Orioles Rumors

AL East Notes: Britton, Price, Red Sox, Duffy, Pearce

By Mark Polishuk | March 21, 2017 at 6:39pm CDT

As a dominant AL East closer that relies on one signature pitch, the Orioles’ Zach Britton has much in common with Mariano Rivera, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark writes. Obviously Britton has a ways to go before matching Rivera’s incredible track record, though Britton’s sinker (which he threw 92.2% of the time last season) is already being compared to Rivera’s legendary cut fastball. Without fully explaining his secrets behind the pitch, Britton tells Stark about what makes his sinker unique, and also how he came upon the pitch by accident while trying to learn, ironically, a cutter.

Here’s more from around the AL East…

David Price was re-examined by Red Sox team doctors today and the team reported that the ace lefty “has lost enough strength in his arm to where he is weaker than he was when he reported to Spring Training,” Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes. Price still isn’t on a timetable to begin his throwing program, and thus Silverman speculates that Price’s DL stint could now stretch into May, as opposed to the previous theorized return date of late April. “You don’t really attach yourself to a calendar. You’ve got to listen to the pitcher’s situation, how his body is responding and what the objective tests are telling us. He’s getting closer to getting a ball back in his hand,” manager John Farrell said.
Despite the recent spate of injuries to newly-acquired Red Sox, Dave Dombrowski doesn’t feel the team’s medical evaluation process is at fault, CSNNE.com’s Evan Drellich writes. “I don’t find anything that’s been abnormal this spring compared to any other spring I’ve ever been,” Dombrowski said. “We’ve focused a great deal on medical. But we’ve been doing that for years and we continually look at that all the time.” Price, Drew Pomeranz, Tyler Thornburg, Carson Smith and Hector Velazquez have all dealt with some degree of arm issues with joining the Sox since Dombrowski took over as president of baseball operations, though he argues that acquiring pitching of any type carries inherent risk. “With the sophistication of the medical industry nowadays, I don’t know the last time I’ve traded for somebody or signed somebody: nobody has a pristine arm,” Dombrowski said. “Nobody. I can’t even tell you the last time — it doesn’t exist. So you’re going to know that that’s just part of the equation. And then you have to weigh what type of risk you’re willing to take.”
It looks like Rays shortstop Matt Duffy will miss Opening Day, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that the club is still trying to determine a timeline for Duffy’s injury rehab. Duffy underwent Achilles tendon surgery on his left heel last September, and has been limited to just strengthening exercises and drills this spring, without any running and no baseball activities. Rays manager Kevin Cash implied that Duffy’s current problems may not be related to his Achilles surgery, which could be a positive in getting him closer to readiness.
Steve Pearce declined to tell Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun if the Orioles were in touch about re-signing the veteran utilityman, though he praised the O’s for supporting his decision to undergo elbow surgery late last season when the club was in a pennant race. Pearce also noted that he decided to sign with the Blue Jays since “they were hard and aggressive” in their pursuit this winter. “As a player, when you have somebody who wants you that bad and they come after you, they don’t mess around, they’re not trying to low ball — as soon as we got to a number we got comfortable with and they got comfortable with, it was an easy sign,” Pearce said.
In other AL East news from earlier today on MLBTR, the Blue Jays are close to a contract extension with manager John Gibbons, the Yankees will be without Didi Gregorius for roughly six weeks due to a shoulder injury and the Rays could still possibly trade a pitcher before Opening Day.

AL Notes: Hernandez, Anderson, Mariners

By charliewilmoth | March 20, 2017 at 7:53am CDT

Red Sox infielder Marco Hernandez has hit very well this spring but has no obvious role with the team, so he could be traded, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. The 24-year-old Hernandez has batted .405/.488/.730 in Spring Training, but he has little chance of breaking camp with the team because he’s a lefty hitter, like utilityman Brock Holt, and the team prefers a righty. Hernandez, who the Red Sox acquired prior to the 2015 season as a PTBNL in the Felix Doubront deal, batted .309/.343/.444 in Triple-A and .294/.357/.373 in 56 plate appearances while shuttling back and forth between the minors and Majors last year. “[T]his is an everyday player if you really start to break him down and look at what he’s capable of doing,” says manager John Farrell. “Yet he’s in a group that’s talented, that’s deep, so finding his place is ongoing.” Here’s more from the American League.

Former slugger and current vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson is a source of tension within the Orioles organization, writes FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal in a detailed feature that’s revealing about the ways players and coaches think about the roles of team front office members. Anderson’s duties with the club include coaching, working on the team’s strength and conditioning program and helping determine player transactions, meaning he has influence in a number of seemingly disparate areas. He’s also close with owner Peter Angelos. Former pitching coach Dave Wallace cites Anderson’s “total autonomy and really no accountability” as a problem for the Orioles, and both Wallace and former bullpen coach Dom Chiti (who are both now with the Braves) cite Anderson’s presence as reasons they left the organization. Former catcher Matt Wieters also describes Anderson’s blurring of the boundaries between executive and coach as an issue for the club. “Brady was a great player for a long time. He was a member of that clubhouse,” says Wieters. “At the same time, when you get into the season, the 25 guys in that clubhouse are who you want in that clubhouse.”
The Mariners are no strangers to analytics, but they also value old-school approaches to player evaluation, MLB.com’s Doug Miller writes. Manager Scott Servais, for example, highlights veteran catcher Carlos Ruiz’s work this spring with pitchers, including 23-year-old Max Povse, who spent the 2016 season at the Class A+ and Double-A levels but has thrived so far in camp. “Max Povse comes out after four innings [thinking], ’Jeez, I never had to shake off a pitch tonight. Never had to think about it,'” says Servais. “You can’t measure it, but it’s there and it’s really important to a winning team.”

Olney’s Latest: Machado, Harper, Tigers, Jays, Giants

By Connor Byrne | March 19, 2017 at 9:17am CDT

Given that Orioles third baseman Manny Machado and Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper are scheduled to reach free agency after the 2018 season, high-payroll teams will spend the next two years deciding the more worthy target, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com. With that in mind, Olney polled seven evaluators on which potential $400MM player they’d prefer to sign. Six chose Machado, whom the evaluators regard as a more well-rounded player. “Harper gets credit and gets a huge part of his reputation for how far he hits home runs, but they still only count for one run,” one evaluator told Olney. “Machado is an entire field hitter who hits to the situation. He can hammer majestic homers, but can also do other things to help a team win.”

Orioles Release Logan Ondrusek

By Steve Adams | March 17, 2017 at 8:19am CDT

The Orioles have released right-hander Logan Ondrusek, tweets Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. (The move was first noted on the Orioles’ Transactions page at MLB.com.) As Connolly reported at the time of Ondrusek’s deal with Baltimore, the 31-year-old’s $605K salary was not fully guaranteed, so by cutting him loose today, the Orioles won’t be responsible for that entire sum. Ondrusek has been battling elbow soreness and is slated to make the dreaded visit to Dr. James Andrews for further examination.

Ondrusek joined the Orioles midway through the 2016 season after beginning the year with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and pitching quite well. His overseas work resulted in a 2.45 ERA and a 29-to-11 K/BB ratio in 29 1/3 innings of work, which garnered enough interest from the Orioles to bring Ondrusek over on a Major League contract. However, the veteran righty wasn’t able to replicate that success with the O’s, surrendering seven runs in the 6 1/3 innings he spent with the big league club before being sent down to the minors. Baltimore declined a club option on Ondrusek this winter and later re-signed him to the aforementioned one-year deal.

Ondrusek’s 2016 season was his second pitching with Yakult and his second in which he enjoyed great success in Japan. Prior to his work there and with the Orioles, the former 13th-rounder spent five seasons as a member of the Reds’ bullpen. While he struggled in 2014, Ondrusek’s overall work with Cincinnati was typically solid, though he’s primarily been used in low-leverage situations throughout his MLB career. Even with unsightly numbers in 2014 and 2016, Ondrusek owns a career 4.03 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 277 innings.

East Notes: Tillman, Bonifacio, Nats, Kendrick

By Steve Adams | March 15, 2017 at 6:55pm CDT

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman received a cortisone injection in his right shoulder today, as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters that the O’s are “encouraged” with Tillman’s recent progress and are planning to see how he reacts to the cortisone shot a few days from now before determining exactly when Tillman can return to the mound. Showalter again stated that Tillman isn’t expected to be ready for Opening Day, but Encina notes that the cortisone injection will hopefully allow Tillman to debut for the Orioles at some point in April. Certainly the Orioles will hope for a speedy recovery, as Tillman represents one of the top three arms in their rotation. But for Tillman, personally, there’s quite a bit at stake, as he’s slated to become a free agent at season’s end.

More from the game’s Eastern divisions…

Veteran utilityman Emilio Bonifacio is making a “strong push” to break camp with the Braves at the end of Spring Training, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bonifacio had a pair of poor seasons in 2015-16 and acknowledged to O’Brien that his conditioning in recent seasons has fallen off. Bonifacio reported to camp in better shape than he has in the past couple of years and has performed well while showing the ability to play all second base, third base and all three outfield positions. The Braves don’t currently have a fourth outfield option that has much in the way of center-field experience, so the versatile Bonifacio could fill a need in that regard.
While the Nationals aren’t publicly acknowledging the possibility, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes that the team can very likely only carry one of Adam Lind or Clint Robinson on the bench this season. And, with Lind having inked a Major League contract with an option for the 2018 campaign earlier this year, he’s the likelier candidate to claim that vacant bench spot. The 32-year-old Robinson is out of minor league options, so he’d have to clear waivers or break camp with the team if the Nationals hope to retain him.
Right-hander Kyle Kendrick has improbably gone from a long shot to make the Red Sox’ roster to perhaps their best option to serve as the team’s sixth starter, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Drellich notes that Boston’s crowded rotation picture, featuring stars like Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello, made it difficult to lure starting depth on minor league deals. Kendrick, though, was drawn to a winning environment in Boston. Additionally, his agent, John Boggs, also represents Sean O’Sullivan, who spoke highly of his own experience with the Sox in a role similar to the one for which Kendrick is competing. Kendrick explains to Drellich that he was plagued by shoulder troubles in recent years and altered his pitch selection at the Rockies’ request upon moving to Coors Field. His hope is that with his more traditional mix of pitches and a healthy shoulder, he can return to the form that allowed him to log a 4.30 ERA in 862 innings with the Phillies from 2009-14.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/14/17

By Jeff Todd | March 14, 2017 at 2:38pm CDT

We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:

Righty Andrew Bellatti has joined the Orioles on a minors deal, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. The 25-year-old had spent his entire career with the division-rival Rays organization, but lost his 40-man spot last summer. Bellatti worked to a 2.31 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 23 1/3 MLB innings in 2015, his first and only big league stint. But he struggled last year in the minors, allowing 11 earned runs in 14 1/3 frames on the year while working through shoulder troubles.

AL Notes: Povse, Price, Mancini, A’s

By Jeff Todd | March 13, 2017 at 11:28pm CDT

While former first-rounder Alex Jackson got the headlines in the offseason trade that sent him from the Mariners to the Braves, Seattle is feeling good about its end of the deal, MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes. Righty Max Povse has impressed in camp, showing a bigger fastball than had been anticipated. Manager Scott Servais praised his current offerings while noting that “there’s a lot of room for growth” for Povse.

Here’s more from the American League:

While the general vibe around David Price’s elbow health has been positive, details have been sparse, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. Price and the Red Sox have expressed confidence, but little in the way of specifics with regard to the precise injury and what needs to be done for the lefty to get back on the mound. Further, as MacPherson explains, based largely upon an interview with sports medicine expert Dr. Paul Fadale, there’s still plenty of reason for concern.
The Orioles are continuing to cram power bats in the outfield, with Trey Mancini now joining the freshly re-signed Pedro Alvarez on the grass. As Jon Meoli of the Batimore Sun reports, Mancini spent the winter preparing for the possible transition, but is only now readying to do so in game action. The long-time first baseman would surely be a much more intriguing player if he were capable of playing a passable outfield, though he’ll surely be given plenty of MLB opportunity regardless. Mancini, who’ll soon turn 25, blasted three home runs in 15 plate appearances during his first taste of the bigs last year.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at how the Athletics’ pen is shaping up. Righty Santiago Casilla was bombed in his spring debut, though he’s playing catch-up after a visa issue delayed his arrival. Lefty Sean Doolittle, meanwhile, is slated to make his first competitive appearance tomorrow. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be joined by another southpaw in the bullpen, but Slusser says that Ross Detwiler “is emerging as a strong possibility” to claim such a role.

NL Notes: Giants, Blanco, Orioles, Voth, Happ

By Mark Polishuk | March 12, 2017 at 10:40pm CDT

Ian Desmond’s fractured hand is the big story coming out of the senior circuit today, though here are some more items from around the National League…

With a number of veterans in camp on minor league deals and quite a few jobs still to be decided, the Giants’ final roster cuts “are going to come down to the end of camp,” Bruce Bochy told reporters (including MLB.com’s Barry M. Bloom). “I’ve already had some guys tell me, ’I’m glad I’m not you.’ I mean, they’re all good guys, experienced guys, and they’re doing a good job,” Bochy said. As Bloom notes, versatility will be a big factor in the Giants’ decision, as a player who can handle multiple positions is a necessity given the team’s needs and lack of bench space. Jimmy Rollins, Aaron Hill, and Mike Morse are a few of the notable veteran names still fighting for jobs.
Gregor Blanco received interest from the Orioles and Tigers this winter, but the outfielder tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he chose to sign a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks in part because of their running game and aggressive style of play. Detroit’s connection to Blanco was previously reported, and while this is the first time the O’s have been linked to Blanco this winter, he makes sense as a target given how Baltimore searched the market for left-handed hitting, versatile outfielders for much of the offseason.
Austin Voth has been somewhat of an overlooked figure behind the Nationals’ other star prospects, though as Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post writes, Voth could now emerge in an important role as Washington’s top piece of starter depth. Voth is battling with A.J. Cole, Vance Worley, and Erick Fedde for the “sixth starter” role, which is of no small importance given the injuries that inevitably crop up for a pitching staff over the course of a season. A fifth-round pick for the Nats in 2013, Voth has a 2.84 ERA, 3.33 K/BB rate and 8.7 K/9 over 487 1/3 career innings in the minors.
With so many young Cubs stars already in place around the diamond, prospect Ian Happ is looking to help his chances of finding a regular role by playing multiple positions a la Ben Zobrist, Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com writes. “He’s a perfect example to a young player on how to stay in the game and contribute. That’s who I want to emulate,” Happ said. Originally drafted as an outfielder and second baseman as the ninth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Happ has already played second and all three outfield spots in the minors, plus he has been doing some work as a third baseman this spring. In another piece on Happ, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat notes that Happ is developing well at second and is already showing some fine skills at the plate. Happ is yet another impressive youngster in the Cubs’ pipeline, as he featured on top-100 prospect lists from MLB.com (28th), Baseball Prospectus (54th), Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law (both 63rd).

Injury Notes: Indians, Orioles, Jays, Cards, Rockies

By Connor Byrne | March 12, 2017 at 2:22pm CDT

The sore right shoulder that has bothered Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis this spring will likely keep him out to begin the regular season, manager Terry Francona revealed Sunday (via Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer). Kipnis made his Cactus League debut as a designated hitter Thursday, before which he told Hoynes that throwing the ball – not swinging the bat – has caused him pain. However, on the heels of the Indians playing Kipnis in back-to-back games as a DH (the second of which took place Friday), they’ll shut him down for two weeks. While “nothing has gone haywire” in Kipnis’ recovery, according to Francona, the team is being careful because “it’s such a long season.”

More injury updates:

As is the case with Kipnis, the latest news on Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman’s shoulder isn’t ideal. The O’s shut Tillman down after he made approximately 10 throws during a long toss session on Sunday, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The next update on Tillman will come Monday, notes Kubatko, who reported Saturday that he’s likely to open the season on the disabled list. Baltimore won’t need a fifth starter until April 15, though, and it’s possible Tillman will be ready to go by then. If not, it would make for an inauspicious start to the final year of his contract.
With Opening Day nearing, Blue Jays superstar third baseman Josh Donaldson is beginning to ramp up activities as he works his way back from the strained right calf he suffered three weeks ago, writes Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. “I’m probably at 40 percent or 50 percent running right now,” said Donaldson. “And obviously, it’s got to get to the point where I can run 100 percent. I feel like, hopefully, that should be sometime next week, the way that it’s progressing now.”
It appears the right lat muscle soreness Cardinals righty Trevor Rosenthal has been battling will kill his chances of winning a place in the team’s rotation. Moreover, it could stop the ex-closer from beginning the year as a multi-inning fireman, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Rosenthal – now, saying could he get the innings he needs to contribute as a starter or a multiple-inning relief appearance? “I think that is still in question,” said manager Mike Matheny. “It’s very important that at some point this week he gets into a game and we can get that pitch count up.” Regardless of whether Rosenthal is well enough by April to toss multiple innings in an appearance, someone figures to serve as that type of weapon for the Cardinals. General manager John Mozeliak called it “very appealing” to Matheny, and Goold adds that John Gant, Matthew Bowman, Miguel Socolovich, Tyler Lyons and Sam Tuivailala are possibilities to fill that role.
Rockies reliever Chad Qualls has been on the shelf since suffering an elbow injury March 1, and his return isn’t imminent, skipper Bud Black told Nick Groke of the Denver Post. Qualls is still feeling “elbow discomfort,” leading the Rockies to take a cautious approach with the 38-year-old. Even though Qualls is due a $3.25MM salary this season, his roster spot was in jeopardy before the injury and that remains the case, according to Groke. Despite having induced grounders at a 55 percent clip and limiting walks (2.48 per nine), Qualls pitched to an ugly ERA (5.23) over 32 2/3 frames last season.

Pitching Notes: Rangers, Astros, Marlins, O’s, Red Sox, Jays

By Connor Byrne | March 11, 2017 at 10:21pm CDT

While it’s possible the Rangers will bring back right-hander Colby Lewis to compete for a spot in their banged-up rotation, there hasn’t been any movement toward re-signing the free agent, general manager Jon Daniels told Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. The 37-year-old Lewis is unwilling to take a minors deal, reports Fraley, so the Rangers will have to remove someone from their 40-man roster if they hand him a major league contract. Nearly all of Lewis’ career has been spent in Texas, where he pitched his first three seasons (2002-04) and the past seven (2010-16). He threw 116 1/3 innings of 3.71 ERA ball last season, though his FIP, xFIP and SIERA each hovered around the 5.00 mark.

The latest on a few other American League pitchers:

No full-time reliever eclipsed the 90-inning mark in either of the previous two seasons, but several could do it this year, observes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. There’s “a growing desire” among GMs and managers to utilize certain relievers for multiple innings, relays Sherman, who writes that the Astros’ Chris Devenski and the Marlins’ David Phelps are prime candidates to serve as bullpen workhorses in 2017. “Not every reliever is built for a versatile role. [Devenski] is,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. The right-hander was sensational across 108 1/3 frames as a rookie last year, when he threw 83 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and delivered a 1.61 ERA, 8.98 K/9 and 1.26 BB/9. Phelps was great at preventing runs in both roles (2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings as a starter, 2.31 ERA in 62 1/3 relief frames), but the righty only worked an inning at a time from the bullpen. Miami’s now stretching him out to throw 50 pitches in a given appearance, if necessary. “I look at Phelps like Andrew Miller,” manager Don Mattingly told Sherman. “I can use him in multiple ways. I can pitch him a few innings or I can have him close a game. You can’t do it on a daily basis. He still needs his rest. You know in bigger situations in the fifth and sixth innings you can see him.”
One of the Orioles’ top starters, righty Chris Tillman, will open the season on the 10-day disabled list, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Tillman has been dealing with shoulder issues for the past few months, and he underwent a platelet-rich plasma injection in December. The Orioles won’t need a fifth starter until April 15, notes Kubatko, who lists Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson, Gabriel Ynoa, Jayson Aquino and Chris Lee as possibilities to slot into their rotation during Tillman’s absence.
Red Sox left-hander David Price threw Saturday for the first time since suffering a flexor strain earlier this month, per Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Manager John Farrell came away encouraged, calling it “a good day for David,” but a return still doesn’t exactly seem imminent for the ace. “All of the early phase of throwing are going to be short, controlled effort and energy,” said Farrell. “We’re not even mapping out distances right now. We’re more interested in seeing how his arm responds to even the light throwing.”
Blue Jays southpaw T.J. House left the team’s game against the Tigers in an ambulance Friday after a line drive struck him in the head. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any skull fractures and is “doing well,” GM Ross Atkins told Jayson Stark of ESPN on Saturday. The club will be “extremely conservative” in deciding when to clear House to return to the mound, Atkins added.

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