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Jimmy Yacabonis

DMV Notes: Mejdal, O’s Rotation, Brocail, Difo

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The Orioles offseason has consisted largely of the esoteric behind-the-scenes work being done by a newly-minted braintrust, offering the Baltimore fanbase little in terms of concrete evidence of a team on the rise. MLBTR readers rendered a decidedly nonplussed verdict of the O’s offseason by handing out a failing grade as the most common response in our Offseason In Review Series poll. Hope for an improved future for the AL’s foremost cellar dweller is dependent largely on conjecture tied to the resumes of the men brought in to run the organization, namely GM Mike Elias and field manager Brandon Hyde. The first significant evidence of Elias’ progress, however, is being seen all over spring camp, per MLB.com’s Joe Trezza. Spin axis seminars, high-speed Edgertronic cameras and “the long list of players championing the exposure to extra information they weren’t privy to before” are a few of the promising signs of growth coming out of O’s camp. Baltimore’s data infusion can be credited to new assistant general manger of analytics Sig Mejdal, a former NASA engineer and blackjack dealer whom Elias coaxed to Baltimore from their former employer in Houston. But that’s not all of the news coming from the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia corridor…

  • Hyde has already announced Alex Cobb as the Opening Day starter, but the only certainty beyond day one is the presence of Cobb, Andrew Cashner and Dylan Bundy in the rotation. In what order they’ll line up after Cobb, and who pitches in the fourth and fifth rotation spots is still very much up in the air, per the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli (via Twitter). Using an Opener at times is definitely on the table, as is tweaking the rotation depending on the matchup. More clarity could come soon to O’s camp, as another round of roster cuts is planned for tomorrow, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). Free agent signee Nate Karns certainly hopes to lay claim to one of those spots, but it’ll likely be a dynamic roster-crunching process in Baltimore right up until (and beyond, really) Opening Day.
  • The names that will populate Baltimore’s pitching staff remain unknown, but for commentary on those auditioning, the Athletic’s Dan Connolly turned to Doug Brocail, Baltimore’ forthright, 51-year-old pitching coach. The challenge facing Brocail is developing a shared language for his staff, while finding new ways to communicate on an individual level. For example, in giving instruction to righty Jimmy Yacabonis, Brocail’s message to “Hold your posture” wasn’t registering. Recognizing the need to break though this particular platitude, Brocail conveyed his point this way, “Right at hill strike, then let the rotation of the other half take over,” and the message sunk in. Give Connolly’s conversation with Brocail a full read for more insight into the mind of the Orioles’ pitching coach, including his thoughts on Cobb, Bundy and Cashner.
  • At the other end of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Nationals’ manager Dave Martinez is grooming Wilmer Difo for a super-utility role in 2019, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). This is not in response to the Michael A. Taylor injury, as there’s no plan at present to give Difo starts in center. Seeing some time in the outfield remains likely, as Difo boasts small-sample experience at all three outfield spots over the last two seasons. Difo will also likely serve as the team’s emergency catcher, a more pertinent responsibility on the Nats than most teams given Martinez’s stated desire to use the non-starter from the duo of Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki as a pinch-hitter. Were Martinez to stick Difo behind the dish at some point during the season, the move would at the very least be on brand for a disciple of the ever-tinkering Joe Maddon.

Darren O’Day To Undergo Season-Ending Hamstring Surgery

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TODAY: O’Day will undergo season-ending surgery on his hamstring, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link) was among those to report.  The projected recovery time is six months, so O’Day should be ready to go for Spring Training.

YESTERDAY: The Orioles have placed reliever Darren O’Day on the 60-day disabled list and designated infielder Corban Joseph for assignment, per a club announcement. O’Day had previously been placed on the 10-day DL with a left hamstring injury.

Those moves cleared two needed 40-man roster spots to facilitate a pair of promotions. To create active roster space, the O’s optioned pitchers Jimmy Yacabonis and Yefry Ramirez.

Needless to say, it’s hardly promising to see O’Day heading to the 60-day DL so soon after being diagnosed with a strained hammy. Clearly, it’s not a minor injury. Indeed, a second opinion has already confirmed that initial impression, per Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com (via Twitter).

O’Day is still weighing (and perhaps leaning toward) surgery, Connolly notes. If that’s necessary, it is likely he won’t return this year. Even if the prognosis turns out to be slightly more promising, the veteran reliever no longer seems like a plausible trade candidate.

In theory, O’Day could return in very late August. His contract would certainly clear waivers, facilitating a deal. And we have seen deadline deals worked out for injured players in some prior cases (see, e.g., here). But with $9MM still to go in 2019, in addition to the remainder of this season’s $9MM salary, it’s all but impossible to imagine something coming together unless the contract is simply utilized to offset other salary being swapped.

It’s yet more unfortunate news for an Orioles organization that is saddled with multiple undesirable contracts. O’Day had pitched quite well this year when healthy, with a 3.60 ERA and impressive combination of 12.2 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 over his twenty innings, leaving some hope that the club could at least save some money and perhaps get a bit of talent back in return.

As for the 29-year-old Joseph, today’s move wraps up his second brief turn in the majors. He had performed quite well at Double-A prior to his promotion, slashing .332/.398/.534 in 281 plate appearances.

Orioles Place Chris Tillman On 10-Day DL

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The Orioles have announced that starter Chris Tillman is going on the 10-day DL with what the club is calling a lower back strain. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by right-handed reliever Jimmy Yacabonis.

There had been no prior indication that Tillman was dealing with a back issue, though certainly something hasn’t been right for the 30-year-old righty. He has been one of the least-effective pitchers in all of baseball, stumbling through 26 2/3 innings of 10.46 ERA pitching in his seven starts on the year.

Baltimore had promised Tillman $3MM to rejoin the organization after a disastrous 2017 season. The deal included loads of incentives, though they don’t begin to kick in until he reaches 125 innings. Tillman’s performance had already begun to make that number seem steep. It’s not clear how long he’ll be out, but any kind of extended absence would make it all but impossible for Tillman to boost his earnings for the year.

Of course, those financial considerations aren’t really on anyone’s minds at present. The real question is whether the O’s can somehow find a way to get Tillman back to being a serviceable pitcher. If he is on the shelf long enough, he may end up getting some time in the minors on a rehab assignment to try and sort things out.

Answers won’t come easy. His average fastball velocity has continued to fall and now sits below 90 mph. Never much of a strikeout pitcher, Tillman is now only generating a career-low 5.2% swinging-strike rate, with a brutal combination of 4.4 K/9 against 5.7 BB/9. Opponents are swatting more than two homers per nine. Statcast calculations suggest Tillman has deserved to be knocked around, as he’s credited with a .458 xwOBA that’s nearly identical to the .455 wOBA rate at which opposing hitters are producing against him.

As for Yacabonis, he has been starting at Triple-A, so could offer the O’s some length from the pen or a fill-in rotation option. Interestingly, though his, six outings for Norfolk are the first six starts he has ever made as a professional, so odds are he’ll work from the pen. The 26-year-old, who spent some time in the majors last year and has one appearance this season as well, has coughed up 11 earned runs in twenty innings in the highest level of the minors thus far in 2018, with an unfavorable mix of both a dozen walks and strikeouts.

Orioles Designate Tyler Wilson, Logan Verrett

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The Orioles announced that they’ve designated right-handers Tyler Wilson and Logan Verrett for assignment on Friday. That pair of DFAs will open enough room on the 40-man roster to formally select the contracts of catcher Chance Sisco, first baseman Pedro Alvarez and right-hander Richard Rodriguez — all of whom are being brought to the Majors as September call-ups. Baltimore has also recalled outfielder Joey Rickard and right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis from Triple-A Norfolk.

Wilson and Verrett have each taken the ball a few times this year for the O’s at the major-league level. But both have primarily operated at Triple-A — the former as a starter and the latter as a reliever.

Through twenty outings at Norfolk, Wilson worked to a 4.74 ERA over 114 innings, with 5.4 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. The University of Virginia product has pitched in the Orioles organization since being taken in the tenth round of the 2011 draft, and could remain there if he ends up clearing waivers.

As for Verrett, he allowed 5.10 earned per nine in sixty frames while striking out 7.4 and walking 3.3 batters per regulation affair. The former Mets swingman, a 2011 third-rounder, has also not previously been outrighted and thus would not have the right to refuse a minor-league assignment if no other team decides to give him a 40-man spot.

While Baltimore did not end up making any outside acquisitions in August, leaving room for the team to use those two hurlers for depth in September, the organization obviously decided it would rather see some other players. We previously discussed Sisco and Alvarez, but the O’s will also have a look at two new pitchers that have little experience between them at the game’s highest level.

Yacabonis, 25, struggled in his first, brief taste of the majors earlier this year. He has managed a 1.32 ERA in 61 1/3 outings at Triple-A though that has come with just 7.0 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9. Rodriguez will make his MLB debut at 27 years of age after eight minor-league campaigns. He has pitched to a 2.42 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 70 2/3 frames at the highest level of the minors this year.

Orioles Designate Edwin Jackson For Assignment

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The Orioles have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Jimmy Yacabonis from Triple-A Norfolk and recalled fellow righty Logan Verrett from Norfolk. To clear space, they’ve optioned righty Stefan Crichton from Norfolk and designated righty Edwin Jackson for assignment.

The moves bring two fresh arms to a bullpen that was forced to pitch 7 2/3 innings in a blowout loss to the Yankees yesterday. Crichton and Jackson pitched 3 2/3 of those innings, allowing five runs between them.

The O’s selected Jackson’s contract just four days ago. His brief action with the Orioles was his first in the big leagues since posting a 5.89 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 84 innings with the Marlins and Padres last season. The veteran has now appeared with 12 big-league teams over the course of his 15-year career.

The 25-year-old Yacabonis had an 0.90 ERA over 30 innings with Norfolk, but with an alarming 5.4 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. As those numbers suggest, control has never been a strong suit for him throughout his five-year minor-league career. MLB.com ranks him 29th among Orioles prospects, noting that he relies heavily on a 93-95 MPH fastball. As David Hall of the Virginian-Pilot notes, Yacabonis continues to work on the development of a hybrid slider-curve that could prove key to his development going forward. He has never pitched in the big leagues.

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