Orioles utilityman Stevie Wilkerson received an unfortunate diagnosis tonight, as Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun was among those to cover on Twitter. Skipper Brandon Hyde says that Wilkerson has suffered a phalanx fracture in his left ring finger.

The expectation is that the injury will sideline Wilkerson for a “significant” period of time, according to Hyde. The precise anticipated timeline isn’t clear, but there obviously isn’t all that much season to work with — particularly given the lack of minor-league rehab opportunities.

Wilkerson, 28, appeared with the O’s in each of the past two MLB seasons. He carries a cumulative .219/.279/.365 slash line in the bigs. That wasn’t enough to maintain a 40-man spot — he was outrighted before Spring Training opened — but it seemed Wilkerson had a solid shot of earning his way back into the major-league ranks to open the 2020 season.

Dwight Smith, Jr. Joins Orioles' Camp

By | at

  • Orioles outfielder Dwight Smith, Jr. was cleared to participate in camp Friday. The 27-year-old acknowledged that a positive COVID-19 test was the reason he’d been delayed, per Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball. Fortunately, he’s obviously now managed to clear the protocols for a return and hopes to be ready for Opening Day. Smith hit just .241/.297/.412 (83 wRC+) with 13 home runs in 392 plate appearances last season.

Orioles Add 3 To 60-Man Pool

By | at

The Orioles have added three players to their 60-man player pool, per a club announcement. Outfielder Yusniel Diaz, lefty DL Hall, and infielder Ramon Urias will all be joining the team’s second training location at Bowie.

Each of these players is still working towards a big league debut. In the case of Diaz and Hall, they’ve long been considered among the organization’s top prospects. The former came over in the Manny Machado trade, while the latter was chosen in the first round of the 2017 draft.

Urias, 26, is in a different position. He earned a 40-man spot with the Cardinals but ended up on the waiver wire over the offseason. The O’s plucked the second bagger with intentions of giving him a crack at earning a utility job. He had scuffled in limited Spring Training action, following a rough stretch in the Mexican League, but did turn in a solid .263/.369/.424 output in 375 Triple-A plate appearances last year.

Anthony Santander Rejoins Orioles

By | at

  • Speaking with Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com and other media Wednesday, Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander revealed he was late reporting to Summer Camp because of a positive COVID-19 test. Santander said he dealt with “mild” symptoms, but he’s now “healthy” and “not contagious.” That doesn’t mean Santander will have enough time to ramp up to avoid an IL stint, but he and the Orioles are hoping he’ll be ready for Opening Day. Santander received his first extensive MLB action last season and hit .261/.297/.476 (97 wRC+) with 20 home runs in 405 plate appearances, gaining an international fan club in the process.

Orioles Select Wade LeBlanc, Tommy Milone

By | at

The Orioles announced that they have selected the contracts of veteran left-handers Wade LeBlanc and Tommy Milone. Those additions give the Orioles 39 players on their 40-man rosters.

The 35-year-old LeBlanc and Milone, 33, signed minor league contracts with the pitcher-needy Orioles over the winter after spending last season with the Mariners. They’ll open 2020 in Baltimore’s rotation, Joe Trezza of MLB.com suggests.

LeBlanc has been a capable swingman for most of his career, which began in 2008 in San Diego. He was effective in Seattle as recently as 2018 (3.72 ERA/4.28 FIP with 7.22 K/9 and 2.22 BB/9 in 162 innings), but the wheels came off last year. LeBlanc could only manage 121 1/3 innings of 5.71 ERA/5.49 FIP pitching with 6.82 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 2019.

Milone has five seasons of at least 100 innings under his belt, even though the overall results haven’t been great. He piled up 111 2/3 a year ago and notched a 4.76 ERA/5.00 FIP, though he did post an impressive K/BB ratio with 7.58 K/9 and 1.85 BB/9.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top