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Orioles, Hector Perez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles have signed reliever Héctor Pérez to a minor league contract, according to the team’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to the team’s Florida complex but will presumably head to a high minors affiliate after building into game shape.

Pérez, 26 next month, has just one major league appearance under his belt. That came with the Blue Jays in 2020, when he tossed 1 2/3 innings in a loss to the Yankees. The 6’3″ righty isn’t all that far removed from being one of the better pitching prospects in the Astros’ farm system, though. He topped out as Houston’s #7 prospect heading into the 2018 season, according to Baseball America, and slotted among the Astros’ and Jays’ top 30 minor leaguers each season between 2017-19.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Pérez has been involved in a pair of trades during his career. Houston packaged him alongside Ken Giles and David Paulino for Roberto Osuna at the 2018 deadline. After a couple seasons in the upper minors with Toronto — and the aforementioned lone big league outing — the Jays shipped him to the Reds in January 2021 for a player to be named later (eventually announced as minor league outfielder Darlin Guzman).

Pérez didn’t make an MLB appearance with Cincinnati. He split the most recent campaign between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, struggling at both stops. Overall, he posted a 6.16 ERA in 38 innings, striking out a serviceable 24.9% of opposing hitters but fighting extreme control issues. Pérez walked 24.4% of batters faced, and the Reds designated him for assignment in June. He cleared outright waivers and qualified for minor league free agency at the end of the season once Cincinnati opted not to add him back to the 40-man roster.

During his time as a prospect, Pérez was praised for a fastball that reached the mid-upper 90s and a promising splitter. He’ll try to more effectively harness that arsenal and emerge as a relief option for the O’s. Baltimore’s bullpen has been solid thus far, placing 15th in ERA (3.52), 22nd in strikeout/walk rate differential (12.8 percentage points) and leading the majors with a 48.2% ground-ball percentage.

Outrights: Gutierrez, Fulmer, Guerra

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A trio of players recently designated for assignment have cleared outright waivers.

  • The Orioles announced that third baseman Kelvin Gutiérrez passed through the wire unclaimed and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. Having never previously been outrighted and owning less than three years of MLB service time, Gutiérrez doesn’t have the right to refuse a minor league assignment. He’ll join the Tides and try to play his way back to the big leagues, where he’s seen some action in each of the last four years. The majority of that time came in 2021, when he combined for a .232/.292/.316 showing in just under 300 plate appearances with the Royals and O’s. The 27-year-old logged only sporadic action in each of his other three seasons, including 12 games with Baltimore this year.
  • Dodgers reliever Carson Fulmer has cleared waivers, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. Selected to the majors last weekend, he stayed on the active roster for just two days and didn’t make an appearance before losing his spot. The 28-year-old is coming off a 6.66 ERA in 25 2/3 innings with the Reds last season, a continuation of big league struggles for the former eighth overall pick. The Dodgers were intrigued enough by Fulmer to take a no-risk flier in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft over the offseason. Assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, he has allowed only four runs in 11 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts but eight walks. Fulmer has previously been outrighted, meaning he had the right to refuse the assignment; he is again listed on OKC’s active roster, however.
  • Rays reliever Javy Guerra has passed through waivers unclaimed, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. A recent convert from shortstop to pitching, Guerra has very little mileage on his arm, including just 24 1/4 innings in the minors. He’s logged 33 frames at the big league level over the past four seasons, with an 8.45 ERA. Lack of results notwithstanding, he’s just 26 years old and is playing catch-up. If he can learn to harness his triple-digit velocity into better results, he could earn himself another shot at the bigs.

Orioles To Promote Adley Rutschman, DL Hall To Triple-A

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The Orioles are planning to promote two of their top prospects to Triple-A, as The Baltimore Sun’s Andy Kostka reports (Twitter link) that catcher Adley Rutschman and left-hander DL Hall will be on their way to the team’s top minor league affiliate.

Had it not been for a triceps strain suffered during Spring Training, it is quite likely Rutschman would’ve already been in the majors by now, perhaps even as early as Opening Day.  Rutschman already hit .312/.405/.490 over 185 plate appearances with Triple-A Norfolk last season, and he doesn’t seem to have much left to prove in the minors.  Even over 24 PA at the Single-A and Double-A levels thus far, Rutschman has a whopping 1.167 OPS.

Arguably the top prospect in all of baseball, Rutschman has been tabbed for a pretty quick ascension to the majors basically ever since Baltimore made him the first overall pick of the 2019 draft.  Considered both an outstanding hitter and defender, Rutschman is the crown jewel of the Orioles’ rebuilding plan, and he is widely seen as a star in the making.  It seems probable that Rutschman’s MLB debut will take place before May is over, and it might even just be a matter of days if the young catcher continues to tear up Triple-A pitching.

Hall was the 21st overall pick of the 2017 draft, and he has battled some injury problems throughout his pro career, including a stress reaction in his throwing elbow that limited him to 31 2/3 innings last season.  The Orioles were somewhat cautious with Hall to begin the season, but moved him to Double-A after a single outing in high-A ball, and Hall is now heading for Triple-A after only one outing for Double-A Bowie (that start came today, with Hall allowing two runs over 3 2/3 innings).  The focus might still be on getting Hall fully ramped-up, so it remains to be seen if he could be on Baltimore’s radar as a late-season call-up before the 2022 season is out.

Orioles Claim Logan Allen

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The Orioles have claimed left-hander Logan Allen off waivers, as announced by the Guardians.  Allen and first baseman Bobby Bradley were both designated for assignment on May 1, and the Guards announced that Bradley cleared DFA waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A.

Allen has a 4.50 ERA over six relief innings this season, and a 5.80 ERA, 15.7% strikeout rate, and 9.3% walk rate over 94 2/3 total MLB innings with the Padres and Guardians since 2019.  While not the largest of sample sizes, Allen also hasn’t pitched well at the Triple-A level, with only a 5.76 ERA over 156 1/3 frames of work at the top rung on the minor league ladder.  Allen has delivered more strikeouts in the minors than in the majors, but at both levels, keeping the ball in the park has been his most pressing issue.

More was expected from Allen at this point in his career, particularly since he drew top-100 prospect attention prior to the 2019 season.  This made him one of the key pieces involved in a noteworthy three-team swap between Cleveland, San Diego, and Cincinnati at the 2019 trade deadline, and the Guardians clearly eyed Allen as a possible future rotation piece.

With all of this in mind, Allen is still a few weeks away from his 25th birthday.  His entire prime could be ahead of him if a new club is able to harness his stuff, and it isn’t a shock that a rebuilding team like the Orioles quickly made a waiver claim.

Allen has worked mostly as a starter in the minors, while his big league appearances are an even 15-15 split between starts and relief appearances.  It seems likely that Baltimore will continue to explore Allen as a starting pitcher, and he could get some looks in the rotation in the near future given the depleted state of the O’s staff.  Ace John Means and swingman Chris Ellis have both been lost to season-ending injuries, while another swing option in Alexander Wells was also recently sidelined with a UCL injury.

Orioles’ Chris Ellis Undergoes Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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Orioles right-hander Chris Ellis will miss the rest of the 2022 season after undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery today, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including The Baltimore Sun’s Andy Kostka).  Dr. Keith Meister performed Ellis’ surgery today in Arlington.

It’s a rough outcome for Ellis, as arthroscopic procedures usually take the form of “clean-up” procedures, or at least less-serious types of surgeries that can allow a pitcher to return after perhaps 2-3 months, depending on the situation.  In this case, however, there was obviously enough wrong with Ellis’ shoulder to require a lengthy recovery period.  Ellis was also placed on the 10-day IL with right shoulder inflammation late last season, so it could be that his injury has lingered for some time.

Ellis elected free agency after being outrighted off Baltimore’s 40-man roster last year, and he re-signed with the club on a new minor league deal in mid-March.  The O’s selected the righty’s contract on April 19 and he made two starts that differed wildly in quality.  After tossing 4 1/3 shutout innings against the Athletics on April 19, Ellis didn’t record a single out while allowing five earned runs to the Angels on April 24.  That latter start saw Ellis removed from the game in the first inning due to shoulder problems, and he was placed on the IL two days later with what was termed as shoulder inflammation.

The 29-year-old Ellis has a 3.12 ERA over 34 2/3 career innings in the majors, pitching in parts of the 2019, 2021, and 2022 seasons with the Royals, Rays, and Orioles.  (Ellis didn’t pitch in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season.)  He has bounced around to several other organizations during his eight pro seasons, and was part of the trade package sent by the Angels to the Braves in the Andrelton Simmons trade back in November 2015.  Ellis had only 62 official days of Major League service time prior to the 2022 season, and he’ll continue to amass more service time once the Orioles place him on their 60-day injured list.

Orioles Designate Kelvin Gutierrez For Assignment

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The Orioles designated third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez for assignment, according to an announcement from the team.  The move brings the Orioles down to the necessary 26 players, the deadline for which is fast approaching.  As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com notes, the move also brings the Orioles’ 40-man roster down to 39 players.

Gutierrez, 27, was acquired by the Orioles from the Royals last July for cash considerations after Kansas City had designated him for assignment.  He joined the O’s in late August and quickly became the team’s regular third baseman – more of an indictment of Baltimore’s lack of MLB talent at the position than an endorsement of Gutierrez’s abilities.  This year, Ramon Urias has been drawing the bulk of the Orioles’ starts at third base.

A 2013 amateur signing by the Nationals out of the Dominican Republic, Gutierrez joined the Royals five years later in a trade involving veteran reliever Kelvin Herrera.  He emerged as a 40-grade, big league capable prospect, known mostly for solid third base defense and a strong arm.  Never really having shown an above average bat in the high minors, it’s not a big surprise that Gutierrez sports just a 65 wRC+ in 419 big league plate appearances to date.  Since Gutierrez is out of minor league options, the Orioles didn’t have the ability to send him to the minors without exposing him to waivers.

Orioles’ Alexander Wells To Miss 8-12 Weeks Due To UCL Strain

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Alexander Wells was placed on the Orioles’ 10-day injured list on Friday due to elbow inflammation, but the left-hander is now unfortunately set to miss quite a bit more time.  Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) today that Wells had suffered a Grade 1 UCL strain, and will miss the next 8-12 weeks while recovering.  In some positive news, a Grade 1 is the least serious type of strain, and Hyde said that surgery isn’t being considered for now.

Wells will do his rehab work at the Orioles’ Spring Training facility, and look to get himself back on track in his second Major League season.  The Australian made his MLB debut in 2021 and appeared in 11 games for Baltimore, making eight starts and posting a 6.75 ERA.  Never a big strikeout pitcher even in the minors, Wells had only a 13.2% strikeout rate in his rookie year, and he allowed 10 homers over his 42 2/3 innings of work.

For a rebuilding team that is desperate for pitching, Wells represents a viable arm for the O’s, especially since he delivered some solid numbers while working his way up Baltimore’s minor league ladder.  Despite that lack of missed bats (a 19.63% strikeout rate) over 533 2/3 minor league innings, Wells still delivered a 2.85 ERA, starting 97 of 100 games.  While a long-term starting role may not be in the cards, Wells could operate as a spot starter or swingman, or perhaps a bulk pitcher behind an opener.

Orioles To Promote Kyle Bradish

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The Orioles are going to call up right-handed pitching prospect Kyle Bradish to start tomorrow’s game, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, as Baltimore will be hosting Boston for a weekend series. The 25-year-old will be making his major league debut. He is already on the 40-man roster, so the club will just need to create a spot for him on the active roster.

Bradish was selected by the Angels out of New Mexico State University in the fourth round of the 2018 draft. He made his professional debut in 2019, throwing 101 innings in High-A with a 4.28 ERA. In December of that year, he was one of four prospects sent from the Angels to the Orioles in the Dylan Bundy trade.

Of course, a few months later, the pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league seasons, preventing Bradish from making an official debut with his new team for a year. In 2021, he began the season with the Double-A Bowie Baysox. In three starts, he threw 13 2/3 scoreless innings with 26 strikeouts against just five walks. After that clearly dominant performance, he was moved up to the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. In 21 games, 19 of them starts, he tossed another 86 2/3 innings with a 4.26 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate.

In November, the club added Bradish to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft (which never ended up happening due to the lockout). He’s off to a great start on the year so far, throwing 15 innings over three Triple-A starts with a 1.20 ERA, 29.8% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate and 50% groundball rate. He has climbed up to the #9 position among Orioles’ prospects, according to Baseball America, with their report noting that he has a fastball that can touch 97 MPH and a plus slider that stands out as his best secondary offering. Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein of FanGraphs had Bradish in the #7 slot among Baltimore farmhands, with both their report and BA’s remarking on his unique delivery, which helps him add a deceptive element to his game.

Bradish will now get a chance to join a fairly wide-open rotation on a rebuilding Orioles team. The club recently lost the most reliable and effective member of their starting staff, John Means, for the next year-plus due to Tommy John surgery. Aside from veteran Jordan Lyles, the rest of the group is lacking in experience, with Bruce Zimmermann, Tyler Wells and Spenser Watkins all coming into this season with about one year of service time, give or take. If Bradish can provide serviceable innings for the club, he should be able to stick around. This is likely the first of several prospect promotions for the O’s rotation, though, as hurlers such as DL Hall, Grayson Rodriguez and others could soon work their way up to the bigs as well.

John Means Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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APRIL 27: Baltimore general manager Mike Elias announced that Means’ surgery was successful. The team is hopeful he can return at some point before the All-Star Break in 2023 (via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com).

APRIL 23: John Means announced via Twitter that he is indeed going to need Tommy John surgery. This has been the feared outcome since the Orioles placed Means on the 60-day injured list last week. He will miss the rest of this season, and most likely, a large chunk of next season as well.

Means is unquestionably Baltimore’s top starter, having pitched to a 3.72 ERA/4.59 FIP over 353 1/3 innings since the start of the 2019 season. He’s the only O’s pitcher to even exceed 200 frames over that stretch, and no other Baltimore starter with 100+ frames in that time has an ERA below 4.79.

As the Orioles remain amidst a complete rebuild, Means has been a frequently-mentioned trade candidate. He might’ve found himself on the move last summer had he not suffered a June shoulder injury that cost him more than six weeks. The 28-year-old returned in July but wasn’t as effective during the season’s second half as he’d been earlier in the year. Reports over this past offseason suggested Means was available, but there was no indication the team came particularly close to pulling the trigger on a deal. He entered the season as a possible deadline target for pitching-needy contenders, but that’s off the table now that he will go under the knife.

Orioles’ Brandon Hyde Under Contract Through At Least 2023

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The Orioles have been abnormally quiet about the status of manager Brandon Hyde’s contract, only announcing his initial hiring on a three-year deal that spanned the 2019-21 seasons. Dan Connolly of The Athletic reported back in September that Hyde had quietly signed an extension in the summer of 2020 — a deal that’d carry him at least through the current season. Baltimore never announced the deal. Now, Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun reports that Hyde is under contract beyond the 2022 season. The specific terms of his deal still aren’t clear, as the Orioles and Hyde have clearly preferred to keep them close to the vest.

Nevertheless, it’s notable to learn that Hyde isn’t playing out the season under the dreaded “lame-duck” managerial status. That he’s under control for at least another year is an ostensible vote of confidence in Hyde, who is clearly being evaluated on far more than the team’s win-loss record. That’s true of any manager in today’s game but is particularly true for skippers who are leading clubs in Baltimore’s situation.

It’d hardly be fair for the front office to fault Hyde for the team’s consistent losing records, after all, when the baseball operations staff has spent his entire managerial tenure tanking in an effort to perennially bolster its draft position. Beyond that, the O’s have routinely traded away big league-caliber players as they near free agency. Hyde’s rosters have been disproportionately comprised of waiver claims, minor league signings and organizational depth pieces who’ve been pushed into larger roles as the front office has eschewed any real free-agent spending or win-now trade acquisitions.

Ruiz spoke to several Orioles players, including clubhouse leaders like Trey Mancini, Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays and Paul Fry — all of whom went on record to effuse praise for Hyde. All noted Hyde’s consistency even amid protracted losing streaks, with Mancini noting that Hyde is “the same guy every day.” Mancini in particular was appreciative of Hyde and the role he played as a support pillar when Mancini was diagnosed with stage-three colon cancer in the spring of 2020.

While three-plus seasons of rebuilding — and the frequent losses associated with it — might take their toll on a manager, Hyde spoke optimistically and enthusiastically about the organization’s future in his interview with Ruiz. he remains committed to the O’s, stressing that he’s “in this for the long haul” and that he’ll “be here when we’re winning.” O’s fans, in particular, will want to check out the full interview for quotes from Mancini, Mullins, Hays, Fry, Ryan Mountcastle, Hyde and GM Mike Elias on the job the skipper has done under challenging circumstances.

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