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Orioles Claim Anthony Castro, Designate Phoenix Sanders

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Anthony Castro has been claimed off waivers from the Guardians, and subsequently optioned to Triple-A.  Right-hander Phoenix Sanders was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.  In addition, Baltimore outrighted infielder Richie Martin to Triple-A, as Martin cleared waivers after being designated earlier this week.

Castro has pitched in each of the last three MLB seasons, all with different teams — the Tigers in 2020, the Blue Jays in 2021, and the Guardians in 2022.  Cleveland acquired Castro from Toronto for Bradley Zimmer back in April, and Castro ended up posting a 7.43 ERA over 13 1/3 relief innings in the majors.

Within that small sample size, Castro issued 10 walks and allowed five home runs.  Control has been a persistent problem for Castro throughout his nine pro seasons, though at least at the minor league level, Castro has been able to mitigate a lot of those free passes due to some solid strikeout rates and grounder rates that routinely sit above the 50% threshold.  Over 596 1/3 minor league innings, Castro has a 3.47 ERA.

Between these decent numbers and a mid-90s fastball, Castro drew the Orioles’ interest, and he’ll now provide some extra bullpen depth for the surprise contenders.  He’ll take the place of Sanders, who was himself a waiver claim off the Rays roster less than two weeks ago.

Sanders has yet to see any Major League action with the Orioles, so his big league resume consists of the 14 2/3 innings he tossed for Tampa Bay earlier this season.  The 27-year-old’s first taste of the Show resulted in a very respectable 3.07 ERA.  Pitching mostly as a reliever during his career, Sanders posted a 3.46 ERA and a 29.55% strikeout rate over 260 innings in the minor leagues.

However, his work at Triple-A this year has been a struggle, with Sanders delivering only a 6.19 ERA over 32 frames.  Some back problems could be partially responsible, or perhaps Sanders had trouble adjusting to his first time being shuttled up and down between the minors and the Rays’ roster.  Given his past track record, it would seem possible that another club might grab Sanders in yet another waiver claim.

Orioles Outright Denyi Reyes

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The Orioles announced yesterday that right-hander Denyi Reyes has been assigned to Triple-A after being outrighted off the team’s 40-man roster.  Reyes was designated for assignment on Wednesday and cleared waivers.

Reyes is a veteran of seven pro seasons, with the first six coming in the Red Sox organization before he inked a minor league free agent deal with Baltimore this past offseason.  This time with the O’s saw Reyes make his Major League debut, as he tossed 7 2/3 innings over three appearances (posting a 2.35 ERA) this season.

Control has been Reyes’ biggest asset during his career, as he has only a 3.7% walk rate over his 584 1/3 innings in the minor leagues.  While Reyes has always been able to avoid free passes, his overall results have diminished as he has moved up the minor league ladder, resulting in a 4.18 ERA in 209 Double-A innings and an ugly 7.50 ERA in 42 frames of Triple-A ball.  Home runs have increasingly become a problem for Reyes, as his homer rate has spiked over the last two seasons.

Since he was previously outrighted off Boston’s roster back in 2020, Reyes had the ability to reject the Orioles’ outright assignment in favor of becoming a free agent.  With no word yet on his decision, it appears for now as if he’ll remain in the organization, giving the O’s some extra long relief depth.  Reyes has started 81 of 126 career games in the minors, but has seen more work as something of a swingman over the last two seasons.

Grayson Rodriguez Begins Rehab Assignment

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  • Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez made his first appearance for an Orioles affiliate in three months last night, returning from a Grade 2 lat strain that, at one point, threatened the remainder of his season. Rodriguez threw just 31 pitches in 1 1/3 innings with Class-A Aberdeen and exited after back-to-back walks in the second inning. He told reporters after the game that he’d simply hit the pitch count the organization placed upon his first appearance since June 1 (link via Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com). Considered by many to be the game’s top pitching prospect, Rodriguez overwhelmed Triple-A lineups prior to his injury, pitching to a 2.09 ERA with a 37.4% strikeout rate and a 6.5% walk rate through 56 innings. He’s not on the 40-man roster at the moment, but he’ll need to be added in the offseason or else be Rule 5-eligible, so it’s at least possible the O’s call him up for a big league debut late in the regular season if his rehab work progresses nicely.

Every Team’s Initial September Call-Ups

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Each season as the calendar flips to September, we see a flurry of transactions around Major League Baseball. Active roster sizes jump from 26 to 28 for the season’s final month, with teams permitted to bring up no more than one additional pitcher. We’ve already covered a host of transactions with 40-man roster implications throughout the day at MLBTR. Here’s a full round-up of teams’ initial September roster moves.

American League West

Houston Astros:

Los Angeles Angels:

Oakland Athletics

Seattle Mariners

  • Reinstated LHP Matthew Boyd from 60-day injured list
  • Recalled OF Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Texas Rangers

  • Selected contract of RHP Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock
  • Recalled OF Nick Solak from Triple-A Round Rock
  • Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Josh Sborz to 60-day injured list

American League Central

Chicago White Sox

  • Recalled OF Adam Haseley from Triple-A Charlotte
  • Recalled RHP Matt Foster from Triple-A Charlotte
  • Corresponding move: None required

Cleveland Guardians

Detroit Tigers

Kansas City Royals

  • Selected contract of RHP Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Omaha
  • Recalled OF Nate Eaton from Triple-A Omaha
  • Corresponding move: None required

Minnesota Twins

  • Added LHP Austin Davis (previously claimed off waivers from Red Sox) to active roster
  • Selected contract of OF Billy Hamilton from Triple-A St. Paul
  • Corresponding move: Transferred OF Trevor Larnach to 60-day injured list

American League East

Baltimore Orioles

  • Selected contract of 1B Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Norfolk
  • Recalled LHP DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk
  • Corresponding move: Designated INF Richie Martin for assignment

Boston Red Sox

New York Yankees

  • Recalled SS Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
  • Activated INF Marwin Gonzalez from paternity list
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Tampa Bay Rays

  • Reinstated RHP Matt Wisler from the 15-day injured list
  • Recalled INF Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Toronto Blue Jays

  • Recalled RHP Casey Lawrence from Triple-A Buffalo
  • Added OF Bradley Zimmer (claimed off waivers from Phillies this week) to active roster
  • Corresponding moves: None required

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks

Colorado Rockies

  • Recalled INF Alan Trejo from Triple-A Albuquerque
  • Recalled RHP Chad Smith from Triple-A Albuquerque
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Los Angeles Dodgers

  • Reinstated LHP Clayton Kershaw from 15-day injured list
  • Recalled 3B Miguel Vargas from Triple-A Oklahoma City
  • Corresponding moves: None required

San Diego Padres

  • Recalled INF Matt Beaty from Triple-A El Paso
  • Recalled RHP Reiss Knehr from Triple-A El Paso
  • Corresponding moves: None required

San Francisco Giants

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

  • Selected contract of RHP Jeremiah Estrada from Triple-A Iowa
  • Recalled INF David Bote from Triple-A Iowa
  • Corresponding move: Transferred Wade Miley from 15-day injured list to 60-day injured list

Cincinnati Reds

Milwaukee Brewers

  • Recalled RHP Luis Perdomo from Triple-A Nashville
  • Recalled OF Esteury Ruiz from Triple-A Nashville
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Pittsburgh Pirates

  • Recalled RHP Johan Oviedo from Triple-A Indianapolis
  • Recalled OF Calvin Mitchell from Triple-A Indianapolis
  • Corresponding moves: None required

St. Louis Cardinals

  • Selected contract of OF Ben DeLuzio from Triple-A Memphis
  • Recalled RHP James Naile from Triple-A Memphis
  • Corresponding moves: None required

National League East

Atlanta Braves

  • Reinstated IF Orlando Arcia from 10-day injured list
  • Added recently-claimed RHP Jesse Chavez to active roster
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Miami Marlins*

New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies

  • Selected contract of RHP Vinny Nittoli from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
  • Recalled C Donny Sands from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Washington Nationals

  • Recalled C Tres Barrera from Triple-A Rochester
  • Recalled RHP Mason Thompson from Triple-A Rochester
  • Corresponding moves: None required

*Marlins moves reported by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link)

Orioles Select Jesus Aguilar, Designate Richie Martin For Assignment

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The Orioles announced another series of roster moves Thursday, selecting the contract of first baseman Jesus Aguilar (whom they signed to a minor league deal yesterday), recalling top pitching prospect DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk and designating infielder Richie Martin for assignment.

An All-Star when he hit 35 home runs for the 2018 Brewers, the now-32-year-old Aguilar was with the Marlins from 2020 up until a couple weeks ago, when Miami designated him for assignment and released him. Aguilar was a solid middle-of-the-order bat for the Fish in 2020-21 but has stumbled to a .236/.286/.388 batting line through 456 plate appearances this season — including a dismal .188/.246/.347 output since the All-Star break.

Ugly as those numbers are, Aguilar hit a combined .262/.338/.476 in just shy of 2000 plate appearances from 2017-21, so there’s a track record of solid productivity in his bat. The O’s will hope that he can return to form and provide a boost to a lineup that has struggled to score runs of late. If Aguilar can indeed recapture that form, he’ll help to replace the production of Trey Mancini, whom the Orioles shipped to Houston at the trade deadline despite being within striking distance of a Wild Card berth. Mancini hit .268/.347/.404 in 401 plate appearances this year prior to being traded.

Hall, the No. 21 overall pick back in 2017, made his big league debut earlier in 2022 but was tagged for five runs in 3 2/3 innings that day. He’s had an uneven season in the minors this year, pitching to a combined 4.48 ERA with a huge 36.6% strikeout rate but an ugly 13.4% walk rate in 84 1/3 innings between one start in High-A, one in Double-A and another 22 appearances (18 starts) in Triple-A.

Those shaky numbers notwithstanding, Hall still ranks among the game’s top 100 prospects due to a fastball that reaches triple digits and a collection of offspeed pitches that all have the potential to be plus offerings. This year’s 13.4% walk rate is an exact match with his career mark in the minors, however, which underscores the ongoing location issues he’s battled throughout his time as a professional.

Martin, 27, was the top pick in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft. A former first-rounder of the Athletics, Baltimore pounced on the opportunity to add him to the organization and hoped he could eventually carve out a role on the big league club. That hasn’t happened yet, however, as Martin floundered through a rookie season in which he couldn’t be optioned due to his Rule 5 status, hitting .208/.260/.322 in 2019. He’s only had 138 Major League plate appearances during that time, due in no small part to a fluke pair of broken wrists — both his left and his right — which obviously led to considerable time on the injured list.

Overall, Martin is a .212/.261/.311 hitter in 447 Major League plate appearances, and his .234/.333/.349 slash in 390 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level aren’t all that much better. It’s fair to wonder whether his development would’ve turned out differently were it not for that pair of fractures, but as a 27-year-old former prospect on a team that’s looking to turn the corner and emerge from a years-long rebuilding effort, Martin’s place on the 40-man roster has increasingly looked to be on shaky ground. He’ll be placed on outright waivers or released within a week’s time, as he’s ineligible to be traded at this point in the season.

Orioles Promote Gunnar Henderson

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The Orioles have officially selected the contract of top prospect Gunnar Henderson.  In corresponding moves, infielder Tyler Nevin was optioned to Triple-A and right-hander Denyi Reyes was designated for assignment.

There had been widespread speculation that Henderson would receive his first MLB promotion when the rosters expanded on September 1, though in calling Henderson up to the big leagues today, the Orioles have now made the infielder eligible for inclusion on a postseason roster should Baltimore continue its surprising season with a playoff berth.

A second-round pick for Baltimore in the 2019 draft, Henderson played in only 29 Rookie League games that season and then naturally didn’t play at all in 2020 due to the canceled minor league campaign.  His first proper pro season saw Henderson play well enough to jump from A-ball to Double-A in 2021, and it put him on the top-100 prospect radar heading into the 2022 season.

Fast-forward to August, and the 21-year-old is now the top prospect in the sport in the eyes of Baseball America, with MLB Pipeline ranking Henderson second and Fangraphs ranking him fifth.  Over 503 combined plate appearances at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2022, Henderson has hit .297/.416/.531 with 19 homers, as well as 22 steals in 25 chances.

To go along with his power, speed, and hit tools, Henderson is also an accomplished fielder with a plus throwing arm.  Drafted as a shortstop, Henderson has looked good at the position, but he has also seen a lot of time as a third baseman this season and also played a handful of games at first and second base.  The Orioles have so many other promising young infielders (i.e. Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday) in the pipeline that the team is trying to be flexible in determining the ideal future position for any of these prospects, and Henderson’s usage might also hint at how the O’s will use him during the stretch run of the 2022 season.

The left-handed hitting Henderson could spell any of Ramon Urias, Jorge Mateo, or Ryan Mountcastle (all righty bats) at third, short, or first base, and Henderson could also take playing time away from Rougned Odor at second base.  Henderson certainly isn’t being called up to sit on the bench, and he could quickly become a fixture if he performs well in his first look at Major League pitching.

Of course, it isn’t a given that Henderson will have such a quick start, as countless top prospects have taken some time to get accustomed to the majors.  In Henderson’s case, his high strikeout rate in the minors is something of a red flag, though he has cut back on his swing-and-miss in 2022 in comparison to 2021.  He had also posted huge BABIP numbers in the minors, yet Henderson’s speed (and ability to beat out grounders) is certainly a factor in those BABIP totals beyond just batted-ball fortune.

These are heady times for the Orioles, who have emerged from years of rebuilding doldrums to post a 67-61 record and get into contention for a wild-card berth.  Adley Rutschman — an exception to that “top prospects usually need time to adjust” credo — has already become one of baseball’s best catchers, and other rookies like Felix Bautista, Dean Kremer, and Kyle Bradish have played outsized roles in the team’s success.  Kyle Stowers and Terrin Vavra are two more rookies who made their MLB debuts in 2022, and Henderson is just one of several other top prospects waiting to emerge from Baltimore’s loaded farm system.

As recently noted by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Henderson will also still retain his rookie status for 2023 if he receives less than 13o at-bats, and thus the Orioles can still benefit from the Prospect Promotion Initiative included in the new collective bargaining agreement.  This would put the O’s in line for a bonus draft pick if Henderson remains on the active roster for the entire 2023 season.

Reyes made his Major League debut this season, posting a 2.35 ERA in 7 2/3 innings over three appearances.  A starter for much of his seven-year pro career in the Red Sox and Orioles farm systems, Reyes hasn’t had much consistency at either the Double-A or Triple-A levels, and he has a 7.50 ERA over 42 innings with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate this season.

Reyes has allowed 10 homers in those 42 frames, continuing a problem with the long ball that has now emerged over the last two seasons.  Surrendering more homers has erased gains Reyes has made with his strikeout rate, and he has shown excellent control throughout his entire career, with a tiny 1.4 BB/9 during his 584 1/3 minor league innings.

Orioles Outright Travis Lakins Sr.

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The Orioles announced this afternoon that right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. has gone unclaimed on waivers. He’s been sent to Triple-A Norfolk, but he’ll have the right to refuse that assignment in favor of minor league free agency as a player who has previously been outrighted in his career.

Lakins, 28, has appeared in parts of four big league campaigns. He debuted with the Red Sox in 2019 and has spent the past three seasons as a multi-inning reliever in Baltimore. Lakins owns a 5.20 ERA across 64 frames with the O’s, striking out 19.7% of batters faced while walking 12.5% of opponents. That includes 10 1/3 frames of 11-run ball earlier this season. Lakins was selected onto the big league roster in mid-April and made six appearances before hitting the injured list during the second week of May with inflammation in his throwing elbow.

Baltimore eventually transferred Lakins to the 60-day IL, and he’s spent the past three and half months on the shelf. He recently began a rehab assignment and is apparently healthy enough for reinstatement, but the O’s no longer wanted to devote him a 40-man roster spot. Rather than put him back on the roster, they sent him through waivers.

A former sixth-round draft pick, Lakins owns a 4.13 ERA over parts of four seasons in Triple-A. He’ll now decide whether to head back to Norfolk or set out to the open market in search of a new opportunity. If he accepts the outright assignment, Lakins would reach free agency at the end of the season if he’s not first added back to the 40-man roster.

Orioles Sign Jesus Aguilar To Minors Contract

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The Orioles have signed first baseman Jesus Aguilar to a minor league contract, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports (Twitter link). Aguilar, who was released by the Marlins after being designated for assignment, has been added to Baltimore’s taxi squad for the time being. With rosters set to expand from 26 to 28 players tomorrow, he could potentially be selected to the Major League roster in short order.

It’s been a poor season for the 32-year-old Aguilar, who batted just .236/.286/.388 through 456 trips to the plate with Miami prior to being designated for assignment. The Fish reportedly explored the trade market to find takers prior to the deadline but did not find much of a market. At the time, Aguilar was in the midst of a weeks-long slump, and he failed to right the ship in his final weeks as a Marlin. Since the All-Star break, he’s turned in a disastrous .188/.246/.347 slash line.

Poor as his 2022 season has been, there’s plenty of track record with Aguilar, a 2018 All-Star who swatted 35 home runs with the Brewers that season. That year represents a clear peak in Aguilar’s career, but he’s been an above-average hitter with Miami in each of the 2020 and 2021 seasons. From 2018-21, Aguilar touted a .262/.339/.471 batting line with 77 home runs and 70 doubles in 1661 plate appearances. The righty-swinging slugger also has a negligible platoon split in his career, so when he’s at his best, he’s a potential everyday option at either first base or designated hitter.

Aguilar could give the O’s some thump off the bench at a time when much of the lineup has been struggling to produce, and if he hits the ground running, there ought to be increased playing time available to him. Rougned Odor, Ryan Mountcastle, Jorge Mateo and Kyle Stowers, in particular, have had rough showings across the past couple weeks, while bench options like Robinson Chirinos, Ryan McKenna and Tyler Nevin have provided next to no offense in that time. Based on Aguilar’s own struggles, he shouldn’t be expected to come in and play the role of savior for an O’s team that’s still improbably jockeying for Wild Card position, but there’s little harm in taking what amounts to a free look at this juncture of the season.

Aguilar had been playing on a $7.5MM guarantee in Miami this year, but now that he’s been released and signed a new contract, the O’s will only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster. The rest of Aguilar’s salary, plus the buyout on a now-moot 2023 mutual option, will all come out of the Marlins’ pockets.

Orioles Face September Call-Up Decisions For Multiple Top Prospects

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The Orioles – the surprise of the 2022 season – have some decisions to make about their September roster. The biggest decisions center on top prospects Grayson Rodriguez, DL Hall, and Gunnar Henderson, the 56th, 4th, and top-ranked prospects in the game, per Baseball America.

Hall and Henderson are under consideration to join the big league club when the rosters expand, and perhaps sooner, so says General Manager Mike Elias, tweets Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun. The plan has been for Hall to win the right to join the bullpen in September when rosters expand, but the evaluation process is dynamic, and nothing is guaranteed for the southpaw, who made his debut earlier this season. (It’s worth noting that, regardless of what happens this year, the plan remains for Hall to join the rotation next year.)

Fans are certainly eager to see this cluster of high-ceiling prospects in action, but they can put at least a modicum of trust in the process, as compared to seasons past. With the new CBA, the Orioles are freed from some of the service time concerns that have hampered clubs’ decision-making under the prior collective bargaining agreement. With less than 45 service days remaining in the season, Baltimore has no service reasons to keep Henderson or Hall in the minors any longer, notes The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. If they feel the pair can help the big league club as they make a push for the playoffs, we should see them soon.

For Rodriguez, the issue is more a question of health than MLB readiness. He has yet to begin a rehab assignment as he recovers from a lat injury. Per Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com, Elias said, “I’m almost positive that we’re going to see him in real game action before the season’s over. As with any rehab assignment, we’ll start him in the lower minors and then we’ll get him back, hopefully, to the level in which he got injured, and we’ll take it from there.”

Of course, Elias has more to think about than just the individual development of each of these high flyers. With the team unexpectantly pushing for a playoff spot, the Orioles should prioritize fielding the best team possible. Thrusting a young player into a playoff chase for a team that’s been so far from contention for so long is no small decision, however. Suddenly, the lights are bright in Baltimore. Elias must weigh the current needs of the team against the developmental hurdles in front of Henderson, Hall, and Rodriguez. Given the process and plan that Elias has instilled in this organization, he’s likely to want to maintain the long view, even amidst a playoff race.

For now, Orioles fans will have to content themselves with watching new face-of-the-franchise Adley Rutschman lead this team. Thus far, Rutschman has done everything promised to keep this Cinderella squad in the hunt. The 24-year-old backstop has slashed .253/.363/.442 with eight home runs across 320 plate appearances. Those numbers are 34 percent better than average, as evidenced by a 134 wRC+, which isn’t just remarkable for a catcher, or for a rookie, but for anyone in spikes.

Maybe this will be the new normal for Baltimore, but especially in the AL East, where the competition will be top-shelf year after year, each opportunity for postseason play is precious. If nothing else, August/September baseball should matter in a way that Baltimore fans haven’t seen since the days of Buck Showalter, Manny Machado, and Zack Britton. If the kids come to play, all the better.

Orioles Claim Phoenix Sanders

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The Orioles announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed righty Phoenix Sanders off waivers from the Rays. Tampa Bay designated Sanders for assignment over the weekend.

Sanders, 27, made his big league debut with Tampa Bay this season, tossing 14 2/3 innings with five runs allowed on a dozen hits and three walks. The former 10th-round pick fanned 21.1% of his opponents, walked 5.3% of them and kept 41.5% of batted balls against him on the ground.

Solid as those numbers are, Sanders hasn’t exactly shined with Triple-A Durham this year. While he’s posted an eye-popping 36-to-2 K/BB ratio there, Sanders and his 89.8 mph average fastball velocity have also been tagged for 39 hits — six of which cleared the fence for home runs (1.8 HR/9) — en route to a 5.40 ERA in 30 innings. He yielded plenty of hard contact in his limited big league time as well, evidenced by a sky-high 92.9 mph average exit velocity and a 45.2% hard-hit rate from his opponents.

The 2022 season may be a mixed bag of results in some regards, but looking more broadly, Sanders has a solid overall track record in the upper minors and has a full slate of minor league options remaining, as this year marked the first occasion on which his contract has been selected to the 40-man roster. He’ll give the O’s a somewhat intriguing, league-minimum arm who can be optioned freely and provide depth in the ’pen moving forward.

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