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Orioles Claim Ryan Eades

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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.

AL Notes: O’s, Davis, Yanks, Torres, A’s, M. Chapman

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A quick look around the American League…

  • 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.
  • Second baseman Gleyber Torres was not in the lineup for the Yankees’ latest win, but the club’s not planning to put him on the injured list, per George A. King III of the New York Post. Although Torres exited the Yankees’ victories Sunday and Tuesday because of core issues, tests on the 22-year-old didn’t reveal anything serious, manager Aaron Boone said. Torres underwent an MRI for a sports hernia and other strains Wednesday, but no cause for his recent problems was discovered.
  • Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman has collected two hits and 19 strikeouts in his last 47 at-bats, perhaps because he’s dealing with knee and ankle issues. Chapman has been battling soreness in those spots, manager Bob Melvin revealed Wednesday (via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). The superstar exited a game early with left ankle soreness on July 18, at which point he was slashing .279/.363/.522 on the season. Now, thanks to his ice-cold stretch, Chapman’s hitting .252/.340/.504.

Orioles Release Nate Karns, Outright Jose Rondon

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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.

AL Notes: Yankees, O’s, R. Nunez, Mariners, Felix

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Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres left the team’s game Tuesday with a potential injury, per George A. King III of the New York Post. It’s the second time since Sunday that Torres had to exit with a possible ailment, as he departed the club’s game that night with what manager Aaron Boone called “a core issue.” Torres was subsequently cleared of a sports hernia – which teammate Luke Voit is dealing with – and was in the Yankees’ starting lineup Monday and Tuesday. The team’s now once again left to hold its breath that Torres will be fine. The Yankees, to their credit, have withstood one significant injury after another this year en route to an AL-best 73-39 record. Their success has come thanks in no small part to the 22-year-old Torres, who has slashed .281/.347/.505 with 23 home runs in 439 plate appearances. [UPDATE: Torres left with “core pain,” Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record was among those to report. He’ll return to New York to undergo more tests, Erik Boland of Newsday tweets.]

As for Voit, it’s still unknown whether he’ll undergo surgery, though an answer could come in the next week, Boone suggested Tuesday (via Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News). With time running out in the season, it’s possible Voit won’t be able to return until the playoffs – and perhaps not at all – if he does go under the knife, as Ackert points out.

Here’s the latest on two other American League teams:

  • 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.
  • Mariners infielder Tim Beckham received an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs Tuesday, but his time on their roster might have been on the verge of ending even before then. Although he still has a year of arbitration eligibility remaining, Beckham was a candidate for a designation for assignment, according to the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish. The Mariners could have cut Beckham to make room for outfield prospect Jake Fraley sometime soon, Divish reports. However, Fraley is dealing with a quad injury at the moment. The Mariners will need to add Fraley to their 40-man roster if they do promote him, but they have four openings right now. The club acquired Fraley from the Rays in last offseason’s Mallex Smith/Mike Zunino trade.
  • Sticking with the Mariners, injured outfielder Mitch Haniger and starter Felix Hernandez are progressing in their recoveries, Greg Johns of MLB.com explains. Haniger, out since June 7 with a ruptured testicle, is closing in on a rehab assignment, manager Scott Servais said Tuesday. And Hernandez, whom right shoulder problems have kept from the majors since May 11, will make a second rehab start Thursday. The 33-year-old King Felix may be able to return in late August, Johns notes, which could give the pending free agent and Mariners legend a chance to say goodbye to the franchise and its fans.

Orioles Outright Nate Karns

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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.

Injury Notes: Heaney, Means, Elias, A’s

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While there was an unfortunate spate of injuries covered at MLBTR yesterday, a few more have emerged in recent hours:

  • Angels’ left-hander Andrew Heaney will throw a 60-pitch simulated game Monday, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Assuming that goes according to plan, Heaney could take the mound for the Halos next weekend in Boston, as the organization isn’t planning on sending him on a minor-league rehab assignment. Heaney, who was placed on the injured list two weeks ago with shoulder inflammation, hasn’t had a banner season, pitching to a 5.09 ERA over nine starts despite a strong 27.3% strikeout rate, as he’s been particularly susceptible to the home run ball (1.76 HR/9).
  • The Orioles are also set to welcome back a left-handed starter in the coming days. Manager Brandon Hyde tells Joe Trezza of MLB.com that All-Star John Means will be activated from the injured list to take the mound Wednesday. Means will miss just more than the 10-day minimum, having hit the shelf with rotator cuff inflammation in his throwing arm July 26. The previously-unheralded 26 year-old has emerged as the club’s best starter in 2019, working to a 3.12 ERA. While it’s tough to imagine him continuing that level of run prevention with a below-average 19.3% strikeout rate and 34.9% ground ball rate, Means is a volume strike-thrower who looks like a solid back-end starter, a welcome find for the pitching-starved club.
  • Nationals left-handed reliever Roenis Elías has “tweaked his hamstring,” tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. There’s no indication yet the injury is serious, but any Elías absence would be a blow to his new employer, who acquired him from the Mariners for two relief pitching prospects at the trade deadline. A fly ball pitcher, Elías has given up his share of home runs this season and is fortunate to be carrying a 3.59 ERA, but he’s still one of the better pieces in a Washington bullpen that has been the worst in baseball at preventing runs.
  • Melissa Lockard of the Athletic provides updates on a pair of A’s prospects (via Twitter). Triple-A catcher Sean Murphy, a gifted defender with some raw power, recently re-aggravated a preexisting meniscus tear. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any new damage- just some pain and swelling- and Murphy could return to action by the end of August. More encouragingly, top left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo threw a simulated game this week as he looks to work his way back from a lat strain. Like Murphy, Luzardo has played his way to Triple-A and looked like he may be able to help the big league club this season before his injury.

Orioles Claim Ty Blach, Designate Jose Rondon

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The Orioles have claimed left-hander Ty Blach, MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports. Blach was designated for assignment by San Francisco a week ago. INF Jose Rondon was designated for assignment to make room.

Blach, 28, was a reasonably productive swingman for the 2016-18 versions of the club, with numbers slightly inflated (per fWAR and other metrics that rely heavily on park factors) by the enormous dimensions of SF’s Oracle Park. The lefty, who’s posted the league’s lowest strikeout total since his debut in late 2016, threw up a solid 3.84 FIP in 47 appearances (13 starts) for the Giants last season, a performance that ostensibly wasn’t enough to curry favor with the new regime. He’s spent much of the this season trying to survive in the PCL, where his 5.93 ERA/5.26 FIP are actually respectable totals in the harrowing offensive climate that dots the league’s landscape.

It’s possible the soft-tosser steps right into an embattled Baltimore rotation, which treats cast-offs, fringe prospects, and former stalwarts all the same. Blach’s career 50% grounder rate should play well in the miniaturized dimensions of Camden Yards, though he won’t be afforded the same heavy-air cushion he was at Oracle. Still, it’s as good of opportunity as could be hoped for 28-year-old, who’d likely have returned to Triple-A in most organizations around the league.

Rondon, 25, was a promising utility prospect in the Padres system from 2014-17, but hit the skids in the high minors and couldn’t steady himself after transitioning to the AL with the White Sox. Rondon did post a solid 102 wRC+ in limited action for the Pale Hose last season, but his .197/.265/.282 ’19 line wasn’t enough to keep him in the organization. He appeared in just a single game for the Orioles; the club’ll obviously hope he clears waivers and can be outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk.

John Means Hires Wasserman Agency

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Breakout Orioles left-hander John Means has hired the Wasserman Agency to represent him, as MLBTR’s own Tim Dierkes reports on Twitter. Agent Sam Samardzija will take the lead in handling Means’s business.

[RELATED: MLBTR Agency Database]

The 26-year-old Means came into the pro ranks as an 11th-round pick. He took a steady path to the majors, never really standing out as a particularly notable organizational prospect. But he cracked the bigs in 2018 and earned a longer look with the rebuilding O’s this spring.

Giving Means a full audition proved wise for the new Baltimore front office. He has rewarded the organization with 98 frames of 3.12 ERA pitching, with 7.2 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9, while picking up a rare rookie All-Star nod. Means still has quite a bit to prove — ERA estimators are far less bullish than his results — but he has been able to induce a good bit of mediocre contact to this point. Statcast credits him with a .299 xwOBA-against that’s nearly identical to the .298 wOBA produced by opposing hitters.

Having cracked the Orioles roster to open the present season, Means will end the year with a full season of service (plus a few days from last year). That puts him on course to potentially reach arbitration in advance of the 2022 season.

Of more immediate concern, it seems Means has bounced back well from a minor recent arm issue. As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter, the Baltimore southpaw is expected to throw a full bullpen session in the coming days. He hopes to come off of the IL to take a start next Tuesday or Wednesday.

AL East Notes: Lowe, Mancini, Fisher

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The Rays’ decision to option Nate Lowe back to Triple-A Durham following the trade deadline was a “very tough call,” manager Kevin Cash tells Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. With the acquisition of Jesus Aguilar, however, the Rays had three first basemen on the roster and Ji-Man Choi’s lack of minor league options once again came into play. Tampa Bay seems loath to risk losing Choi on waivers, but Lowe has handily outperformed him at the plate so far, hitting .294/.362/.510 to Choi’s .265/.361/.423. Choi has shown better knowledge of the strike zone, but Lowe nevertheless appears to be the better offensive option between the two (even if he’s had some good fortune in terms of a .362 average on balls in play). Cash expects that Lowe will be back up with the club “soon,” but that redundancy will eventually be an issue the Rays need to address.

More out of the AL East…

  • Trey Mancini remains in Baltimore after the trade deadline, but the decision not to move him doesn’t mean an extension is the next step for the slugger. “Looking at contract extensions is just not at the forefront of my plate right now,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias tells MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, “but certainly he’s an attractive guy to have here for a while.” It’s not the first time that Elias, hired to spearhead the Orioles’ rebuild this offseason, has suggested that he views Mancini as a potential long-term piece. But Mancini is already controlled through 2022 — his age-30 season. Given that he won’t even reach arbitration until this winter, there’s simply not much urgency to extend Mancini, even if he’s in the midst of the best season of his young career. Through 443 plate appearances, Mancini has posted a robust .282/.343/.539 slash (130 OPS+) with a career-high 25 home runs. Elias also praised the recent play of outfielder Anthony Santander the manner in which he has begun to establish himself as a viable big league hitter.
  • The Blue Jays have a crowded outfield mix, but newly acquired Derek Fisher is going to get regular playing time and an opportunity to establish himself as a fixture in the Toronto outfield, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes. Most of Fisher’s reps will come in center or right field, as Toronto doesn’t want to disrupt Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s transition to left field (or his offensive breakout). That leaves Fisher, Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk and Billy McKinney vying for playing time between center, right and occasional reps at DH. Hernandez has been on an otherworldly tear, clubbing seven homers and three doubles in his past 15 games, which should help to keep him in the lineup. If there’s to be an odd man out, McKinney seems the likeliest candidate, given that he has minor league options remaining. But the semi logjam also serves as a reminder that Randal Grichuk hasn’t performed anywhere near as well as hoped in the first season of the head-scratching extension to which the Jays signed him back in April. He’s played solid defense, but Grichuk hasn’t exactly seized an everyday role with his .232/.290/.418 batting line.

Mark Trumbo Could Retire After Season

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It’s possible we’ve seen the last of longtime major league slugger Mark Trumbo. Out all season on account of right knee problems, Trumbo has halted his rehab assignment because of “discomfort” and is now aiming for a September return, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. Regardless of whether he makes it back this year, Trumbo could elect to retire at season’s end, Kubatko writes.

Asked about his future, Trumbo said: “I don’t know. Probably going to have to see a little bit of improvement with the health. If the symptoms don’t subside, it will probably be pretty tough, but if I can get some relief and feel like I did a few years ago, I think it would be something worthwhile.”

We’re nearing the one-year anniversary of Trumbo’s September 2018 knee surgery. The joint troubled Trumbo throughout last season prior to the procedure, and it hasn’t responded as hoped since he went under the knife. Trumbo divided 2018 among three positions – designated hitter (his primary spot), right field and first base – and slashed .261/.313/.452 (107 wRC+) with 17 home runs in 358 plate appearances. That was a step up from the output Trumbo offered in 2017, the first season of a three-year, $37.5MM contract.

In 2016, Trumbo’s initial season as an Oriole, the former Angel, Diamondback and Mariner racked up a major league-best 47 homers. That convinced the Orioles to bring him back after a long standoff in free agency, but thanks to knee issues and unspectacular performance, the deal has been a failure for the O’s. Of course, the club has launched a full rebuild since re-upping Trumbo, so it wouldn’t make much difference in the standings if he were hitting at peak levels.

Should Trumbo attempt to continue his career past this season, it’s fair to wonder whether the soon-to-be 34-year-old will draw much of any interest on the open market. Even without his knee factored in, free agency hasn’t been kind of late to defensively limited 30-somethings. Trumbo was never an asset in the outfield even before injuries derailed his career, and it now seems probable he’ll be stuck at DH if he does stay in the game. With that in mind, it’ll likely be difficult for him to find work.

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