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Orioles, Dodgers Have Discussed Tarik Skubal With Tigers

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The Orioles and Dodgers are “engaged in talks” with the Tigers regarding a trade for All-Star left-hander Tarik Skubal, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. This comes after a previous report from Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated, which suggested that Baltimore and L.A. were interested in Skubal but did not confirm the Tigers were entertaining offers for the Cy Young contender.

Both the Orioles and Dodgers have already made it crystal clear they are seeking to add starting pitching ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. Before the All-Star break, Orioles GM Mike Elias expressed interest in adding a starter with multiple years of club control. Meanwhile, the Dodgers have reportedly already made an offer to the White Sox for Garrett Crochet, and Alden Gonzalez of ESPN suggests that adding “a front-of-the-rotation starter” remains their top priority. Crochet is still their number one target, per Gonzalez, though Skubal would be far more than just a consolation prize.

Baltimore and L.A. have been two of the top teams in the league this season, but both clubs have been hit hard by injuries to their starting rotations. The Orioles have lost Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells, and John Means for the season. Thus, their rotation has its fair share of question marks after Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez. Meanwhile, the Dodgers currently have names like Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler, and Dustin May on the IL. Glasnow and Kershaw are set to return this week, but given their injury histories, L.A. could use another top-of-the-rotation arm for the playoffs. Skubal certainly fits the description.

While it is noteworthy that the Tigers are engaged in discussions about trading Skubal, president of baseball operations Scott Harris might just be doing his due diligence. In other words, the fact that these teams are talking does not mean Harris is seriously considering any offers. Indeed, several sources seem to think it is still highly doubtful Detroit will trade Skubal this season. According to Nightengale, Detroit will only move Skubal if the front office is “overwhelmed” by an offer. Gonzalez reports that sources familiar with the Tigers’ thinking believe a trade is unlikely. Verducci’s source offered similar information, though added that “everything has a price.” Evidently, the Dodgers and Orioles are trying to find the price that will convince Scott Harris to trade away his best player.

The Yankees might also be trying to find that price, as Nightengale reports they would be willing to part with top prospect Spencer Jones to land a young ace like Skubal or Crochet. Previously, Jones was thought to be all but untouchable, but the Yankees might be getting more desperate for upgrades. They have gone 10-20 over their last 30 games, falling out of first place in the AL East. Their starting rotation has a league-worst 6.02 ERA in that time.

Jones, a towering, power-hitting outfielder, is widely considered a top-100 prospect in the game. It’s easy to understand why the Yankees would be hesitant to trade him, but it’s equally clear why the Tigers would command a prospect of that caliber in a package for a 27-year-old ace with two and a half years of club control remaining.

Skubal claimed the final spot on MLBTR’s ranking of the top 50 trade candidates for the deadline. His low ranking has nothing to do with his talent but rather reflects how unlikely he is to be dealt. Still, there is a good reason he was included on the list at all. Several contenders are sure to make a push to acquire Skubal, and if he is dealt, it could be the biggest blockbuster of the summer.

Notable Draft Signings: 7/19/24

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Friday saw a handful of top 10 picks put pen to paper, including #1 overall selection Travis Bazzana. We’ve already covered significant deals for Bazzana, Charlie Condon, Christian Moore and Seaver King this afternoon. A few more notable draft signings of the past 24 hours:

  • The Marlins agreed to a $3.4MM deal with first-round pick PJ Morlando, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (X link). That’s well shy of the approximate $4.7MM slot value of the 16th overall selection. While it’s somewhat rare to see a high school player sign for well below slot, the deal allowed Morlando to push into the middle of the first round. FanGraphs, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, Baseball America and The Athletic’s Keith Law each ranked the South Carolina commit between 33rd and 52nd in their pre-draft rankings. Evaluators credit the left-handed hitter with advanced contact skills and huge raw power that he shows mostly in batting practice. BA writes that Morlando entered the year as a potential top 10 pick but had a disappointing spring. Law suggests he’s likely to require a mechanical change in pro ball to better integrate his lower body into his swing. Morlando projects to left field or first base, putting a lot of pressure on him to maximize his offensive potential. The $3.4MM bonus falls between the slot values of the 25th and 26th picks, valuing Morlando as a late first-round talent.
  • The Braves are in agreement with 24th overall pick Cam Caminiti on a $3.5563MM bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline (X link). It’s full slot value for the Arizona prep left-hander. An LSU commit, Caminiti was the first high school pitcher off the board. Evaluators credit him with mid-90s fastball velocity and an advanced changeup. Law writes that the 6’2″ southpaw developed his curveball into an average or better offering this spring. There’s plenty of risk with the high school pitching demographic, but Caminiti has a chance to be a mid-rotation starter.
  • Supplemental first-round pick Griff O’Ferrall is in agreement with the Orioles on a $2.7MM bonus, Callis reports (on X). That’s just shy of the $2.84MM slot value for the 32nd pick. A shortstop from the University of Virginia, O’Ferrall was a divisive pre-draft prospect. McDaniel and Law each had the right-handed hitter among the 35 best players in the class. He ranked 49th at FanGraphs and 115th on Baseball America’s draft board. O’Ferrall makes a ton of contact, striking out just 24 times in 323 plate appearances (a 7.4% rate) in his draft year. He hit .324/.367/.454 with five homers over 63 contests as a junior. The more optimistic reports suggest O’Ferrall could be a regular at shortstop based on his bat-to-ball skills and an above-average glove. BA suggests his arm strength might push him to second base, where his minimal power upside could be more of a concern.

Latest On Mason Miller’s Trade Market

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There’s no bigger target on the relief market than A’s breakout closer Mason Miller. The All-Star righty begins the second half with a 2.27 earned run average through 39 2/3 innings. He has punched out 70 of 150 opponents (an absurd 46.7% rate) while locking down 15 of 17 save chances. Miller might be the most dominant relief force in the league at the moment.

Oakland general manager David Forst will receive no shortage of trade calls over the next week and a half. Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote last night that the Orioles are among the teams with interest in Miller. Heyman adds that Baltimore also remains connected to old friend Tanner Scott, to whom they’ve been linked for the better part of two months. The O’s are generally expected to land a high-leverage reliever who can either supplant Craig Kimbrel as closer or bridge the gap to the ninth inning.

The Marlins will almost certainly deal Scott, an impending free agent, by July 30. It’d be significantly harder to pry Miller from the A’s. He’s under club control for five seasons after this one. Even a rebuilding team is under no pressure to move him. Robert Murray of FanSided wrote this evening that executives outside of Oakland remain skeptical that the A’s will deal Miller. They’ll have an exorbitant asking price, at the very least.

Miller’s injury history is the main argument for the A’s to move him this summer. The 25-year-old missed most of the 2022 season battling shoulder problems. He lost the bulk of the ’23 campaign to a UCL sprain in his elbow. Miller throws as hard as anyone in baseball and has had a pair of extended arm-related absences within the last three years. There’s clearly some level of risk that he suffers another injury. The A’s are unlikely to be competitive before the 2026 season at the earliest, so Miller could make more of an immediate impact on a team with nearer playoff aspirations.

Yet as appealing as Miller already is as an elite closer, there’s a chance he improves his value even more in the next year or two. Miller was a starting pitcher in the minors and for his first few weeks in the big leagues. Oakland moved him to the bullpen this year as a means of keeping his innings in check. Forst said at the time of the bullpen transfer that the A’s might stretch Miller back out as a starter in 2025. It’d be tempting to keep him in the bullpen now that the team has seen how dominant he is in that role, but no one has ruled out a return to starting. Miller told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale last week that he’s not closing off the possibility of moving back to the rotation in ’25 or beyond.

Garrett Crochet has dramatically elevated his trade value with three months of ace production. There’s no guarantee Miller would take to a rotation move the way that Crochet has, of course, but it’s not hard to see the potential for him to be an impact starter. If he ran with a rotation opportunity next season, he’d further elevate his stock both within the organization and on the trade market.

Jerry Walker Passes Away

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The Orioles announced this morning that former All-Star pitcher Jerry Walker passed away over the weekend. He was 85.

Walker, a 6’1″ right-hander, signed with Baltimore out of East Central University in Oklahoma. Even though he was just 18 years old at the time, the O’s sent Walker straight to the big leagues. He remarkably managed a 2.93 ERA over 13 appearances (three starts) down the stretch in 1957. The O’s sent him down the following season and gave him nearly a full year in the minors to build up as a starting pitcher. In 1959, Walker got a shot at Baltimore’s rotation.

During his age-20 season, Walker turned in the best year of his career. He fired 182 innings of 2.92 ERA ball while recording 100 strikeouts. Between 1959-62, MLB hosted two All-Star Games per season. The American League tabbed Walker to open the second All-Star contest in 1959.

At 20 years and 172 days, he remains the youngest starting pitcher in All-Star Game history. (Just behind him on that list are Fernando Valenzuela, Dwight Gooden, Mark Fidrych, Vida Blue, yesterday’s NL starter Paul Skenes, and Denny McLain.) Walker started opposite Don Drysdale and got the win against a National League lineup that included Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks and Stan Musial.

Walker pitched one more season in Baltimore, working to a 3.74 ERA across 118 innings. The O’s traded him to the then-Kansas City A’s going into the 1961 campaign in a deal that netted them outfielder Dick Williams and reliever Dick Hall. Walker struggled over two seasons in the Kansas City rotation. The A’s eventually swapped him to the Indians for Chuck Essegian (who’d coincidentally gone to K.C. alongside Walker in the 1961 trade before being quickly sold to Cleveland). Walker worked out of the Cleveland bullpen for two seasons. He finished his playing career in the upper minors in 1967.

That preceded a much lengthier second act in various off-field roles. Walker worked as a scout, minor league manager and MLB pitching coach well into the 1980s. He worked his way up to general manager of the Tigers in 1993, leading the front office for one season in which the team went 85-77. Walker held roles in the Cardinals and Reds front offices into the 2010s.

Over parts of eight MLB campaigns, Walker turned in a 4.36 earned run average. He compiled a 37-44 record with 326 strikeouts across 747 innings. Walker tossed 16 complete games, seven of which came during the ’59 season in which he made All-Star history. MLBTR sends our condolences to Walker’s family, loved ones, and various former teammates and colleagues throughout the industry.

Corbin Burnes Named Starting Pitcher For American League All-Star Team

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Orioles right-hander Corbin Burnes has been named the starting pitching for the American League side in this year’s All-Star game, per announcements from Major League Baseball and the O’s. This will be his fourth All-Star selection but his first time starting.

Burnes, 29, has been one of the best pitchers in the majors in recent years. He spent most of his career with the Brewers but came to the O’s via an offseason trade. From 2020 to 2023, Burnes logged over 600 innings with Milwaukee, posting a 2.86 ERA in that time. He struck out 30.9% of batters faced, limited walks to a 7.1% clip and kept balls in play on the ground at a rate of 46.4%. He made the All-Star team in three straight years from 2021 to 2023 and won the National League Cy Young in the first season of that stretch.

Since coming over to the American League, he has largely continued in the same manner. Through 19 starts as an Oriole, he has a 2.43 ERA in 118 2/3 innings. His 23.3% strikeout rate is down relative to his past work but he’s also lowered his walk rate to 5.3% and increased his ground ball rate to 49.4%.

It was a bit questionable as to whether Burnes would be able to participate in the game as his wife recently gave birth to twins, but she apparently signed off on him appearing in the game, per Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic on X. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy is the skipper for the American League and mentioned the success of the O’s as well as the track record of Burnes as factors leading to his decision, per Jake Rill of MLB.com on X.

Burnes is in his final season of arbitration and will be a free agent at season’s end. He placed second on the most recent edition of the MLBTR Free Agent Power Rankings, trailing only Juan Soto of the Yankees.

Poll: Who Will Win The 2024 Home Run Derby?

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The 2024 All-Star break festivities are already well underway, with the Futures Game in the books and the second of three draft days currently taking place. Tonight, the Home Run Derby will take center stage at 7pm Central time, with these participants:

The winner will get $1MM, with $500K for the runner-up and $150K for everyone else in the field. There’s also a $100K bonus for the player who hits the longest home run. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won last year but opted not to defend his title, so there will be a new champion, though Alonso has two previous titles from 2019 and 2021 and will be looking for a third.

This year’s format will be different from previous versions, with Cole Jacobson of MLB.com providing a rundown. The primary change is that there will be no head-to-head matchups in the first round, as the four players with the most home runs will advance. If two players tie, the longest home run will be a tiebreaker. Previously, the knockout-style bracket system started right away but this year’s version won’t see that until the field has been narrowed to four. Once the knockout stage begins, ties will be settled by 60 seconds of extra time. If the players are still tied, they will engage in three-swing showdowns until they are no longer tied.

In the first two rounds, players with have three minutes, which drops to two minutes in the final round. The three-minute rounds will now have a 40-pitch maximum while the two-minute round will feature a 27-pitch maximum.

The bonus time is also different. Previous versions featured 30 seconds of automatic extra time, which jumped to 60 seconds if the player hit two or more home runs 440 feet or longer. This year, the bonus time will continue until a player record three “outs,” which is a swing that doesn’t result in a home run. If a player hits a home run 425 feet or longer in the bonus period, he will get a fourth out.

Of the eight players competing this year, Henderson has the most homers this year with 28. He is followed by Ozuna at 26, Ramírez at 23, Alonso and Hernández at 19, García at 17, Witt at 16 and Bohm at 11.

Who do you want to win and who do you think will win? Have you say in the polls below!

Who Do You Want To Win The 2024 Derby?
Teoscar Hernández 21.53% (1,921 votes)
Pete Alonso 18.42% (1,644 votes)
Gunnar Henderson 15.56% (1,389 votes)
Bobby Witt Jr. 11.35% (1,013 votes)
Marcell Ozuna 10.65% (950 votes)
José Ramírez 8.18% (730 votes)
Alec Bohm 7.31% (652 votes)
Adolis García 7.00% (625 votes)
Total Votes: 8,924
Who Do You Think Will Win The 2024 Derby?
Pete Alonso 25.99% (1,512 votes)
Teoscar Hernández 22.98% (1,337 votes)
Gunnar Henderson 14.01% (815 votes)
Marcell Ozuna 11.33% (659 votes)
Adolis García 8.44% (491 votes)
Bobby Witt Jr. 7.13% (415 votes)
José Ramírez 5.29% (308 votes)
Alec Bohm 4.83% (281 votes)
Total Votes: 5,818

Orioles Place Heston Kjerstad On Seven-Day Concussion IL

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The Orioles announced that outfielder Heston Kjerstad has been placed on the seven-day injured list for concussion-related injuries.  Outfielder Kyle Stowers was called up from Triple-A Norfolk to take Kjerstad’s place on the active roster.

The injury stems from a scary incident in last night’s 4-1 Orioles loss to the Yankees, as Kjerstad was hit in the head by a Clay Holmes fastball in the bottom of the ninth.  Both benches cleared in the aftermath of the HBP, only adding to the tension between the two AL East rivals in this important series.  Kjerstad naturally left the game after being hit, and though he was initially included in today’s lineup, he was a late scratch following the pregame workouts.

Since there was some idea that Kjerstad could’ve returned to the field today, it might imply that the IL placement is precautionary in nature.  Due to the upcoming All-Star break, Kjerstad would miss only three games if is able to return after the seven-day minimum, plus Baltimore also has an off-day on July 22 if the club wanted to give him a bit of extra recovery time.  Given the fluid nature of head-related injuries, it is also possible Kjerstad could miss far beyond seven days if he has indeed suffered a concussion.

Kjerstad made his MLB debut with 13 games in 2023, and the top prospect began this season in Triple-A before being recalled to the Orioles’ roster for about a three-week stretch bridging late April to mid-May.  He received only 17 plate appearances over seven games in that first stint, but has gotten much more playing time since his last recall on June 24, and has forced his way into regular action in the O’s lineup.  Kjerstad has hit .378/.465/.676 with three homers in 43 plate appearances since June 24, seeing action as a DH and in both corner outfield slots and almost exclusively facing right-handed pitching.

The left-handed hitting Stowers could essentially fit right into Kjerstad’s role on paper, and also like Kjerstad, Stowers is another former top prospect looking for playing time within the crowded Baltimore roster.  Appearing in each of the last three MLB seasons, Stowers has hit .222/.269/.365 over 167 career PA, though those numbers are weighed down by a dismal 33-PA performance in 2023.  This year, Stowers has a more respectable .286/.278/.486 slash line in 36 PA, and he has continued to mash at Triple-A.  Strikeouts remain a flaw in Stowers’ game, but he can provide the O’s with some power potential at least until Kjerstad is back.

Orioles GM Mike Elias Discusses Trade Deadline, Holliday, Mayo

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Orioles GM Mike Elias spoke to reporters prior to this afternoon’s game against the Yankees and touched on a number of topics, including the club’s needs and goals ahead of the trade deadline as well as the status of two of the club’s key, upper-level prospects: infielders Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo. As noted by Roch Kubatko of MASN, Elias suggested to reporters that both Holliday and Mayo figure to factor into the club’s plans as “big contributors” in the second half this year.

Holliday, of course, is the consensus top prospect in the entire sport and got a brief cup of coffee at the big league level earlier this year. The 20-year-old looked overmatched in the majors at the time, slashing just .059/.111/.059 in 36 trips to the plate across ten games. He then returned to the Triple-A level and hit .252/.418/.429 over his next 40 games. That’s a solid overall slash line but a far cry from what Holliday had done in the past, especially looking at his production in early June, when he hit just .212 with a 26.7% strikeout rate and a .394 slugging percentage in ten games before being placed on the minor league IL due to what the club referred to at the time as a “barking” shoulder.

The young phenom returned to action after two weeks on the shelf and has looked more like himself at the plate, slashing a solid .250/.464/.425 in 12 games since returning. He’s been limited to appearances at DH since returning, but that restriction figures to come off soon as Elias told reporters (including Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball) this afternoon that Holliday will resume playing the field after the All-Star break. That should leave Holliday in line to take over a regular role at second base for the Orioles at some point in the second half.

Baltimore has been relying on a combination of Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo to fill out the infield mix, with Jordan Westburg playing second base on days Urias is in the lineup and third base on days Mateo is in the lineup. Holliday’s arrival would likely open the door for Westburg to settle in at the hot corner on a more permanent basis while shifting both Urias and Mateo into bench roles. Of course, that infield picture figures to get complicated further by the introduction of Mayo, who Elias spoke of glowingly in conversation with reporters (including MLB.com’s Jake Rill) this afternoon.

“He is in an exceptionally good spot. We talk about him all the time,” Elias said of Mayo, according to Rill. “He’s very close. He’s going to help us this year. It’s just going to be about the right moment and the right opportunity and the right runway for something like that.“

Mayo’s readiness for a new challenge is all but undeniable at this point. The 22-year-old infielder posted a 127 wRC+ in 62 games at the Triple-A level last season and has followed it up with even stronger numbers this year. In 284 trips to the plate at Triple-A this season, Mayo has slashed an incredible .297/.380/.606 with a wRC+ of 147. While his 24.6% strikeout rate is perhaps a smidgen higher than is ideal, he more than makes up for the swing-and-miss with a 10.4% walk rate and a phenomenal 19 homers in just 63 games.

Talented as the slugger is, however, his roster fit in Baltimore is a difficult one to sort out. Mayo’s native position is third base, and that’s where he’s received almost all of his reps throughout the minors. With that being said, his defense has drawn mixed reviews and with Westburg likely to lock down the hot corner on an everyday basis upon Holliday’s ascension to the majors, that would leave Mayo on the outside looking in when it comes to reps at his natural position. Mayo has also received occasional time at first base, however, and it’s fairly easy to imagine him factoring in to the club’s first base/DH mix. Even that part of the roster is overcrowded, however, as Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn are currently splitting time there while Adley Rutschman also spends time at DH when not behind the plate and the club’s five outfield bats- Austin Hays, Anthony Santander, Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins, and Heston Kjerstad– vie for what’s left of the playing time available at DH when not patrolling the grass.

The Orioles’ overflow of positional talent could, of course, be lessened somewhat by trades in the run-up to the deadline on July 30. Elias told reporters (including Dubroff) that while the front office is largely focused on the draft, which will run from tomorrow until Tuesday, the club will turn its attention toward the upcoming deadline afterwards and will have the flexibility to add payroll as they pursue additions. Kubatko adds that while Elias did suggest that payroll could increase under the club’s new ownership group, that doesn’t mean it’s “definitely” going to happen this summer and that the front office plans to be “disciplined” in their spending going forward, even as the purse strings loosen relative to where payroll had been under the Angelos family. Of course, even just reaching the vicinity of peak payroll under the Angelos family, which Cot’s Baseball Contracts lists as just under $165MM back in 2017, would offer the Orioles plenty of room to work with this summer and headed into the offseason.

In terms of specific needs, Elias acknowledged (as relayed by Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun) that adding a starting pitcher with multiple years of team control would be a “big bonus” for the club as they stare down an offseason where they’ll need to fill out an Opening Day rotation where only Grayson Rodriguez, rookie Cade Povich, and struggling righty Dean Kremer can be reliably penciled in thanks to the pending free agencies of John Means and Corbin Burnes as well as surgeries underwent by Means, Kyle Bradish, and Tyler Wells that figure to sideline them into 2025. Attractive as the addition of a controllable arm would be, however, Weyrich goes on to note that Elias made clear the club will be “approaching this deadline with 2024 front and center.”

A look at MLBTR’s Top 50 Trade Candidates for the summer will reveal a list littered with potential options that feature multiple years of control, ranging from breakout White Sox star Garrett Crochet and veteran righty Erick Fedde, to Rockies hurlers Cal Quantrill and Austin Gomber, and even Rays starters Zach Eflin and Zack Littell. While an intradivision trade with Tampa seems somewhat unlikely, the Orioles certainly have the farm system to acquire virtually any player they set their sights on, even without parting ways with Holliday or Mayo.

That said, it’s certainly feasible that the club could look to acquire shorter-term pitching options as well. Right-hander Jack Flaherty is the top rental pitcher on the market this summer and seems like a less than ideal fit after he struggled to a 6.75 ERA down the stretch with Baltimore last year, but hurlers like Frankie Montas, Michael Lorenzen, and Trevor Williams could also be available this summer as pure rentals depending on the competitiveness of their respective clubs in the run-up to the deadline. It would also hardly be a surprise to see the Orioles attempt to beef up a bullpen mix that recently lost left-hander Danny Coulombe to surgery that will keep him out of action until at least September.

Orioles Select Vinny Nittoli

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1:07pm: The Orioles have announced the selection of Nittoli’s contract. In corresponding moves, left-hander Cade Povich was optioned to Triple-A and Coulombe was transferred to the 60-day IL.

8:45am: The Orioles are selecting the contract of right-hander Vinny Nittoli, as MASN’s Roch Kubatko reported this morning. The righty signed with the club on a minor league deal earlier this month. The club will need to make a corresponding 40-man move in order to add Nittoli to the roster, though that could be accomplished by transferring lefty Danny Coulombe to the 60-day injured list.

Nittoli, 33, was a 25th-round pick by the Mariners back in 2014 and has spent his decade in professional baseball largely as a minor league journeyman. After spending a few years in Seattle’s minor league system, Nittoli departed affiliated ball in 2017 and spent two years pitching in the independent American Association before catching back on in the minors. Over the course of his professional career, he’s suited up for the Mariners, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Phillies, Cubs, Mets, A’s, and now the Orioles at the Triple-A level. In all that time, however, he’s received only scattered playing time in the majors with 13 big league appearances to his name.

More than half of those appearances came with the A’s earlier this season. He pitched eight innings of work in total with Oakland, and performed to a strong 2.25 ERA with five strikeouts against two walks. The righty has actually received similarly brief cups of coffee in the major leagues in each of the last four seasons, having first made his big league debut with the Mariners back in 2021. In all, Nittoli sports a 3.07 ERA despite a lackluster 5.02 FIP and a strikeout rate of just 16.4% in 14 2/3 innings of work at the big league level.

Despite those relatively pedestrian numbers at the big league level, it isn’t hard to see why the Orioles would be interested in giving Nittoli a look at the big league level. He’s been nothing short of dominant at the Triple-A level this year with a 2.73 ERA in 26 1/3 innings of work split between the affiliates of Oakland and Baltimore. That already impressive figure is made all the more intriguing by the fact that the majority of those innings came in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, where the Athletics’ affiliate in Las Vegas plays. Nittoli has paired those strong run prevention numbers with an eye-popping 36% strikeout rate at the level this year, suggesting that there could be a meaningful improvement in skills to go along with the results.

Altogether, Nittoli’s resume is interesting enough for the Orioles to give him a shot in their bullpen mix. The club’s relief corps has been more or less league average this year, rankings 14th in baseball with a 3.84 ERA, but there’s certainly room for improvement ahead of the club’s back-end duo of Yennier Cano and Craig Kimbrel, particularly after Coulombe underwent surgery last month. Right-hander Bryan Baker, for example, can be optioned to the minors and has struggled to a 5.14 ERA and 4.38 FIP in 14 innings of work with the club.

Royals Trade Colin Selby To Orioles

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The Orioles announced Thursday that they’ve acquired right-hander Colin Selby from the Royals in exchange for cash. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Kansas City had recently designated Selby for assignment. The O’s transferred Kyle Bradish from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Selby, 26, pitched just three big league innings for the Royals this season, allowing a pair of runs in that short time. Kansas City acquired Selby from Pittsburgh back in April, sending minor league southpaw Connor Oliver to the Pirates in return. Selby pitched 24 innings with the Bucs last year but was tagged for 24 runs in that time. To date, he’s allowed 26 earned runs in 27 MLB frames.

Obviously, that’s a poor track record but also a small sample at the game’s top level. But the former 16th-round pick is no stranger to minor league success, having posted excellent numbers at the Double-A level in addition to some decent but inconsistent results in Triple-A. Selby notched a sub-4.00 ERA with a 30.8% strikeout rate for Pittsburgh’s Triple-A club last season but has struggled to a 5.32 ERA in 20 Triple-A frames between Indianapolis and Omaha this year.

Missing bats is nothing new for Selby, who’s punched out 25.6% of his career minor league opponents. That includes some lesser strikeout rates in the lower minors when he was still working as a starter. Since moving up to the Double-A level and shifting exclusively to a relief role, Selby has fanned 29.8% of the batters he’s faced. His bat-missing arsenal, as is often the case, is accompanied by troubling command woes, however. He’s dished out a free pass to 12.5% of his combined Double-A/Triple-A opponents and plunked another five hitters. Between those walks and HBPs, he’s given first base away to about 14% of the hitters he’s faced in the upper minors.

Selby is in the second of three minor league option years and doesn’t yet have a full season of MLB service under his belt. If the O’s can get him straightened out, he’ll be optionable again next season and under club control for a full six seasons. There’s quite a ways to go before that’s even a plausible situation, but Baltimore has a knack for coaxing strong relief work from unheralded acquisitions. Their track record isn’t spotless, of course, but the O’s have unlocked next-level performances from Yennier Cano, Danny Coulombe, Cionel Perez and Jacob Webb, among others, despite middling to nonexistent track records at their time of acquisition.

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