MLBTR Podcast: Scott Servais, Perry Minasian, The Orioles’ Rotation, And Joey Votto
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- Mariners fire Scott Servais, hire Dan Wilson as manager (1:30)
- Angels extend general manager Perry Minasian (10:50)
- Orioles optioned Trevor Rogers to the minors amid other rotation challenges (23:15)
- Reds legend Joey Votto announces retirement (33:15)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- In my opinion, Max Fried‘s 2024 has cost him $100MM+ due to injury and some weirdly shaky games/random innings. Do you agree and does this make him more/less likely to re-sign with the Braves? (41:40)
- Appears Justin Verlander will not hit the 140 innings pitched needed for his $35MM vesting option for 2025, making him a free agent at the end of the season. What kind of market can we expect for Verlander? What teams interested, salary, contract length. (50:20)
Check out our past episodes!
- Who Could Get Waived, Potential Rule Changes, Austin Riley, And Hector Neris – listen here
- The White Sox Fire Their Manager, Víctor Robles Extended, And The Marlins’ Front Office – listen here
- Fallout From The Trade Deadline And Mike Trout Injured Again – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Orioles, Nick Anderson Agree To Deal
Aug. 28: It’s a minor league pact, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. However, Kubatko adds that the Orioles plan to get Anderson up to the big leagues in short order, so a 40-man roster move to select his contract could be on the horizon in the next few days.
Aug. 27: Reliever Nick Anderson is joining the Orioles after opting out of a minor league deal with the Dodgers, reports Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (X link). It is not clear whether the righty will jump right onto Baltimore’s MLB roster or is signing a minor league pact to report to Triple-A Norfolk.
Anderson, a client of Gaeta Sports Management, spent around five weeks in the Dodger system. He signed with L.A. after being released by the Royals coming out of the All-Star Break. He spent the first couple weeks of his stint with the Dodgers in the team’s Arizona complex. Los Angeles didn’t assign him to Triple-A Oklahoma City until August 10. Anderson pitched three times there, allowing three runs (one of which was earned) through 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five while issuing a trio of walks.
Prior to that abbreviated stint with the Dodgers, Anderson occupied a middle relief role in Kansas City. The 34-year-old worked to a 4.04 ERA across 35 2/3 frames. That tolerable run prevention mark belied less impressive peripherals. Anderson’s strikeout rate fell to a career-low 19% clip while he walked nearly 10% of opponents. He surrendered six home runs, more than 1.5 longballs per nine innings.
Anderson is only one season removed from a strong year with Atlanta. He provided the Braves 35 1/3 innings of 3.04 ERA ball while striking out a quarter of his opponents last season. That solid showing was cut short by a July shoulder strain, but Anderson’s velocity has returned in 2024.
While the O’s are in a good spot overall, their bullpen has been shaky for the better part of two months. The Baltimore relief corps has a 4.85 earned run average since the All-Star Break. Craig Kimbrel has fallen into a significant rut. Deadline pickups Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto have had some home run issues, while setup man Jacob Webb has been out for the last three weeks due to elbow inflammation. Baltimore has Burch Smith and Matt Bowman, each of whom joined the club on midseason minor league deals, in the middle relief group.
Orioles Place Ryan Mountcastle On IL, Release Nick Avila
The Orioles placed first baseman Ryan Mountcastle on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 23, this evening. Baltimore brought up utility infielder Livan Soto from Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move. The O’s also released right-hander Nick Avila, whom they’d designated for assignment last week.
Mountcastle departed last Thursday’s game with soreness in his left wrist. He sat out the final three games of Baltimore’s weekend series with the Astros. The O’s announced the injury as a sprain. Baltimore had a scheduled off day tonight. While it’s rare for a team to make an IL placement on an off day, there’s a three-day maximum for a retroactive IL stint. If the O’s had waited until tomorrow to put Mountcastle on the shelf, that would’ve delayed the retroactive start date to August 24.
That seems like an indication that it’s a minor issue. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s back when first eligible a week from now. Baltimore will likely turn to Ryan O’Hearn at first base with Eloy Jiménez at designated hitter in the interim. O’Hearn is having a strong season as the primary DH. Baltimore nevertheless brought in Jiménez in a surprising deadline swap. He has hit .304 in 18 games since the trade, yet it’s a fairly empty average. The former White Sox slugger has yet to hit a home run and drawn only a single walk in 57 plate appearances in an O’s uniform.
Mountcastle has been a good but not elite presence in the Baltimore lineup for the last four-plus years. He hit 33 homers in his first full season back in 2021. Since then, he has settled in as a 20-homer type bat. Mountcastle hits for good averages without taking many walks, generally resulting in slightly lower than average on-base marks. It has been more of the same in 2024. He’s hitting .265/.305/.425 with 13 longballs in 485 trips to the plate. Despite the decent overall production, he has been in a major slump of late. Mountcastle hit .225 with a .257 OBP and no homers this month.
Avila, 27, lost his spot on the 40-man roster when the Orioles called Cole Irvin back to the majors. Baltimore had claimed the 6’4″ reliever off release waivers from the Giants in June. Avila debuted with San Francisco earlier in the season, allowing 12 runs across 11 2/3 innings. He didn’t reach the big leagues with the Orioles. Avila was battling a shoulder injury at the time he was released by San Francisco. He didn’t return from the minor league injured list until the middle of August. He has not yet found his pre-injury form, giving up a staggering 10 runs while recording just four outs over three appearances with Triple-A Norfolk. Avila allowed just three earned runs per nine in 72 Triple-A frames last season.
Orioles Claim Brooks Kriske, Designate Nick Vespi For Assignment
The Orioles announced that right-hander Brooks Kriske was claimed off waivers from the Reds, then assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. As reported by MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko (X link) earlier today, left-hander Nick Vespi was designated for assignment to create an opening on Baltimore’s 40-man roster.
Cincinnati designed Kriske for assignment earlier this week, and the righty now returns to one of his former teams. Kriske posted a 12.27 ERA over four games and 3 2/3 innings with the Orioles in 2021, before the O’s released him following the season so Kriske could sign with the Yokohama BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball. After his season in Japan, Kriske returned to North America on a minors deal with the Royals and delivered a 4.05 ERA in 6 2/3 innings in 2023, before heading back to NPB for a brief stint with the Seibu Lions.
Kriske then signed a minors deal with the Reds this past winter, and didn’t see any big league action despite a brief stint on Cincinnati’s active roster back in June. He had a 3.10 ERA and eye-opening 36.7% strikeout rate in 49 1/3 innings at Triple-A Louisville, albeit with the red flags of an inflated 14.8% walk rate and a very favorable .205 BABIP. The numbers essentially continue the story of Kriske’s career, as the 30-year-old has long struggled with his control while also missing a lot of bats.
The resume was intriguing enough for the Orioles to bring Kriske in for another look in the organization, though if he does get called up to the majors, Kriske lacks some flexibility since he is out of minor league options. Vespi is in his final option year, and he has been recalled and demoted from Triple-A the maximum five times this season, which undoubtedly factored into Baltimore’s decision to send the southpaw to the DFA wire.
Vespi has frequently been shuttled back and forth between Baltimore and Norfolk during his three Major League seasons, as the O’s haven’t felt compelled to give Vespi an extended look despite some pretty solid performance. Vespi has a 3.88 ERA over his 53 1/3 career MLB innings, including a 2.92 ERA in 12 1/3 frames in 2024. In something of the inverse of Kriske, Vespi is a control specialist (5.9% walk rate in the bigs) who doesn’t record many strikeouts (20.9K%).
Strangely, Vespi’s walk rate has gone through the roof during his time at Triple-A this season, with a huge 15.9% walk rate contributing to his 7.71 ERA over 37 1/3 innings in Norfolk. Both the walk rate and the ERA seem like outliers against Vespi’s otherwise solid career record at the Triple-A level, and other teams might not be dissuaded from putting in a waiver claim to obtain his rights.
Orioles Outright Bruce Zimmermann
The Orioles announced this afternoon that left-hander Bruce Zimmermann has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A. The 29-year-old was designated for assignment earlier this week amid a flurry of roster moves that saw recently-acquired southpaw Trevor Rogers optioned to the minor leagues.
Zimmermann was selected by the Braves in the fifth round of the 2017 draft but was traded to the Orioles during the summer of 2018 as part of the package that brought Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to Atlanta. The lefty reached the Triple-A level the following year after dominating to the tune of a 2.58 ERA in 101 1/3 innings of work at Double-A earlier in the year, and that stint at the highest level of the minors teed him up for his big league debut with Baltimore during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. That debut didn’t go quite as well as Zimmermann and the Orioles were surely hoping for, however, as he struggled badly with a 7.71 ERA in his seven-inning cup of coffee that year.
The lefty enjoyed a larger role with the Orioles over the next two seasons as he stepped into a rotation role with the club, though he was limited to about half of a full season’s workload in both years by injuries and occasional trips to Triple-A. Zimmermann’s results were about what you’d expect from a part-time starter for a club in the midst of a lengthy rebuild, as he struggled to a 5.54 ERA that was 25% worse than league average with a 5.74 FIP across a combined 138 innings of work in those years.
Zimmermann was removed from the rotation entering the 2023 campaign and spent most of the campaign at the Triple-A level, although he did make a brief appearance in the big leagues as a multi-inning reliever that summer. He performed passably in the new role, with a below-average 4.73 ERA in his 13 1/3 innings of work but a solid 23% strikeout rate that stood as a considerable step up from his lackluster 17.4% strikeout rate during his time as a starter. The lefty has not yet appeared in the big leagues in 2024 after undergoing core muscle surgery last October, although he has made it back to the minor leagues where he’s pitched to a middling 4.64 ERA in 66 innings of work at the Triple-A level with a somewhat concerning 8.5% walk rate that’s quite a bit higher than the 5.2% clip he’s posted in the big leagues to this point in his career.
Now that Zimmermann is off the 40-man roster, he figures to remain with with Orioles as non-roster depth through the end of the season, at which point he’ll have the opportunity to elect free agency if he hasn’t been added back to the 40-man by then. The lefty is currently in his final option year, meaning that Baltimore would have the opportunity to shuttle him between Triple-A and the majors as needed down the stretch if they were to add him back to the roster at some point.
Mariners Claim Terrin Vavra, Designate Duke Ellis
The Mariners announced they’ve claimed infielder Terrin Vavra from the Orioles. Seattle designated outfielder Duke Ellis for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Vavra is a former Colorado draftee who went to Baltimore as a prospect in a trade that sent reliever Mychal Givens to the Rox. Vavra played briefly at the MLB level in 2022-23. The left-handed hitter combined for a .254/.331/.304 slash in 67 games. He showed decent plate discipline and contact skills with minimal power. That has been Vavra’s profile dating back to his college days at Minnesota.
Baltimore passed him through outright waivers last offseason. They reselected his contract around the trade deadline but didn’t get him into a game before optioning him back to Triple-A. Baltimore designated him for assignment earlier this week as the corresponding move to grab Emmanuel Rivera off waivers from Miami. Vavra has a .243/.350/.368 line in 178 Triple-A plate appearances this year. Primarily a second baseman, he also has a decent amount of experience at shortstop and in both corner outfield positions.
Ellis is a speed and defense outfielder who has bounced around this season. The Mets and Mariners successively claimed him after he was DFA by the White Sox in June. Ellis has barely played in the majors, picking up four at-bats in eight games with Chicago. The 26-year-old is hitting .235/.315/.336 in 273 minor league plate appearances on the year. He’ll land back on waivers in the coming days.
Orioles Option Trevor Rogers, Designate Bruce Zimmermann
The Orioles announced a series of roster moves today. Infielder Emmanuel Rivera, recently claimed off waivers, has been added to the roster. They also selected the contract of right-hander Matt Bowman and recalled lefty Nick Vespi. To open spots for those three, they optioned left-hander Trevor Rogers, right-hander Colin Selby and infielder Liván Soto to Triple-A Norfolk. To open a 40-man spot for Bowman, lefty Bruce Zimmermann has been designated for assignment.
Just over three weeks ago, the Orioles acquired Rogers from the Marlins in a pre-deadline trade, sending youngsters Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers to Miami. The O’s have been having a strong season overall but keeping the rotation intact has been a challenge. All three of Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells required surgery to address their respective ulnar collateral ligaments in their elbows earlier this year. To bolster the group, they added both Zach Eflin and Rogers prior to the deadline.
It was a buy-low situation with Rogers, who had posted a 2.64 earned run average with the Marlins in 2021 but struggled since. He dealt with various injuries in 2022 and finished that year with a 5.47 ERA. In 2023, he was only able to make four starts due to a left biceps strain and a partial tear in his right lat.
Here in 2024, he was healthy enough to stay on the mound, making 21 starts for the Fish prior to the deal. His velocity was down but the results were passable, as he had a 4.53 ERA in those 21 outings. A few days after the deal, the lefty said he had already received more analytical information relating to his pitch mix and mechanics than during his entire time with the Marlins, per Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner on X. Perhaps the O’s felt there was a path to getting Rogers back to his 2021 form via those analytics, or simply him getting healthier as he moved further away from his injuries.
It has not gone to plan so far, as Rogers hasn’t fared well in his first four starts with the O’s. He has allowed 15 earned runs in 19 innings, leading to a 7.11 ERA. His 13.3% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate are both well below league average and nowhere near his previous work.
It seems the O’s have decided that a reset in Triple-A is in order. Perhaps that will give him a chance to work on their suggested tweaks in a lower-stakes environment. He can still be retained via arbitration for two more seasons after this one, so they have some time to figure out a path forward. This isn’t a service time manipulation situation, as he already crossed four years of service time earlier this year.
Still, it’s obviously less than ideal for the club to be subtracting one of its key deadline pickups in the middle of a playoff race. The O’s are still in comfortable position with a 74-54 record, just half a game behind the Yankees in the East and currently possessing the top Wild Card spot. But the Royals and Twins are just 2.5 games back and the Red Sox trail the O’s by only six games, so nothing is set in stone with more than a month left to play.
The rotation continues to be an issue as now both Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez are on the injured list, Eflin due to some shoulder discomfort and Rodriguez due to a lat strain. With Rogers now intentionally removed from the mix, the rotation is now down to Corbin Burnes, Dean Kremer, Albert Suárez, Cole Irvin and Cade Povich. Burnes is great but there are plenty of questions with the others. Kremer and Irvin are essentially back-end guys, with the latter having been passed through waivers a few weeks ago, recently being added back to the roster. Suárez keeps putting up good numbers but is a 34-year-old journeyman who is in the majors for the first time since 2017. Povich has just nine major league starts and a 5.77 ERA in those.
Ideally, the club will be hoping to get Rodriguez and Eflin back for the end of the regular season and then the playoffs as well, but they will have to try to get by with this group for now. Perhaps Rogers can also work his way back into the mix with some quick adjustments in the minors, but he can’t be recalled for the next 15 days unless replacing someone going on the injured list.
Bowman, 33, was signed to a minor league deal a week ago. That pact contained an upward mobility clause today and an opt-out next week. It seems the O’s didn’t want him to get away or simply wanted to add some a fresh arm to their bullpen, so he’s been added to their roster today.
As soon as he gets into a game for the O’s, it will be his fourth club of the year, as he’s already suited up for the Twins, Diamondbacks and Mariners. Since he’s out of options, he’s continually been squeezed out of his opportunities. Whenever he has cleared waivers, he has elected free agency and signed a new deal with fresh opt-outs, seemingly having a strong preference for flexibility.
While bouncing around, he has thrown 15 major league innings with a 5.40 ERA, 15.2% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate and 46.8% ground ball rate. But he’s also thrown 33 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.87 ERA, 31.3% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and grounders on more than half of the balls in play he’s allowed.
That minor league performance has seemingly led to plenty of interest around the league, with Baltimore being his latest stop. If he can perform like that at the major league level, he could be a nice asset for a Baltimore bullpen that hasn’t been strong this year. Their relief corps has a collective 4.18 ERA, putting them in the bottom third of the league. If things click, he can be retained beyond this season via arbitration, but based on the way his year has gone, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him bouncing around again soon.
Zimmermann, 29, has been in the Orioles’ organization for more than six years now. He came over from Atlanta in the July 2018 trade that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day the other way. He appeared in 38 games over the 2020-23 seasons, logging 158 1/3 innings with a 5.57 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 41.1% ground ball rate.
He’s been on optional assignment for all of 2024 so far, having tossed 69 1/3 innings in the minors with a 4.41 ERA, 21.7% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate. With the trade deadline now passed, the O’s will have to put Zimmermann on waivers in the coming days.
This is his final option year, so he’ll be out of options next year. A claiming club could potentially stash him in the minors for the rest of this season but he would need an active roster spot by next year. He has less than two years of service time, so any claiming club could control him for five seasons beyond this one. If he were to pass through outright waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the O’s in a non-roster capacity.
Orioles Claim Emmanuel Rivera, Designate Terrin Vavra
The Orioles have claimed infielder Emmanuel Rivera off waivers from the Marlins, per announcements from both clubs. Rivera was designated for assignment by the Marlins a few days ago. The Orioles opened a 40-man spot by designating infielder Terrin Vavra for assignment.
Rivera, 28, is in his fourth major league season and he will now be joining his fourth major league club. He’s been in 314 big league games between the Royals, Marlins and Diamondbacks, largely serving as a light-hitting infielder with strong glovework.
In 969 plate appearances, he has hit .239/.302/.354 for a wRC+ of 81. That includes a line of .214/.294/.269 and a 61 wRC+ this year. He has logged just under 2,000 innings at third base in his career, racking up 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 5 Outs Above Average.
The Orioles had a surplus of position players not too long ago but it has been thinned out in recent weeks. Jordan Westburg, Jorge Mateo and Heston Kjerstad all landed on the injured list at the end of July. Austin Hays was traded to the Phillies and the club also traded Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers to the Marlins. Coincidentally, Norby’s promotion earlier this week nudged Rivera off that club’s roster.
The club recently gave Coby Mayo a shot at the hot corner with Westburg out, but sent Mayo back down after he got just one hit in his first 20 plate appearances, striking out 10 times. Ramón Urías is covering third now but his defensive metrics are oddly down this year. He has a strong reputation for his glovework but has -3 DRS and -7 OAA at third base in 2024.
Perhaps the O’s will try Rivera at third with Urías going back to being a multi-positional guy. Liván Soto is on the roster but he has options and could be sent down when Rivera reports to the club. Rivera is on pace to qualify for arbitration this winter and could be retained if he lasts on Baltimore’s roster through the season and they decide to tender him a contract.
Vavra, 27, was once a notable prospect but has struggled in recent seasons. A third-round pick of the Rockies in 2018, he went to the O’s in the August 2020 trade that sent Mychal Givens to Colorado. Vavra then slashed .275/.406/.449 across multiple levels in 2021 for a wRC+ of 138. Baltimore added him to their 40-man roster in November of that year to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
In 2022, he served as an up-and-down depth player for the O’s and performed well. He slashed .258/.340/.337 in his 40 major league games, exactly league average performance. He also had a strong slash of .324/.435/.451 in 45 Triple-A games. But in 2023, he missed time due to shoulder issues, eventually getting diagnosed with a torn labrum in his right shoulder that required surgery. He only played 43 games that year, majors and minors combined.
Outrighted off the roster in November, he got his spot back in July when Mateo hit the injured list but was optioned the next day. He has a line of .243/.350/.368 in Triple-A this year, which translates to a 92 wRC+.
Vavra is in his final option year and will be out of options next season, though he has less than a year of service time. The O’s will have to place him on waivers in the coming days since the trade deadline has passed. It’s been a rough couple of years but if any club is interested in his pre-surgery form, they could control him for many years to come. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, his previous outright gives him the right to elect free agency.
Orioles Designate Nick Avila For Assignment
The Orioles announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Nick Avila for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to lefty Cole Irvin, whose previously reported promotion from Triple-A Norfolk has now been formally announced. In addition to selecting Irvin’s contract and designating Avila, the O’s optioned righty Dillon Tate to Norfolk.
Avila, 27, was claimed off release waivers from the Giants organization back in June. He was on the minor league injured list with a shoulder impingement at the time (hat tip to Christopher Correa of the Turlock Journal), and since injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, San Francisco instead requested release waivers.
Avila hasn’t looked right all season. In 2023, the 6’4″ righty posted a strong 3.00 ERA in 72 innings out of the bullpen in Triple-A Sacramento (anecdotally recording a flawless 14-0 record along the way), but he’s been rocked for 19 earned runs in 18 innings in the minors this season. That includes a staggering 10 runs on nine hits and a pair of walks in just 1 1/3 innings with the Orioles’ Triple-A club in Norfolk since returning from that shoulder impingement that kept him out of action for nearly two months.
With the trade deadline behind us, the Orioles will have no choice but to place Avila on waivers. Since he’s no longer on the injured list, they can place him on outright waivers. Given his struggles and injuries this season, there’s a good chance Avila will clear, allowing the O’s to keep him in the organization without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him.
Orioles To Select Cole Irvin
The Orioles will call up Cole Irvin to start tomorrow afternoon’s matchup with the Mets, tweets Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner. Baltimore outrighted Irvin from their 40-man roster shortly after the trade deadline. They’ll need to select his contract again.
Baltimore needs a fifth starter after placing Zach Eflin on the 15-day injured list this evening. The O’s recalled rookie lefty Cade Povich, who started nine games earlier this season, as the corresponding move for Eflin’s placement. Povich tossed 6 1/3 innings on Saturday, so he’d be on three days rest tomorrow. Rather than push him up, Baltimore tabs Irvin for what could be a spot start in what would have been Eflin’s turn through the rotation.
Irvin last pitched for Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday, so he’ll have six days rest. He has only pitched twice for the Tides since clearing waivers, allowing four runs (three earned) in 6 2/3 innings with six walks and five strikeouts. Irvin made 21 MLB appearances (14 starts) earlier in the season. He started the year well, but opponents teed off on him in June and July. That pushed him off the roster with a 4.85 ERA in 94 2/3 innings.
The 30-year-old Irvin has had an inconsistent O’s tenure. Baltimore dealt infield prospect Darell Hernaiz to Oakland for Irvin heading into the 2023 season. He has continued to pound the strike zone with a pitch-to-contact approach but hasn’t gotten the same caliber of results as he had for the A’s. Irvin owns a 4.66 earned run average through 172 frames in an O’s uniform.
Baltimore’s 40-man roster is at capacity. They’ll need to make corresponding active roster and 40-man moves tomorrow. Irvin is out of options, so the Orioles would again need to place him on waivers if this represents a spot start and they want to send him back to Norfolk at any point.