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Alexander Wells

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 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 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 Place Ryan Mountcastle On IL, Recall Alexander Wells

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Ryan Mountcastle has been placed on the 7-day concussion IL, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Alexander Wells was recalled to take his spot on the roster. Mountcastle was removed from Friday’s game after being tagged on the helmet by Wander Franco and dealing with concussion-like symptoms. The team also announced that Domingo Leyba has cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A.

Mountcastle has gotten his career off to a great start. Since debuting last year, he’s had 539 plate appearances, producing a slash line of .282/.308/.481, for a wRC+ of 119. The Orioles’ lineup will surely miss his bat. But there’s no reason to rush him back into action since the club is well out of contention with the worst record in the American League.

For Wells, he is continuing to live the life of the up-and-down optionable reliever. This is his third time being recalled from the minors this year. In 17 2/3 innings, he has an ERA of 7.64 with a strikeout rate of 16.1%.

Leyba has struggled at the MLB level this year in a small sample size. Though his Triple-A numbers are much better. The 25-year-old infielder will now try to work his way back into another shot at the show.

Orioles Make Five Roster Moves

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The Orioles announced a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game with the Astros, including the news that right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. is heading to the 10-day injured list due to right elbow pain.  Additionally, infielder Stevie Wilkerson has been designated for assignment and left-handed Alexander Wells was optioned to Triple-A.  Filling the spots on the active roster will be right-handers Isaac Mattson and Spenser Watkins — Mattson was called up from Triple-A, while Watkins’ contract was selected.  USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported earlier today that Watkins would be added to Baltimore’s 26-man roster.

Lakins was making a rare appearance as a starting pitcher last night when his elbow issue forced him out of the game ( a 13-3 Orioles victory over the Astros) after 1 2/3 innings.  O’s manager Brandon Hyde specified to The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli and other reporters that Lakins suffered an elbow strain, and the righty will undergo further evaluation.  This isn’t Lakins’ first time dealing with elbow problems, as inflammation cut short his 2016 season while pitching in the Red Sox minor league system.

Baltimore claimed Lakins off waivers from the Cubs in the 2019-20 offseason, and the right-hander had a solid 2.81 ERA over 25 2/3 relief innings for the Orioles last year.  Things haven’t gone as smoothly this season, however, as Lakins has a 5.79 ERA and 13.8% walk rate over 28 innings of work in 2021.

With the O’s still in need of some rotation help while John Means is on the IL, it could open the door for Watkins to get a look in the starting five as he gets his first taste of the big leagues.  A 30th-round pick for the Tigers in 2014, Watkins pitched well at the lower levels of Detroit’s farm system but had some struggles at Double-A and Triple-A.  This almost led him to walk away from the game, as Nightengale notes that Watkins had a high school coaching job lined up before he signed a minor league deal with the Orioles this winter.

Wilkerson was another offseason minors signing for the O’s, and the utilityman appeared in 30 games for the team, hitting only .167/.211/.208 over 76 plate appearances.  Wilkerson didn’t see any big league action in 2020, and he has a career .210/.268/.340 slash line in 486 PA over parts of three seasons with Baltimore.

Orioles Designate Mickey Jannis For Assignment, Select Konner Wade

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The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Konner Wade from Triple-A Norfolk and designated right-hander Mickey Jannis for assignment in a corresponding move. The O’s also optioned righty Dean Kremer to Norfolk and recalled lefty Alexander Wells.

Jannis was just selected to the major league roster earlier this week. The 33-year-old made his MLB debut Wednesday night against the Astros, but it didn’t go well. He worked 3 1/3 innings of mop-up relief but was tagged for seven runs on eight hits (including three homers), issuing four walks while striking out just one. It was a nightmare outing to be sure, but it also came against a Houston lineup that has been far and away the best in baseball this year. Before that tough debut, the knuckleballer earned a big league look by pitching to a 2.92 ERA in 24 2/3 innings with Norfolk. The O’s will have a week to trade him or place him on waivers.

The designation of Jannis frees up Wade to make a late-career MLB debut of his own. A 7th-round pick out of the University of Arizona in 2013, Wade has spent the past seven seasons climbing the minor league ladder. Most of that time was spent in the Rockies and Red Sox systems, but the 29-year-old signed a minor league deal with Baltimore over the winter. He’s spent the entire year in Norfolk, where he’s tossed 31 innings of 3.48 ERA ball, mostly as a multi-inning reliever. Wade has never been one to miss many bats, and that hasn’t changed this year (16.4% strikeout rate). But the righty also has a long history of quality strike-throwing, and that’s continued in 2021 (4.9% walk rate).

Kremer has spent much of the year in the O’s rotation. He’s struggled mightily, though, pitching to a 7.25 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk numbers (20% and 10.7%, respectively) over 49 2/3 innings. That’s a disappointing follow-up to a decent four-start MLB look in 2020 for Kremer, who’s long been seen as one of the more promising pitchers in the Baltimore system.

Wells is a decently-regarded prospect in his own right. The 24-year-old doesn’t throw hard or miss bats, but he owns some of the best control in the minors. He has a 5.63 ERA across 32 Triple-A frames this season. Wells will be making his major league debut whenever he gets into a game.

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