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Orioles Sign Adley Rutschman

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5:04pm: Rutschman’s deal is official, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com tweets. He signed for under slot at $8.1MM, according to Callis, who notes it surpasses the record $8MM the Pirates gave No. 1 overall pick Gerrit Cole in 2011.

9:27am: The Orioles are close to a deal with No. 1 overall draft pick Adley Rutschman, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). The former Oregon State catcher’s No. 1 overall slot carries a value of $8.42MM. Rutschman isn’t the only top O’s pick on whom there’s news today, however; MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports (also via Twitter) that the team’s second-rounder, Gunnar Henderson, has agreed to a deal worth $2.3MM. A high school shortstop out of Alabama, Henderson will receive a bonus that is well north of his No. 42 selection’s $1.771MM slot value.

Rutschman, 21, entered the draft as the consensus top talent on the board. The switch-hitter posted a ludicrous .411/.575/.751 batting line with 17 home runs, 10 doubles and a triple through 266 plate appearances in his junior season with the Beavers. Rutschman’s eye-popping batting average and considerable power numbers almost overshadow his plate discipline at first glance, but his 76-to-38 BB/K ratio is every bit as impressive as the rest of his numbers — if not more so.

Baseball America, MLB.com, Fangraphs and ESPN all ranked Rutschman as the top player in the 2019 draft. ESPN’s Keith Law noted that Rutschman’s defense and plus power give him a high floor with the ceiling of a repeated All-Star, while BA’s report touts him as a potential .300 hitter with plus defensive tools and “excellent” makeup and leadership abilities. Rutschman was the only player in the draft that Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen tabbed as a 60 FV (future value) player on the 20-80 scouting scale. Over at MLB.com, Callis and colleague Jonathan Mayo note that while some players who enter a season as a projected top talent struggle with that pressure and spotlight, Rutschman thrived and elevated his game en route to further cementing himself as this year’s best draft prospect.

Broadly speaking, Rutschman is regarded as a plus defender with power from both sides of the dish, strong plate discipline and a strong enough hit tool to post high batting averages as well. If all of that pans out, Rutschman has the makings of a franchise catcher for the new-look Baltimore front office.

Henderson, meanwhile, has yet to turn 18. Scouting reports were reflective of a split camp as to whether he can remain at shortstop or will need to move to third base down the road. MLB.com (No. 27) and Baseball America (No. 30) pegged him as a late-first-round talent, while ESPN (No. 40) and Fangraphs (No. 41) had him a bit lower. Henderson was Gatorade high school player of the year in Alabama and draws praise for his above-average power and the potential for an above-average hit tool. Henderson is young for his graduating class and still filling out his 6’3″ frame, leading to varying projections about his power potential and eventual defensive home. Even reports who project him to move to third base, though, suggest that he has the tools to be a quality defender there.

MLB Draft Signings: 6/23/19

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Here’s a look at the latest noteworthy draft signings, with the newest moves at the top of the post.  Click here for the full list of slot values and draft pool bonuses, and you can find prospect rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America’s Top 500,  Fangraphs’ Top 200, MLB.com’s Top 200, and the Top 50 of ESPN.com’s Keith Law….

  • Gunnar Henderson, the first pick of the second round (42nd overall), has decided to sign with the Orioles and will officially do so in a few days’ time, Maria Martin of WSFA 12 News reports (Twitter link).  Contract terms aren’t known, though the 42nd overall pick has a recommended slot price of $1,771,100 and Baltimore’s offer might well have exceeded that number to get Henderson to break his commitment to Auburn.  Henderson was ranked by MLB.com as the 27th-best prospect of the class, with BA (30th), Fangraphs (40th) and Keith Law (42nd) also giving high grades to the Alabama high schooler.  Henderson is praised for his hitting potential and some scouts feel he can remain at shortstop, though there is some thought that a move to third base is inevitable.

Orioles Outright Dan Straily

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Dan Straily has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. The club designated Straily on June 20.

There were unsurprisingly no takers via the waiver wire for Straily, who has struggled mightily since inking a major league deal worth $575K with Baltimore in early April. The 30-year-old Straily pitched to a 9.82 ERA/9.30 FIP with 6.23 K/9 and 4.15 BB/9 across 47 2/3 innings before the Orioles booted him from their roster. The club first tried switching Straily from its starting staff to its bullpen last month, but neither role has worked for him this season.

Straily’s fall from grace comes after a few useful seasons as a starter in the National League. He was effective in 2016 with the Reds, who brilliantly flipped him to the Marlins during the ensuing offseason in a trade that delivered Luis Castillo to Cincinnati. Straily then turned in a pair of decent seasons in Miami before the team released him prior to the current campaign.

Orioles Select Matt Wotherspoon

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The Orioles have selected the contract of righty Matt Wotherspoon from Triple-A Norfolk, the club reported. It’ll be the second O’s stint this season for the 27-year-old, who was outrighted off the 40-man after clearing waivers in April.

The former Yankee farmhand has exhibited consistent bat-missing ability after converting full-time to the bullpen before the 2016 season. In 40 1/3 IP for Norfolk this season, the righty set down nearly ten and a half men per nine with a solid 2.90 BB/9. Wotherspoon’s grounder rates do hover at the low end of the spectrum, though, and it’ll be a challenge to keep ball in yard in Baltimore’s hitter-friendly home park.

The move is the latest in the desperate quest for anything approaching reliability in the Baltimore ’pen. Among regulars, only Paul Fry and Shawn Armstrong have accrued 0.2 fWAR or more on the season, with over a half-dozen names having cost the club an estimated two full wins in ’19.

Injury Notes: Lowrie, Mancini, Marte

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Let’s check in on a few injury updates from around the league…

  • Jed Lowrie does not appear anywhere near a return for the Mets, as his left side hip and hamstring are both causing him some pain, tweets Deesha Thosar of the NY Daily News. The Mets maintain that Lowrie will play this season, but there’s no timetable for him to begin a rehab assignment. Given that Lowrie’s initial injury was a left knee capsule strain, it would seem Lowrie’s rehab has become a complex and dynamic healing process.
  • Trey Mancini returns to the lineup after nursing a sore elbow after getting plunked by Chris Bassitt of the A’s, per MLB.com’s Joe Trezza. Mancini, 27, is the Orioles likely all-star and best trade chip as of right now (.304/.361/.558), but he may also be their best chance to stop their current 9-game skid.
  • Good news for the Arizona Diamondbacks as Ketel Marte’s injury appears minor. He is day-to-day for now with a left groin cramp, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Marte’s health is crucial for the Diamondbacks if they are to stay in the hunt for the Wild Card. They are 2.5 games back entering play today, largely driven by Marte’s .309/.359/.586 season, his 20 home runs already 6 more than his previous career high.

Giants Claim Joey Rickard, Place Nick Vincent On 60-Day IL

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The Giants have claimed outfielder Joey Rickard from the Orioles, per a club announcement. He had been designated for assignment recently.

To create 40-man roster space, the club placed reliever Nick Vincent on the 60-day injured list. He has been sidelined for nearly a month already with a pec strain.

Rickard will become the latest outfielder to get a look with the San Francisco organization, though he could open up his tenure at Triple-A. He’s a .245/.299/.372 hitter through 924 career plate appearances in the majors.

As for Vincent, this move seems to take away any hope that he’d be a mid-summer trade piece for the Giants. Vincent had a great start to the year before hitting a rough patch in his last several outings. Even if he’s able to get back to health, the veteran righty won’t be eligible for activation until just before the trade deadline.

MLB Draft Signings: 6/20/19

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Here’s a look at the latest noteworthy draft signings, with the newest moves at the top of the post.  Click here for the full list of slot values and draft pool bonuses, and you can find prospect rankings and scouting reports from Baseball America’s Top 500,  Fangraphs’ Top 200, MLB.com’s Top 200, and the Top 50 of ESPN.com’s Keith Law….

  • The Orioles have signed Kyle Stowers, their pick from Competitive Balance Round B, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo reports (Twitter link).  Stowers signed for $884.2K, matching the recommended bonus price for the 71st overall pick.  Stowers received a pretty wide range of evaluations from draft pundits, with Fangraphs (32nd) rating the Stanford outfielder highest, Baseball America (102nd) putting Stowers outside their top 100 and MLB.com (78th) falling in between.  He has a big swing that has led to strikeouts in the past, though Stowers has shown some solid left-handed hitting and power potential.
  • The Angels signed third-rounder Jack Kochanowicz, Mayo tweets.  Kochanowicz signed for a hefty $1.25MM bonus worth almost twice the $637.6K slot price of the 91st overall pick, as the high school right-hander clearly needed a heavy incentive to break his commitment to Virginia.  BA (61st), MLB.com (75th) and Fangraphs (80th) all had Kochanowicz in their top 80, noting his 6’6″ height and potential for three plus pitches as he continues to develop.  This includes adding velocity to a fastball that already clocks in the low 90’s.

Orioles Designate Dan Straily, Place John Means On IL

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The Orioles have designated right-hander Dan Straily for assignment, as per a team announcement.  The move is one of a series of transactions for the O’s, as the club also placed southpaw John Means on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to June 17) with a left shoulder strain, reinstated Dwight Smith Jr. from the 10-day IL and recalled righty Evan Phillips from Triple-A.

Today’s news ends Straily’s brief time in Baltimore after 47 2/3 innings and a disappointing 9.82 ERA.  After the Marlins surprisingly released Straily near the end of Spring Training, the O’s inked the righty to a $575K one-year deal to fill a hole in their shaky rotation.  Unfortunately, Straily simply never got on track either as a starter or as a reliever, as his career-long flyball tendencies bit him especially hard at Camden Yards.  Straily has already allowed a whopping 22 homers during his brief time on the mound this season — for perspective’s sake, Dylan Bundy allowed a league-high 41 homers in 2018, though that was over 171 2/3 innings.

There was enough interest in Straily after his release from Miami that you would figure he’d get some looks now that he is on the market again, as the veteran posted decent numbers for the Reds and Marlins from 2016-18.  Another Major League contract doesn’t seem as likely, however, as Straily seems like a candidate for a minor league deal with a team that will try to iron out his flyball problems down on the farm.

In terms of pure results, Means has been the lone bright spot on the Orioles’ struggling rotation this year, with a 2.67 ERA, 2.81 K/BB rate, and 7.5 K/9 over 70 2/3 innings.  ERA indicators (4.08 FIP, 5.07 xFIP, 4.67 SIERA) hint at some serious regression, though Means hasn’t allowed much in the way of hard contract, with only a .309 xwOBA and .299 wOBA.

Quick Hits: C. Martinez, Rangers, Straily, Mercer

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Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez has been a highly capable starter for most of tenure with the club, which dates back to 2013. But the Cardinals moved the then-injured Martinez to their bullpen in late April, and that’s where he’s going to stay for the time being, per manager Mike Shildt (via Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Shildt suggested the Cardinals don’t have time to build up Martinez, who opened the season on the injured list with shoulder problems. “To put him back in that cycle again doesn’t make a lot of sense when he’s in a spot where he’s had success and he’s recovering,” Shildt said of Martinez, who has totaled 12 appearances and 13 1/3 innings with a 3.38 ERA/3.47 FIP, 8.1 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 58.3 percent groundball rate since he made his season debut May 18. Even though Martinez has posted good numbers as a reliever, the Cardinals’ rotation has missed the 27-year-old. Their starting staff has been mediocre or worse this season.

Here’s more from around the majors…

  • The Rangers were planning on giving left-hander Joe Palumbo a chance to audition for a role in their thin rotation, but that may not be the case anymore, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. The 22-year-old Palumbo has started twice, including in Wednesday’s 10-4 drubbing at the hands of the Indians. The Tribe lit up Palumbo for seven earned runs on six hits (two home runs) in two innings. Reliever Jesse Chavez came in after Palumbo and tossed five innings of one-run ball. Although Chavez, 35, hasn’t started extensively since 2017, the Rangers are so hard up for stability in the back of their rotation that they’ll “consider” shifting him there, manager Chris Woodward said.
  • Orioles righty Dan Straily’s place on the team’s roster may be in jeopardy, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com suggests. The low-risk flier the club took on Straily on April 5, a little over a week after the Marlins released him, hasn’t worked out to this point. Straily, 30, was coming off a multiyear run as a useful starter when he joined Baltimore, yet he has worked to a hideous 9.82 ERA/9.30 FIP in 47 2/3 innings since then. While Straily began 2019 as a starter, his struggles convinced the O’s to demote him to their bullpen nearly a month ago. Straily has fared even worse in that role.
  • Injured Tigers shortstop Jordy Mercer is nearing a rehab assignment and could return to the majors by the first week of July, according to manager Ron Gardenhire (via Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). Mercer, out since April 14 with a right quad strain, already began a rehab stint once. However, he suffered a setback three weeks ago and hasn’t returned to game action yet. When the rebuilding Tigers signed the soon-to-be 33-year-old Mercer to a $5.25MM guarantee in the offseason, they were likely hoping he’d perform well enough to emerge as a summer trade chip. Instead, the former Pirate got off to a brutal start – .206/.275/.317 (55 wRC+) in 69 plate appearances – and hasn’t played since.

Orioles Designate Joey Rickard, Select Sean Gilmartin

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The Orioles announced today that they have designated outfielder Joey Rickard for assignment. That creates a roster opening for the team to select the contract of lefty Sean Gilmartin.

Both of these players are former Rule 5 picks who managed to stick it out in the majors with their new teams. In each case, the initial hope faded over the long term.

Rickard, 28, has slashed just .203/.304/.347 in his 135 plate appearances on the season and hasn’t fared much better over the scope of his MLB career. As for Gilmartin, he has bounced around and failed to find steady work in the majors since a strong rookie year. He has pitched to a 2.48 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 36 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2019.

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