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Outrights: Stewart, Romero

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A pair of players recently designated for assignment have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.

  • The Orioles announced this afternoon they’ve outrighted corner outfielder DJ Stewart to their top affiliate in Norfolk. Stewart has a bit shy of the three years of MLB service required for a player to refuse the first outright assignment of their career. He’ll remain with the Tides — where he’d been on optional assignment before he was DFA last week — and try to play his way back onto the 40-man roster. A former first-round pick, the 28-year-old Stewart has appeared in 195 MLB games over the past five seasons. He owns a .213/.327/.400 line in 622 plate appearances, almost exactly league average offensive production by measure of wRC+. Coupled with below-average defensive metrics in both left and right field, that fine but unexciting output at the dish wasn’t enough for the lefty-hitting Stewart to hold his roster spot. He’s a .255/.353/.442 hitter over 773 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • Athletics right-hander Miguel Romero was outrighted to their highest affiliate in Las Vegas over the weekend, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Like Stewart, he has never been outrighted before and doesn’t have three-plus service years, so he’ll stick in the organization as a non-roster player. Romero, also 28, has yet to make his MLB debut. Oakland selected him to the 40-man roster over the 2020-21 offseason, but he spent all of last season on optional assignment in Las Vegas. Romero was tagged for a 6.27 ERA with just a 15.7% strikeout rate in that extremely hitter-friendly environment last year. He’ll look for better results with the Aviators in an effort to get back onto the 40-man roster.

Orioles Designate DJ Stewart For Assignment

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The Orioles announced this evening they’ve designated outfielder DJ Stewart for assignment. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Chris Ellis, who has been selected back to the majors. Baltimore optioned righty Marcos Diplán yesterday to clear space on the active roster.

Stewart has been in the Baltimore organization since they selected him 25th overall in the 2015 draft. A left-handed hitter with quality plate discipline and some power, he once profiled as a potential everyday left fielder. Stewart performed well up through Double-A, although his offensive production trended down once he hit Triple-A Norfolk for the first time in 2018.

Despite a .235/.329/.387 showing with Norfolk that year, Stewart got his first MLB call. He only appeared in 17 games, but he’d tally more than 100 trips to the plate in each of the next three seasons. Stewart hit seven homers with a massive 17.9% walk rate in 31 outings in 2020, but he’s otherwise posted below-average numbers. Last season, he tallied a career-high 318 trips to the plate and hit .204/.324/.374, popping 12 homers while walking nearly 14% of the time but striking out in 28% of his trips to the dish.

Paired with a lack of defensive value, Stewart’s low batting average eventually squeezed him out of the outfield mix in Baltimore. The O’s optioned him early this season, and they’ve now bumped him from the 40-man roster entirely. They’ll have a week to trade him or try to run him through waivers.

Ellis made six starts for Baltimore last season after they claimed him off waivers from the division-rival Rays. He posted a 2.49 ERA in 25 1/3 innings, but neither his 15.2% strikeout rate nor 12.4% walk percentage indicated he’d sustain that kind of run prevention. The O’s outrighted him off their 40-man roster at the end of the season, but Ellis quickly returned on a minor league pact.

So far this year, he’s made just one start with Norfolk. He worked four scoreless, hitless innings with five strikeouts and a walk. Ellis will take the ball tonight against the A’s for his first big league outing of the season.

Orioles Transfer John Means On 60-Day IL, Select Marcos Diplan

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The Orioles announced a series of roster moves today, the most notable being John Means getting transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. That opens a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Marcos Diplan, whose contract was selected. To make room for Diplan on the active roster, left-hander Alexander Wells was optioned to Triple-A.

It’s an unfortunate but unsurprising development for the Orioles. Means was initially placed on the IL on Friday with a left elbow strain. Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun relays that it’s actually a sprain, not a strain, clarifying that the latter involves bone-to-bone tissue as opposed to muscle or muscle-to-bone tissue. Although it was reported that Means would be undergoing further testing, O’s manager Brandon Hyde said that the southpaw would be out for “a while.” Now that he has been moved to the 60-day IL, he will be on the shelf until at least mid-June. Hyde said today that they still plan on getting second opinions, but they’ve obviously accepted that there’s no chance of a quick return.

The performance of Means has been one of the few bright spots for the Orioles over the past few seasons, as the club has spent most of the past five years in the AL East basement. Since his 2018 debut, Means has appeared in 70 games, throwing 356 2/3 innings with a 3.81 ERA. His 21.2% strikeout rate is just below league average, though his 5% walk rate is excellent. The 28-year-old (29 next week) can be controlled through the 2024 season and will be making an affordable 2022 salary in the $3MM range. (His arbitration hearing has yet to occur, due to the lockout pushing all hearings into the season. Means filed at $3.1MM with the team filing at $2.7MM. The arbitration process is backwards-looking and won’t be affected by this injury.)

In the short-term, this will thin out a rotation that was already short on proven options. Offseason signee Jordan Lyles is the most-seasoned arm, followed by less-experienced rotation mates Tyler Wells, Bruce Zimmermann and Spenser Watkins. With Means out, a spot is open for someone like Keegan Akin or Zac Lowther. The club does have two very well regarded prospects in DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez. Both of them are in Triple-A and could be considered for an MLB debut at some point. In the long-term, the club wasn’t likely to be competitive anytime soon, but the injury will certainly take a bite out of Means’ trade value. Due to the fact that he’s been playing well on a poor team, he’s naturally been floated as a speculative trade candidate. Any trade talks will now have to be put on the backburner until he can return to health.

As for Diplan, he made his MLB debut with the Orioles last year, eventually throwing 30 innings of 4.50 ERA ball out of their bullpen. However, his 19.5% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate were both a few ticks worse than league average. He was outrighted off the roster at the end of last year but re-signed to a minor league deal in the offseason. The 25-year-old still has an option remaining.

Orioles Place John Means On Injured List, Select Travis Lakins

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3:23pm: Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun) that Means has a muscular strain in his forearm. The southpaw is headed for further testing to determine if there’s any structural damage, and Hyde said the O’s will be without their top pitcher for “a while.”

2:15pm: The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve placed left-hander John Means on the 10-day injured list due to a left elbow strain. In his place, they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. from Triple-A Norfolk. Lefty Kevin Smith was outrighted to Norfolk after clearing waivers, thus opening a spot on the roster for Lakins.

It’s an ominous IL placement for Means, who’s been Baltimore’s top (and only consistently serviceable) starter since 2019. The 28-year-old southpaw carries a 3.72 ERA with a 21.2% strikeout rate and a stellar 5.1% walk rate through 353 1/3 innings in that time — including a 3.38 ERA in two starts this season. Means, however, exited his most recent outing due to forearm tightness, which is often a precursor to an elbow injury. The O’s haven’t made any further announcements about the extent of the strain or a possible timetable for Means’ return, though a strain, by definition, involves at least some degree of stretching or tearing.

Lakins, 27, will return for a third straight season of big league work with the O’s. He posted a strong 2.81 ERA in 25 2/3 innings for the Birds back in 2020, albeit with more dubious peripheral stats (in particular, his 11.2% walk rate). He tossed another 28 innings with the Orioles in 2021 but saw the pendulum swing the other direction on his results, as opponents knocked him around to the tune of a 5.79 ERA.

A sixth-rounder by the Red Sox back in 2015, Lakins has spent parts of three seasons in the Majors and compiled a 4.21 ERA in 77 frames, albeit with a sub-par 19.7% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate. He’s posted similar numbers in 66 career innings at the Triple-A level as well.

As for Smith, the 24-year-old lefty had yielded just two runs through his first 7 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball this season. That said, he’d also issued six walks against just three strikeouts in that time — a continuation of last year’s troublesome penchant for issuing free passes. Smith didn’t have major control problems prior to reaching Triple-A, but since debuting at that level in 2021, he’s walked a sky-high 18% of the 306 opponents he’s faced. Paired with only an average strikeout rate, those issues locating the ball led him to go unclaimed by all 29 other teams. He’ll remain with the O’s and hope to work out those command issues.

John Means Leaves Start For “Precautionary” Reasons With Forearm Tightness

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Orioles left-hander John Means left tonight’s start against the Brewers after four innings, with the team announcing he’d experienced some forearm tightness. That’s always an ominous-sounding development, given how often forearm tightness can be a precursor to serious elbow issues, yet neither Means nor O’s manager Brandon Hyde sounded overly concerned.

Hyde called the early exit “precautionary” when speaking with reporters after the game (via Dan Connolly of the Athletic). The southpaw began feeling tightness in the third inning, according to the skipper, before raising the attention of the trainers after the fourth. Means said it was the second consecutive start in which he’d had some discomfort (via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) but indicated he wasn’t particularly worried and hoped to resume throwing within a few days.

The team will know more about the issue after receiving the MRI results, although it’s a bit of a relief to hear both Means and Hyde express optimism in the immediate aftermath. Means missed more than six weeks last season after straining his shoulder. At the time he landed on the shelf, he owned a 2.28 ERA/4.20 FIP; after returning in July, he pitched to a 4.88 ERA/5.01 FIP.

It’s too simplistic to attribute Means’ second-half struggles solely to the shoulder issue, but it seemed as if the injury were having some amount of deleterious effect. Obviously, it’s not clear his current forearm discomfort is tied at all to his prior shoulder issues, but it’s at least moderately alarming to hear of Means again dealing with arm troubles.

If healthy, the 28-year-old (29 later this month) could be one of the top arms available on the midseason trade market. Means is controllable through 2024 via arbitration, but the O’s are still firmly amidst a rebuild and reportedly floated him in discussions with other clubs over the winter.

His 2022 salary is still yet to be determined, as he and the Orioles are likely headed to an arbitration hearing after he filed for $3.1MM versus the team’s offer of $2.7MM. The MRI results won’t have any bearing on that hearing, which will be a backwards-looking process based on his pre-2022 body of work.

Orioles Select Spenser Watkins

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The Orioles have selected the contract of right-hander Spenser Watkins, manager Brandon Hyde announced to reporters Monday (Twitter link via Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun). Baltimore also recalled right-hander Alexander Wells from Triple-A Norfolk and placed righty Dean Kremer on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain. Outfielder DJ Stewart was optioned to Norfolk last night, so Watkins and Wells will fill the vacancies created by that move and by Kremer’s placement on the IL. Baltimore’s 40-man roster had previously been at 39 players, but it’s now full following Watkins’ selection.

This will be the second straight season that the 29-year-old Watkins has logged big league time in Baltimore. The longtime Tigers farmhand made his big league debut in Baltimore last year after signing a minor league deal in the 2020-21 offseason. Watkins had solid numbers in eight Triple-A games (six starts), pitching to a 3.53 ERA with a 20.4% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate in that time.

The big leagues were another story, however. Opponents jumped on him for 49 runs in just 54 2/3 innings — an 8.07 ERA. Watkins started off his big league career with just three runs through his first 16 1/3 innings, and he closed out the 2021 season with a more solid stretch of three runs allowed in his final 7 2/3 frames. The middle stretch of games proved brutal, however, as he served up 43 runs in 31 innings over seven starts and one relief appearance. Watkins has a 3.86 ERA in 625 1/3 innings at the minor league level, and he’ll now aim to carry some of that success over in his second go-around in the Majors.

As for the 25-year-old Wells, he signed with the O’s as an international free agent out of Australia back in 2015. He, too, made his MLB debut in Baltimore last season and experienced a rough set of results, serving up 32 runs in 42 2/3 innings (6.75 ERA). As with Watkins, Wells has considerably better numbers in the minors, where he’s pitched to a 2.87 ERA in 529 2/3 innings. That includes a 3.29 ERA in 54 2/3 Triple-A frames last year. Wells has punched out just 19.6% of his minor league opponents in his career, but he also boasts an outstanding 3.9% walk rate.

Orioles Option DJ Stewart To Triple-A

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The Orioles have optioned DJ Stewart to Triple-A Norfolk, per the Orioles.

Counting the two plate appearances Stewart made before today’s game, Stewart has not appeared in five consecutive seasons for the Orioles. He saw the most action of his career last season, stepping to the plate 318 times with a triple-slash line of .204/.324/.374 with 12 long balls.

More roster moves appear to be on the way for Baltimore. Dean Kremer warmed up in the bullpen, but sat down again after apparently suffering an injury, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports. He appeared to have injured his left oblique. Stewart’s demotion could be meant to create roster space to add another arm while they await an update on Kremer, though that’s speculative.

The Orioles have a day or so to figure out their next move. With a day off on Monday, the Orioles will likely wait until early Tuesday to make an addition to the roster.

Offseason In Review: Baltimore Orioles

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The Orioles’ rebuild continues to slouch forward. But with their best prospects on the cusp of breaking the majors, perhaps they’re about to turn a corner.

Major League Signings

  • Jordan Lyles, SP: one-year, $7MM plus club option for 2023
  • Robinson Chirinos, C, one-year, $900K plus incentives
  • Rougned Odor, 2B: one-year, $700K (Rangers paying the remainder of the $12.3MM remaining on his contract)
  • Total spend: $8.6MM

Options Exercised

  • None

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

The biggest headlines surrounding the Orioles this season involved things that didn’t end up happening. John Means had his name come up in trade talks, though a deal never materialized. Cedric Mullins was a popular target for teams around the league, though he is also still in Baltimore. Ditto for Austin Hays and Trey Mancini. As the offseason wore on and Carlos Correa lingered on the open market, it was suggested by some that the Orioles could be dark horse candidate to sign him, due both to their lack of spending commitments and the connection with GM Mike Elias. While with Houston, Elias was reportedly the one who convinced the rest of the Astros’ front office that they should take Correa with the first overall pick in the 2012 draft. As fun as that would have been, that also didn’t happen.

In the early portion of the offseason, the club made a handful of waiver claims and minor league deals. Just on the verge of the lockout, in late November, they signed Rougned Odor to a major league deal. With Odor still being paid by the Rangers as part of the extension he signed in 2017, the Orioles were able to bring him aboard at the league minimum rate. He hasn’t posted a wRC+ above 100 since 2016, but there’s virtually no risk for the O’s to give him a shot and see if he can turn himself into a valuable trade chip for them.

On December 1st, with just a few hours to go until the lockout was set to begin, it was announced that Baltimore had agreed to sign Jordan Lyles to a one-year, $7MM guarantee. (It wouldn’t be made official until after the lockout.) This would go on to be the biggest move of their offseason. In fact, this is the largest contract handed out by Elias since he was hired as the GM in 2018. It seems the M.O. is to focus on the youth pipeline until it’s fully connected to the majors, with little concern given to the short-term competitiveness or watchability of the big league team. Spend as little as possible and wait for the kids to arrive.

In other offseason news, it was announced in January that the dimensions of Oriole Park at Camden Yards would be changing, with the left field fences being both pushed back and elevated. This is an attempt to curtail the extreme homer-friendly nature of the park, which has allowed the most dingers in the league since it opened in 1992. Elias later admitted that the club also hopes this will help them lure free agent pitchers to Baltimore in future seasons.

After the lockout, the Lyles deal was made official and the O’s also signed Robinson Chirinos. At the time, the 37-year-old was the only catcher on the 40-man roster but was still expected to be the backup to top prospect Adley Rutschman. But Chirinos will become the starting catcher for now, as Rutschman was later shut down with a triceps strain that’s expected to keep him out of action until mid-April. Anthony Bemboom was upgraded from depth option to big league backup.

As the calendar flipped to April, Tanner Scott and Cole Sulser were sent to Miami. In exchange, Baltimore received a couple of prospects, a player to be named later and the Marlins’ pick in Competitive Balance Round B in the upcoming draft, yet another move dedicated towards building the team of the future. After that, Chris Owings had his contract selected. He had a  .326/.420/.628 line with the Rockies last year before a broken thumb curtailed the remainder of his season. He can act as a veteran utility man and perhaps turn into a trade chip if he can hit at anywhere near last year’s pace.

That’s surely what Orioles fans will be focused on, the future, for the present and the recent past provide little to feel good about. Baltimore has finished last in the AL East in four out of the last five seasons, with the only exception being the shortened 2020 campaign when the Red Sox burrowed beneath them. Five years of almost constant basement dwelling seem almost certainly to carry forward into a sixth, as Baltimore’s four division mates are all projected to be quite strong yet again, on the heels of each winning at least 91 games last year.

When it comes to the future, though, there’s plenty to be excited about. Baseball America’s most recent Organization Talent Rankings placed the Orioles system fourth on the list, with many of the club’s top prospects nearing their MLB debuts. Rutschman, considered by many to be the best prospect in the game right now, seemed like he had a chance to crack the Opening Day roster before the unfortunate injury news. That will push his debut down the road but hopefully not for too long. Grayson Rodriguez will start this year in Triple-A, meaning he could push for a roster spot soon. D.L. Hall and Gunnar Henderson will be just behind in Double-A.

The path out of the bottom of the AL East will be steep, but with an impressive collection of prospects about to join the squad, it’s possible that this is the year where it actually feels like the Orioles are climbing. Though they haven’t spent any money in recent years, that also means they have a wide open future payroll. Just about everything comes off the books this year, including the ill-fated Chris Davis contract. Though 2022 is likely to be another dreadful year, it should only get better from here.

Orioles Outright Isaac Mattson

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The Orioles announced this afternoon that reliever Isaac Mattson has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. The move clears a spot on the Baltimore 40-man roster, which now sits at 39.

Baltimore added Mattson to the roster last offseason to keep him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. The O’s had previously acquired the University of Pittsburgh product from the Angels as part of the Dylan Bundy trade in December 2019. Mattson made his first four big league appearances last season, allowing three runs in 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and five walks.

It was a rough season with Norfolk, where the righty spent the majority of the year. He tossed 17 1/3 innings in 18 outings, pitching to a 6.23 ERA. The 26-year-old had a solid 29.6% strikeout percentage and 7.4% walk rate, but he was plagued by a .447 opponents batting average on balls in play.

Mattson has never before been outrighted and doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse the assignment. He’ll remain in Norfolk — where he’d already been after the O’s optioned him to start the year — and try to pitch his way back onto the 40-man roster.

Orioles Sign Matt Harvey To Minor League Deal

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APRIL 8: Baltimore announced they’ve signed Harvey to a minor league contract. He’ll make a prorated $1MM salary for any time spent in the big leagues, reports Dan Connolly of the Athletic, with a $500K assignment bonus in the event of a trade.

APRIL 7: The Orioles are close to bringing right-hander Matt Harvey back to the organization on a minor league deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The Boras Corporation client will report to extended Spring Training and build up toward a potential debut relatively early in the season.

Harvey, 33, spent the 2021 season in Baltimore and soaked up 127 2/3 innings while getting knocked around to the tune of a 6.27 ERA. His fastball, which once averaged 96.9 mph, sat at 93.6 mph, while his 16.3% strikeout rate was among the lowest marks of his career. Harvey’s 6.4% walk rate was considerably better than the league average, but the once-vaunted righty didn’t give much other reason to hope for a return to his “Dark Knight” form.

The Orioles, however, aren’t attempting to compete in 2022 anyhow and need some extra arms to eat innings in a similar role that Harvey held last season. He clearly made a solid impression on the organization and in the clubhouse, so he’ll have the opportunity to return for a second season.

Harvey was in the spotlight this offseason as a witness in the trial of former Angels communications director Eric Kay, who has been charged with providing opioids that led to the death of Tyler Skaggs. Harvey acknowledged on the stand that he has previously used opioids and other drugs, particularly during his time with the Mets, but the right-hander has by all accounts moved past that history of drug abuse. Orioles GM Mike Elias acknowledged to reporters that Harvey’s role in the Kay/Skaggs trial does make it a “very unique situation” (link via Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun).

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