Scouts from the Yankees, Orioles, Royals, Angels, Blue Jays and Cardinals were in Colorado watching White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana pitch on Saturday, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Some of those teams likely don’t have the prospect capital to assemble a package for the on-the-block Quintana, so observing his outing may have been due diligence in certain cases (or those clubs could’ve been on hand to scout other players). Regardless, Quintana didn’t disappoint, striking out 10 over 5 1/3 innings, after which he indicated that his preference is to remain with the White Sox. At the same time, Quintana acknowledged that the decision is up to team brass. “Absolutely. I want to stay here,” he said.“But they know what’s the best for us, so I just try to do my job and that’s it.”
Orioles Rumors
Orioles Undecided On Deadline Approach
- The scuffling Orioles are unsure how they’ll approach the deadline, general manager Dan Duquette informed Rosenthal. By selling, they’d gain access to much-needed young talent, Rosenthal observes. The O’s essentially punt on international spending, evidenced recently by multiple trades that have seen them relinquish international bonus slots for run-of-the-mill minor leaguers, and Rosenthal explains that they turned in an unimpressive performance in the draft this year. So, to help restock its young talent pool, Rosenthal contends that Baltimore should shop closer Zach Britton, arguing that certain championship hopefuls would eagerly pursue a healthy version of the left-hander. Britton hasn’t been the picture of health this year, though, having landed on the disabled list multiple times (including a 60-day stint) on account of forearm issues.
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Orioles Designate Paul Janish For Assignment
The Orioles have designated infielder Paul Janish for assignment, the club announced. The move creates roster space for Chris Tillman, who was reinstated from the paternity list.
[Updated Orioles depth chart at Roster Resource]
This is the fourth time that Janish has been designated for assignment in his two-plus seasons in the Orioles organization, and he was also outrighted off the 40-man roster last June. Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets that the Orioles are hoping Janish will continue to remain in the organization, as this latest DFA was something of a roster crunch. Janish still has a minor league option remaining, while fellow utility infielder Ruben Tejada does not.
Janish has appeared in 42 games in an O’s uniform, serving as bench depth at shortstop, third base and second base in various short-term stints while amassing just 99 plate appearances since the start of the 2015 season. Known more for his defense and versatility than his bat, Janish has a .212/.280/.284 slash line over 1305 career PA with the Orioles, Braves and Reds since 2008.
Orioles Fail To Sign Fourth-Round Draft Pick
- The Rays failed to sign supplemental first-round draft pick Drew Rasmussen, as MLB.com’s Jim Callis first tweeted. It seems that Rasmussen will not be turned loose in free agency, as John Manuel of Baseball America writes; instead, he’ll likely head back to Oregon State for his senior year. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, is still hoping the league will award it a compensatory pick in next year’s draft. (While the organization did not make a sufficient offer to do so, it feels that there were issues with Rasmussen’s pre-draft MRIs.) Meanwhile, Orioles fourth-rounder Jack Conlon will be granted unrestricted free agency after going unsigned, as BA’s Hudson Belinsky explains. That gives him the option of signing on with any MLB organization — without being capped by bonus pools — or instead heading to college. Angels fifth-rounder Joe Booker was the only other player from the first ten rounds of the draft to go unsigned, as Belinsky tweeted he’ll instead honor a commitment to South Alabama.
Brewers Acquire International Signing Slots From Orioles
The Brewers have picked up multiple international signing bonus slots from the Orioles, per a Baltimore announcement. It’s not clear just how many or which of the O’s remaining slots were moved in the deal.
Heading to the O’s in the swap is righty Aaron Myers. The 23-year-old owns a 4.37 ERA with 9.5 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 over his 35 innings on the year at the Class A level.
This is the latest step taken by Baltimore to trade in its international spending capacity rather than utilizing it to sign amateur players. Recently, the team pulled off a similar deal with the Mets.
Orioles Designate David Washington, Select Johnny Giavotella
The Orioles have announced a series of roster moves today. Baltimore has selected the contract of infielder Johnny Giavotella, optioning lefty Jayson Aquino and designating first baseman/outfielder David Washington for assignment to create roster space.
Giavotella, 29, will appear in the majors for the seventh consecutive season. Over that span, he has compiled a.256/.295/.361 batting line over 1,334 total MLB plate appearances. The biggest chunk of that time came over the past two seasons, when Giavotella saw regular duties at second for the Angels before being demoted and then cut loose last year.
As for the 26-year-old Washington, this season brought his first taste of the big leagues. He stayed up only briefly, however, failing to register a hit in six plate appearances. Washington has hit quite well at Triple-A, as he did in 2016, with a .282/.336/.510 slash and 13 home runs in his 277 plate appearances.
Orioles Activate Zach Britton
The Orioles activated closer Zach Britton on Wednesday, when he was first eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list. The left-hander had been on the shelf since early May with a forearm strain. Britton has been on the DL twice this year on account of forearm issues, which has limited him to just nine appearances. He took the mound Wednesday for the first time since May 4, working around a single and a walk to toss a scoreless inning.
Orioles Acquire Milton Ramos From Mets
The Orioles have acquired shortstop Milton Ramos from the Mets for international signing bonus slots, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link).
Baltimore, which is known for largely eschewing the international market, has now acquired several players in 2017 in exchange for bonus slots. After this year’s international signing period opened Sunday, the Orioles landed pitchers Matt Wotherspoon and Jason Wheeler from the Yankees and Dodgers, respectively. Previously, the O’s picked up the likes of Damien Magnifico, Paul Fry and Alex Katz for international spending space earlier this season.
The 21-year-old Ramos, who topped out as Baseball America’s 19th-best Mets prospect after the 2015 campaign, has hit just .242/.296/.312 at the lower levels of the minors since New York chose him in the third round of the 2014 draft. He owns a .227/.272/.276 line in 197 plate appearances at Single-A this season. He’ll remain at that level with the Orioles, per Kubatko.
It’s unclear how much international money the Orioles have traded away during the current period, but they opened the proceedings with $5.75MM. The Mets entered Sunday with $4.75MM to work with and have since agreed to use a combined $3.6MM on Dominican shortstops Ronny Mauricio and Adrian Hernandez.
Chris Davis Nearing Rehab Assignment
- Also nearing a rehab stint is Orioles first baseman Chris Davis. As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes, Davis says his injured oblique is cooperating as he begins ramping up baseball activities. He’s slated for a minor-league assignment over the All-Star break; so long as he progresses, he might be back to the big leagues shortly thereafter.
Latest On Orioles' Pitching Problems
- Last summer’s trade of Wade Miley for Ariel Miranda last summer hasn’t worked out for the Orioles, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com writes, though Connolly notes that the deal is a microcosm of larger problems for the O’s. Since the Orioles have been unable to both develop their own starting pitching and build up a good stockpile of minor league talent, the team has been forced to settle for middle-of-the-road acquisitions like Miley rather than a starter that could provide a clear rotation upgrade. Connolly writes that the Orioles will likely pursue a similar move at this trade deadline if they choose to address their still-struggling pitching staff. It also doesn’t help that Miranda has pitched well for the Mariners this year and is far cheaper than Miley with more years of control, though Connolly notes that Miranda was seen as “a fringe big leaguer” by many, and Miranda’s performance is perhaps boosted by Safeco Field (as per his stark home/away splits).
