- Orioles left-handed pitching prospect D.L. Hall has been shut down for the season following a left lat strain, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports (Twitter link). While the injury isn’t considered serious, Hall won’t have enough time to get back before the Orioles’ A-ball affiliate in Frederick completes its season. The 21st overall pick of the 2017 draft, Hall has a 3.46 ERA and 12.9 K/9 over 80 2/3 innings for Frederick this season, though with a troubling 6.0 BB/9. ESPN’s Keith Law ranked Hall 35th in his midseason top-50 prospects list and Baseball America has Hall 38th in their top 100 list, while MLB.com (62) and Fangraphs (63) are just a touch less bullish on his promise.
Orioles Rumors
Orioles Recall Hunter Harvey
The Orioles recalled right-hander Hunter Harvey, the team’s PR department announced. This comes after Tom Eshelman was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk last night.
Harvey, 24, is a former top prospect whose ascent was slowed by a number of injuries. When he enters a game, it will be a major league debut for Harvey, though it’s not his first call-up. Harvey spent three games with the big league club without making an appearance in April 2018, baltimorebaseball.com’s Rich Dubroff reminds us (via Twitter).
The 6’3″ North Carolina native has been a starter for most of his career, including for 11 turns in Double-A this season, where he went 2-5 with a 5.19 ERA/5.57 FIP/3.52 xFIP over 59 innings. Upon a promotion to Norfolk, Harvey moved to the bullpen. In 16 2/3 innings over 12 relief outings, he struck out 22 while walking just 5 batters en route to a 4.32 ERA/3.62 FIP. Fangraphs gives him a 40 FV while ranking him the Orioles 22nd best prospect before the start of the season. MLB.com currently pegs him as the organization’s 15th best prospect.
Eshelman, 25, has been an active traveler this season. He started the year in Reading with the Phillies Double-A affiliate. A month after being promoted to Lehigh Valley, the Phillies traded Eshelman to the Orioles in June. Eshelman made his debut in a spot start against the Rays on July 1. After giving up two runs over five in the 3-6 loss, he was optioned back to Triple-A until a call-up two weeks later.
In total, Eshelman made four starts and six relief appearances for Brandon Hyde’s club. He went 1-2 with a 6.50 ERA/7.33 FIP in 36 innings of work.
Outrighted: Yacabonis, Mantiply, Lail
Let’s catch up on a few announcements regarding players who have been outrighted after clearing waivers …
- The Orioles announced that righty Jimmy Yacabonis is destined for Triple-A after clearing. He had struggled in a 41-inning showcase this year, managing only a 5.40 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 5.3 BB/9. Yacabonis has produced similar numbers in parts of two prior seasons in the majors.
- A pair of hurlers are heading to the Yankees’ top affiliate via outright assignment. Southpaw Joe Mantiply struggled in his lone outing with the Yanks after being acquired from the Reds. That was his first time in the bigs since a brief 2016 debut. Righty Brady Lail also lost his 40-man spot after a single MLB appearance. He has worked to a 2.79 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 over 42 minor-league frames this year.
Orioles Sign Hunter Cervenka To Minors Deal
- The Orioles signed left-hander Hunter Cervenka to a minor league contract. Cervenka had a 2.95 ERA, 10.5 K/9, and 2.17 K/BB rate over 42 2/3 innings for the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate this season before being released in late July. The 29-year-old has been able to consistently miss bats (career 9.4 K/9) over his 506 2/3 minor league innings, though given that he has also battled some at-times extreme control problems, this season’s 4.5 BB/9 is a fairly positive development for the southpaw. Cervenka tossed 48 innings for the Braves and Marlins in 2016-17 and hasn’t been back to the big leagues since, spending 2018 pitching in the independent Atlantic League and in the Tigers’ farm system.
Orioles Designate Jimmy Yacabonis For Assignment
The Orioles announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to fellow righty Ryan Eades, whose previously reported waiver claim out of the Twins organization has now been formally announced by the Orioles.
Yacabonis, 27, has struggled substantially in the Majors despite solid, if unremarkable results in the upper minors. He’s in the midst of his final season with minor league options, so the Orioles seemingly value the flexibility that Eades brings to the table over a righty who has received numerous auditions in recent seasons.
Dating back to his 2017 MLB debut, Yacabonis has pitched 101 2/3 innings for the Orioles, mostly as a reliever or opener. In that time he’s turned in a 5.75 ERA while averaging 6.6 strikeouts, 5.0 walks and 1.68 home runs per nine innings pitched. Yacabonis’ heater has averaged 94 mph with slightly above-average spin in that time, but he’s given up far too much hard contact and struggled both throwing strikes and commanding the ball within the zone. He’ll be made available to the other 29 teams in the league via outright waivers in the coming days., though if he clears, the Orioles will be able to retain him and assign him to a minor league affiliate without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him.
Orioles Claim Ryan Eades
The Orioles have claimed right-hander Ryan Eades off outright waivers from the Twins, Roch Kubatko of MASNsport.com reports (via Twitter). Baltimore’s 40-man roster is full, so a corresponding roster move will need to be made.
Eades, 27, was Minnesota’s second-round pick out of Louisiana State University back in 2013. He made his big league debut earlier this summer when he tossed 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball, but his minor league track record has been rather spotty. The 6’2″, 210-pound righty has never ranked among the Twins’ best pitching prospects, despite his draft status, and he was shifted to the bullpen back in 2016 after posting lackluster numbers in the rotation.
Eades showed well out of the ’pen in 2018, tossing 76 1/3 innings with a 3.54 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9 and a 40 percent ground-ball rate in 76 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. The bottom-line results for Eades in 2019 haven’t been as encouraging; he’s posted a 5.51 ERA in 50 1/3 innings with Minnesota’s top affiliate in Rochester. However, he’s also averaging a career-best 11.2 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. Eades’ HR/9 mark has doubled to 1.2, but long balls throughout all of Triple-A are through the roof now in 2019 after the decision to switch over to the Major League ball (the same one that has led to record home-run paces throughout MLB).
The addition of Eades will give the Orioles some optionable depth for the foreseeable future. Because his contract was only selected this season, Eades can be optioned back and forth not only for the remainder of the 2019 season but also in two additional seasons beyond the current campaign.
Chris Davis, Brandon Hyde In Dugout Altercation
- Not only did Baltimore drop an embarrassing 14-2 decision to New York on Wednesday, but there was an all-too-public dugout altercation between struggling Orioles first baseman Chris Davis and manager Brandon Hyde during the game (video via Joe Trezza of MLB.com). Orioles hitting coach Don Long and injured slugger Mark Trumbo had to restrain Davis, whom the O’s then removed for a pinch-hitter. Hyde didn’t want to go into detail about it afterward, telling Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and other reporters that the team will “keep it in-house.” He didn’t seem overly concerned about the matter, though, chalking it up to frustrations boiling over during what has been an adverse season. Davis wasn’t available for comment.
Orioles Release Nate Karns, Outright Jose Rondon
The Orioles announced Wednesday that they’ve released right-hander Nate Karns and outrighted infielder Jose Rondon to Triple-A Norfolk. Both players cleared waivers; Karns, however, has the requisite service time to elect free agency.
Karns will head back to free agency after missing the bulk of the 2019 season due to forearm issues. He’d made it back to the mound prior to his DFA, pitching in three rehab appearances between July 12 and July 23. The 31-year-old Karns tossed 5 1/3 innings with the O’s and yielded only one unearned run early in the season, but he was tagged for 10 runs in 10 1/3 innings of work across two rehab stints this season (the first of which was halted after a late-April setback). Injuries, most notably thoracic outlet surgery, have largely wiped out the past four seasons for Karns, making 2015’s 147 innings of 3.67 ERA ball for the Rays feel like a distant memory.
Rondon, 25, received just one plate appearance with the O’s after being claimed off waivers out of the White Sox organization. He’d previously batted .197/.265/.282 in Chicago before being designated for assignment. Rondon is a versatile infield defender but hasn’t received strong grades for his small sample of innings at shortstop. He’s a lifetime .264/.300/.463 in 508 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.
Renato Nunez Drew Interest At Trade Deadline
- Orioles designated hitter/corner infielder Renato Nunez drew some interest prior to the trade deadline, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. The Orioles wound up keeping Nunez, a May 2018 waiver claim who has taken advantage of regular playing time this year to hit .246/.313/.486 with 25 home runs in 434 plate appearances. Nunez, 25, won’t be eligible for arbitration until after next season.
Orioles Outright Nate Karns
Right-hander Nate Karns cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Orioles and was sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk, per the International League’s transaction log. Karns does have enough service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, but doing so would mean surrendering the remainder of this season’s $800K salary, so he’ll likely remain with the organization.
Karns, 31, was the Orioles’ only Major League signing of the 2018-19 offseason, but he hasn’t been healthy enough to factor into the team’s plans in the Majors. A forearm strain landed Karns on the injured list in early April and has proved difficult to move past. He’s tallied just 5 1/3 innings in the Majors this season, with another 10 1/3 innings pitched on a minor league rehab assignment. Karns didn’t allow a run in his tiny stretch of MLB work, but he’s yielded 10 runs on 10 hit and 10 walks with five strikeouts during his rehab efforts.
Back in 2015, Karns tossed 147 innings of 3.67 ERA ball for the Rays and looked to be an interesting, controllable piece of their staff. He was traded to the Mariners in the Logan Morrison deal, however, and then flipped to the Royals for Jarrod Dyson after struggling in his lone Seattle season. Karns pitched 45 1/3 innings with Kansas City before undergoing thoracic outlet surgery and missing the entire 2018 season. At this point, he’s spent time on the 60-day IL in each of the past four big league seasons.
