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DJ Stewart

Orioles Promote DJ Stewart

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The Orioles have announced that outfield prospect D.J. Stewart is heading onto the active roster. His contract was selected today.

A few corresponding moves were announced as well. Righty Cody Carroll and catcher Andrew Susac were both activated, while outfielder Mark Trumbo and righty Pedro Araujo were bumped to the 60-day DL.

Stewart, a former first-round pick, will make it to the bigs in advance of an offseason Rule 5 decision. Clearly, the O’s expect to carry him on the 40-man roster throughout the offseason.

Now 24 years of age, the FSU product has moved steadily through the Baltimore system. He wasn’t able to follow up on a strong 2017 season at the Double-A level, however, as he struggled a bit in his 490 plate appearances this year at the club’s top affiliate. He hit a dozen home runs, swiped 11 bags, and slashed .235/.329/.387 on the year.

AL East Notes: Sabathia, JDM, Frazier, Orioles

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The Blue Jays met with C.C. Sabathia today, George A. King III of the New York Post reports (via Twitter).  Toronto joins the Yankees and Angels as teams that have checked in on Sabathia to bolster the back of their rotations, eating innings and still delivering effective results at age 37.  The Jays have a lot of uncertainty with the fifth spot in their rotation, and maybe even beyond that given the blister and fingernail problems that plagued Aaron Sanchez last season.  There was some good news on that front today, however, as Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi reports that Sanchez played catch for the first time in three months and reported no issues with his finger.

More from the AL East…

  • The Red Sox are focusing 90 percent of their offseason attention on J.D. Martinez, a source tells NBC Sports Boston’s Evan Drellich.  Martinez has been heavily rumored as a top Sox target, given his past ties to Dave Dombrowski, the lack of qualifying offer compensation tied to his signing, and the simple fact that he is the best power hitter on the market this winter.  Dombrowski told reporters (including the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo) today that he had a specific name in mind to bolster the middle of Boston’s lineup, though no hints were given.
  • After Chase Headley was dealt earlier today, speculation immediately arose that the Yankees could look to re-sign Todd Frazier.  MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reported that Yankees GM Brian Cashman has been speaking with Frazier’s agent, though things don’t “appear hot at the moment” between the two sides, as per FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman.  As the New York Post’s Joel Sherman observes, one of the stumbling blocks is that Frazier is naturally looking for a multi-year deal, whereas the Yankees don’t want to lock up third base with prospect Miguel Andujar in the fold and a possible pursuit of Manny Machado coming next winter.
  • The Orioles are getting interest in outfield prospects Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and DJ Stewart, executive VP Dan Duquette told MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski.  It isn’t known if the O’s are open to dealing any of these youngsters, though Duquette did say that “in our quest for pitching we have found that clubs like our outfielders,” which at least seems to hint that other clubs could be offering the Orioles some much-needed arms for the prospects.  Of the trio, it would surprising to see Hays dealt for anything less than a big return, as he is considered the top prospect in Baltimore’s system and would become a contributor at the MLB level as early as next season.

AL East Notes: A-Rod, Wright, Hutchison, Stewart

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Some items from around the AL East…

  • Alex Rodriguez left the sixth inning of today’s game with left oblique stiffness, and a postgame MRI was negative, according to a Yankees media release.  The veteran slugger will travel to Arlington with the rest of the team for a series with the Rangers, though it’s yet unknown if A-Rod will be able to play.  Joe Girardi told reporters (including Josh Thomson of the LoHud Yankees blog) that if Rodriguez needs some time off, it could necessitate a DL move so the club wouldn’t be playing two men short.  Aaron Hicks is resting a shoulder injury suffered on Friday and is expected to miss a few games after receiving a cortisone shot, so he could also be a DL candidate should the Yankees need to bolster their depth.
  • Steven Wright has gone from injury fill-in to unexpected ace of the Red Sox staff in April after posting a 1.40 ERA over his first three starts.  WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford talks to Boston scout John Lombardo, who saw potential in Wright as a knuckleballer back in 2011 when Wright was an Indians farmhand and pushed the Sox to make a trade.
  • Drew Hutchison threw a solid outing for the Blue Jays today, and as MLB.com’s Alykhan Ravjiani notes, the right-hander could provide an important depth role for Toronto’s rotation.  Hutchison lost his rotation spot due to a rough 2015 season and is now at Triple-A, though the Jays could call on him for spot outings to keep the rest of the rotation fresh.  With Aaron Sanchez known to be eventually moving back to the bullpen to limit his innings, Hutchison could also boost his case for regular starts later in the season.
  • There are some concerns within the Orioles organization about 2015 first-rounder DJ Stewart’s struggles both at the plate and in the field, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes.  In 285 professional plate appearances (and low-A and high-A ball), Stewart has managed only a .214/.303/.330 slash line.  Obviously it’s still quite early in his career and Stewart is only 22 years old, though the O’s have thus far not seen much from the 25th overall pick in last year’s draft.

Orioles Sign First-Round Pick DJ Stewart

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The Orioles announced that they have signed first-round pick DJ Stewart. The outfielder was selected with the No. 25 overall pick.  Stewart’s deal calls for him to earn $2,064,500, full slot for his draft position, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com (on Twitter).  Callis adds that he considers Stewart to be one of the best bats in the 2015 class.

Stewart, an FSU product, slashed .318/.500/.593 with 15 homers in 64 games last season. As a sophomore, the 21-year old was the ACC Player of the Year and an All-ACC First Team selection after leading the conference in batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage.

Stewart was ranked No. 26 by Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel, No. 30 by of Baseball America, No. 36 by and Jonathan Mayo/Jim Callis of MLB.com, and No. 70 by Keith Law of ESPN.com.  Originally chosen by the Yankees in the 28th round of the 2012 draft, Stewart has improved his stock tremendously over the last three years.  In their scouting report, BA was highly complimentary of Stewart’s quick swing and plate discipline.  With an adjustment to his stance, some scouts believe that he’ll be able to hit for more power going forward.

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