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Livan Soto

Grayson Rodriguez To Start Season On IL; Andrew Kittredge To Miss Months

By Darragh McDonald | March 9, 2025 at 9:17am CDT

TODAY: Rodriguez was diagnosed with elbow inflammation and he received a cortisone shot to deal with the issue, Hyde told reporters (including the Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka).  The plan is for Rodriguez to be shut down for 7-10 days to let the shot take effect, and the right-hander will then start a throwing program.

March 8: Kittredge underwent left knee debridement on Friday, the Orioles revealed to reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The team described the procedure as “successful.”

March 7: Orioles manager Brandon Hyde provided members of the media with updates on various injured players today. Most notably, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is going to start the season on the injured list due to some discomfort in his elbow/triceps area, though Hyde emphasized that there’s no concern about the righty’s ligament. Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner was among those to relay the info. Additionally, righty Andrew Kittredge is going to have arthroscopic knee surgery and will miss multiple months, per Kostka.

Rodriguez had diminished velocity in his most recent start and later told reporters that he felt “sluggish” and “flat” during the outing. Hyde eventually revealed that Rodriguez was battling some soreness in his triceps. It seems the club is still working on firming up the diagnosis but has enough info to determine that Rodriguez won’t be ready by Opening Day. “It’s not a ligament issue, so we’re not concerned about that,” Hyde said, per Kostka. “But it’s going to result in some missed time. … Right now, we’re still getting opinions.”

Time will tell about the long-term picture, but the O’s will have to make a rotation pivot in the short term. Without Rodriguez, four rotation spots will be taken by Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Dean Kremer. Hyde said today that the final rotation spot will likely come down to Albert Suárez or Cade Povich, per Kostka.

Suárez, 35, spent the 2019 to 2023 seasons pitching in Asia. He returned to affiliated ball with the O’s last year and had good results in a swing role. He made 24 starts and eight relief appearances, tossing 133 2/3 innings with a 3.70 earned run average. He only struck out 19.1% of batters faced but limited walks to a 7.6% clip. He projected to be in a long relief role to start the year. If he jumps into the rotation, perhaps Roansy Contreras will take over as the long man since the O’s are stretching him out.

Povich, 25 in April, was a top 100 prospect going into 2024 but didn’t excel in his first taste of the majors. He made 16 starts last year with a 5.20 ERA, 19.6% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. But his minor league numbers were better, as he logged 77 2/3 Triple-A innings last year with a 3.48 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. He still has options and could be in the Triple-A rotation if not in the majors.

Ideally, one of those arms will cover the rotation spot for a few turns while Rodriguez gets healthy. Though if it’s eventually determined that he’s facing a longer absence, perhaps the club will look for external help. The free agent market still features Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, Spencer Turnbull and others. Pitchers such as Jordan Montgomery and Taijuan Walker are likely available on the trade block.

As for Kittredge, it’s an unfortunate blow since the O’s made a notable investment in him less than two months ago. In mid-January, Baltimore signed Kittredge to a one-year, $10MM deal, hoping to have him take up a key role in the club’s bullpen. But he recently experienced some soreness in his left knee and was sent for some testing, which revealed the need for this operation.

This isn’t the first time an injury has intervened in the righty’s career. Kittredge had a 1.88 ERA in 71 2/3 innings for the Rays in 2021 but then Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his next two seasons. He stayed healthy last year after being traded to the Cardinals and tossed 70 2/3 innings with a 2.80 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate, 7% walk rate and 45.2% ground ball rate. That spurred the O’s to give him an eight-figure deal but it now appears it will take several months for them to receive any kind of return on that investment.

Without Kittredge, the O’s still have many strong relief options, including Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano, Keegan Akin, Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto. If the Kittredge injury sends them looking for external options, guys like David Robertson, Phil Maton and Joe Kelly are unsigned.

As for shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who is dealing with an intercostal strain, Hyde said he is still getting treatment. Per Jake Rill of MLB.com, Hyde said Jackson Holliday will be getting some shortstop reps and possibly Jordan Westburg as well, with the O’s looking to build contingency plans for the event Henderson misses time. Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball adds that Liván Soto and Luis Vázquez are also possibilities.

Both Holliday and Westburg played lots of shortstop in the minors and should be relatively fine in moving over there to cover for a bit, though they would create holes elsewhere. Holliday projects as the regular second baseman and Westburg the third baseman. Coby Mayo or Ramón Urías could perhaps cover third if Westburg is at short, though it sounds like Hyde might have a slight preference for Holliday, which would create a hole at the keystone. Urías has lots of second base experience, but roughly a quarter of the time he’s spent at third.

As for Soto and Vázquez, neither is on the 40-man roster at present. They both have plenty of minor league experience at second, third and short but they have played just 46 major league games between the two of them.

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Baltimore Orioles Newsstand Albert Suarez Andrew Kittredge Cade Povich Grayson Rodriguez Gunnar Henderson Jackson Holliday Jordan Westburg Livan Soto Luis Vazquez

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Orioles Outright Liván Soto

By Darragh McDonald | January 17, 2025 at 2:57pm CDT

The Orioles announced that infielder Liván Soto has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. He had been designated for assignment a week ago when the club claimed right-hander Roansy Contreras, though Contreras has since been sent info DFA limbo himself.

Soto, 25 in June, has been in plenty of transactions in recent years. It seems he has been seen as good enough to attract the attention of several clubs, but without ever having a firm grip on a roster spot. In February of 2024, he went from the Angels to the Orioles via waivers, then back to the Angels via another waiver claim that same month. In April, the O’s claimed him from the Angels yet again. They put him back on waivers a few days later, with the Reds swooping in with a claim. At the end of July, just before the trade deadline, he and Austin Slater were traded to the O’s for cash.

Around all of those transactions, Soto has found the time to play baseball here and there. He has appeared in 35 big league games over the past three seasons and stepped to the plate 87 times. He has a strong .351/.407/.494 batting line in that time, though that’s a small sample and it’s inflated by a .441 batting average on balls in play.

Naturally, he has spent more time on the farm. Over the past three years, he’s had 1,390 minor league plate appearances, split between Double-A and Triple-A as well as three different organizations. In those, he has strong walk and strikeout rates of 12.9% and 20.2%, respectively. His .266/.366/.366 batting line translates to a 95 wRC+. He has spent significant time at the three infield spots to the left of first base, as well as a brief stint in center field.

The combination of solid plate discipline and defensive versatility has clearly made Soto an attractive depth player around the league but he has now finally cleared waivers. He’ll give the O’s a bit of non-roster infield depth. They are unlikely to need it, as they have Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Ramón Urías, Jorge Mateo, Ryan O’Hearn, Ryan Mountcastle, Coby Mayo, Emmanuel Rivera and Jacob Amaya on the roster. Still, there’s no harm in having a bit more depth, especially when it’s a guy who’s not taking up a roster spot. If Soto gets back on the roster at any point, he still has one option year remaining.

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Baltimore Orioles Transactions Livan Soto

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Orioles Claim Roansy Contreras, Designate Liván Soto

By Darragh McDonald | January 10, 2025 at 4:10pm CDT

The Orioles announced that they have claimed right-hander Roansy Contreras off waivers from the Reds. Cincinnati had designated him for assignment earlier this week. In order to open a roster spot, the O’s designated infielder Liván Soto for assignment.

Contreras, 25, has been bouncing around the league over the past year. That’s likely a reflection of his uneven performance and out-of-options status. He made his major league debut with the Pirates and had some intriguing results with them, but exhausted his final option in 2023. He opened last year with Pittsburgh but was designated for assignment in May and flipped to the Angels. He spent the rest of the season with the Halos but was put on waivers in October and claimed by the Rangers. He went to the Reds on another waiver claim last month and has now been claimed again.

A notable Yankee prospect, Contreras was flipped to Pittsburgh in the January 2021 trade that sent Jameson Taillon to the Bronx. In 2022, he seemed to establish himself as a viable big league starter. He made 21 appearances for the Pirates that year, 18 of those being starts, tossing 95 innings while allowing 3.79 earned runs per nine. His 21.1% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate were fairly close to league par while his fastball averaged 95.6 miles per hour. Since he was only 22 years old at the time, it seemed fair to expect that was just the beginning.

But things have soured since then. Contreras posted a 6.59 ERA in 2023, which prompted the Bucs to send him to the minors, burning his final option. They moved him to a primary relief role in 2024 but, as mentioned, bumped him off the roster in May.

Between the Bucs and the Angels, he had some passable but not outstanding results. He finished the year with 68 1/3 innings between the two clubs and a 4.35 ERA. But his 18.8% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate were both subpar. His .265 batting average on balls in play and 75.1% strand rate were both on the fortunate side, leading to his 5.16 FIP and 4.55 SIERA being worse than his ERA.

Despite the up-and-down results, Contreras is still young and throws hard, averaging almost 95 mph last year with both his four-seamer and his sinker. He has just over two years of MLB service time, meaning he can be retained for four seasons before he would qualify for free agency. The fact that he is out of options means that he’ll need a roster spot on Opening Day but the Orioles could also try to run him through waivers later in the offseason to retain him as non-roster depth.

As for Soto, 25 in June, the Orioles seem to engaging in some sort of contest to see how many times they can bump him on and off the roster. This is the sixth time he’s been designated for assignment in the past year, three of those coming at the hands of the Orioles, two from the Angels and one from the Reds.

He has a strong .351/.407/.494 batting line, though in a small sample of 87 plate appearances over the past three big league seasons. In 370 Triple-A plate appearances last year, he slashed .283/.377/.381 for a 103 wRC+. He didn’t produce much power, hitting four homers in 88 games, but his 12.4% walk rate and 16.8% strikeout rate were both strong numbers.

The O’s will now have a week to either trade Soto or run him through waivers. Since the waiver process takes 48 hours, any trade talks would need to come together in the next five days. He still has one option year and plenty of minor league experience at the three infield positions to the left of first base. He seems to be a popular depth target around the league so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him acquired by another club in the coming days.

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Baltimore Orioles Cincinnati Reds Transactions Livan Soto Roansy Contreras

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Orioles Activate Jordan Westburg, Ramon Urias

By Nick Deeds | September 22, 2024 at 11:13am CDT

The Orioles announced this morning that they’ve activated infielders Jordan Westburg and Ramon Urias from the 15-day Injured List. Outfielder Daniel Johnson and infielder Livan Soto were optioned to Triple-A in order to make room for the duo’s return on the active roster. Both Westburg and Urias are in the club’s starting lineup for today’s game against the Tigers, with Westburg batting second and playing second base while Urias bats eighth and plays third base.

The reinforcements are greatly appreciated for an Orioles club that that has posted a wRC+ of just 95 in September and ranks 17th in the majors since the start of August, when Westburg was first placed on the IL after suffering a hand fracture on July 31. The 25-year-old was a revelation for Baltimore in 101 games before hitting the shelf, building upon a solid but unspectacular rookie campaign in 2023 to slash .269/.317/.497 (131 wRC+) with 18 homers and 25 doubles in just 420 trips to the plate this year while splitting time between second and third base.

That strong performance quickly turned Westburg into an anchor for the Orioles lineup alongside superstar Gunnar Henderson and veteran slugger Anthony Santander and allowed him to pick up the slack for catcher Adley Rutschman, whose league average performance (104 wRC+) this year is the worst of his career to this point. Westburg’s emergence also made it easier for the club to take things slow with top prospect Jackson Holliday’s adjustment to the big leagues as he’s struggled through his first taste of big league action. With Westburg providing an above-average bat at both second and third base as needed, the Orioles were able to spend much of the early part of the season mixing and matching between Jorge Mateo at the keystone and Urias at the hot corner, with Westburg taking over whichever position was open on any given day.

Speaking of Urias, the 30-year-old has once again excelled in a part time role for the Orioles this year with a .252/.327/.427 slash line (117 wRC+) in 275 trips to the plate this year across 95 games, albeit with some questionable work at the hot corner that’s a far cry from the strong defensive performance that earned him a Gold Glove award back in 2022. Still, Urias’s return to the club’s infield should help further boost an offense that will now be able to rely less on Holliday, who has improved somewhat in his second stint at the big league level but is still hitting just .195/.253/.342 (69 wRC+) with a 30.9% strikeout rate in 49 games since rejoining the big league club at the end of July in place of Mateo, whose season ended due to elbow surgery. In particular, Urias’s return figures to help protect Holliday from left-handed pitching, against whom he’s struck out 36.6% of the time with a wRC+ of just 33 since returning to the big leagues two months ago.

Meanwhile, Johnson and Soto head to Triple-A. It was a brief return to big league action for Johnson, who went 0-for-1 in his lone game with Baltimore yesterday but had previously appeared in 35 games with Cleveland during the 2020 and ’21 seasons. The 29-year-old is now headed back to Triple-A, where he’s slashed a decent .259/.320/.448 in 500 trips to the plate this year. He’ll be joined in the minors by Soto, who was claimed off waivers from the Angels by the Reds this offseason but appeared in just one game with Cincinnati before being dealt to Baltimore at the trade deadline alongside outfielder Austin Slater. Since joining Baltimore, Soto has done well in a bench role with a .462 on-base percentage in 13 trips to the plate. While Soto sports an excellent .351/.400/.494 slash line in the majors for his career, that line comes from just 87 plate appearances across the past three seasons. The 24-year-old is a career .266/.362/.385 hitter at the Triple-A level, which is likely more representative of his true talent level.

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Baltimore Orioles Transactions Daniel Johnson Jordan Westburg Livan Soto Ramon Urias

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Orioles Option Trevor Rogers, Designate Bruce Zimmermann

By Darragh McDonald | August 22, 2024 at 12:45pm CDT

The Orioles announced a series of roster moves today. Infielder Emmanuel Rivera, recently claimed off waivers, has been added to the roster. They also selected the contract of right-hander Matt Bowman and recalled lefty Nick Vespi. To open spots for those three, they optioned left-hander Trevor Rogers, right-hander Colin Selby and infielder Liván Soto to Triple-A Norfolk. To open a 40-man spot for Bowman, lefty Bruce Zimmermann has been designated for assignment.

Just over three weeks ago, the Orioles acquired Rogers from the Marlins in a pre-deadline trade, sending youngsters Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers to Miami. The O’s have been having a strong season overall but keeping the rotation intact has been a challenge. All three of Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells required surgery to address their respective ulnar collateral ligaments in their elbows earlier this year. To bolster the group, they added both Zach Eflin and Rogers prior to the deadline.

It was a buy-low situation with Rogers, who had posted a 2.64 earned run average with the Marlins in 2021 but struggled since. He dealt with various injuries in 2022 and finished that year with a 5.47 ERA. In 2023, he was only able to make four starts due to a left biceps strain and a partial tear in his right lat.

Here in 2024, he was healthy enough to stay on the mound, making 21 starts for the Fish prior to the deal. His velocity was down but the results were passable, as he had a 4.53 ERA in those 21 outings. A few days after the deal, the lefty said he had already received more analytical information relating to his pitch mix and mechanics than during his entire time with the Marlins, per Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner on X. Perhaps the O’s felt there was a path to getting Rogers back to his 2021 form via those analytics, or simply him getting healthier as he moved further away from his injuries.

It has not gone to plan so far, as Rogers hasn’t fared well in his first four starts with the O’s. He has allowed 15 earned runs in 19 innings, leading to a 7.11 ERA. His 13.3% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate are both well below league average and nowhere near his previous work.

It seems the O’s have decided that a reset in Triple-A is in order. Perhaps that will give him a chance to work on their suggested tweaks in a lower-stakes environment. He can still be retained via arbitration for two more seasons after this one, so they have some time to figure out a path forward. This isn’t a service time manipulation situation, as he already crossed four years of service time earlier this year.

Still, it’s obviously less than ideal for the club to be subtracting one of its key deadline pickups in the middle of a playoff race. The O’s are still in comfortable position with a 74-54 record, just half a game behind the Yankees in the East and currently possessing the top Wild Card spot. But the Royals and Twins are just 2.5 games back and the Red Sox trail the O’s by only six games, so nothing is set in stone with more than a month left to play.

The rotation continues to be an issue as now both Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez are on the injured list, Eflin due to some shoulder discomfort and Rodriguez due to a lat strain. With Rogers now intentionally removed from the mix, the rotation is now down to Corbin Burnes, Dean Kremer, Albert Suárez, Cole Irvin and Cade Povich. Burnes is great but there are plenty of questions with the others. Kremer and Irvin are essentially back-end guys, with the latter having been passed through waivers a few weeks ago, recently being added back to the roster. Suárez keeps putting up good numbers but is a 34-year-old journeyman who is in the majors for the first time since 2017. Povich has just nine major league starts and a 5.77 ERA in those.

Ideally, the club will be hoping to get Rodriguez and Eflin back for the end of the regular season and then the playoffs as well, but they will have to try to get by with this group for now. Perhaps Rogers can also work his way back into the mix with some quick adjustments in the minors, but he can’t be recalled for the next 15 days unless replacing someone going on the injured list.

Bowman, 33, was signed to a minor league deal a week ago. That pact contained an upward mobility clause today and an opt-out next week. It seems the O’s didn’t want him to get away or simply wanted to add some a fresh arm to their bullpen, so he’s been added to their roster today.

As soon as he gets into a game for the O’s, it will be his fourth club of the year, as he’s already suited up for the Twins, Diamondbacks and Mariners. Since he’s out of options, he’s continually been squeezed out of his opportunities. Whenever he has cleared waivers, he has elected free agency and signed a new deal with fresh opt-outs, seemingly having a strong preference for flexibility.

While bouncing around, he has thrown 15 major league innings with a 5.40 ERA, 15.2% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate and 46.8% ground ball rate. But he’s also thrown 33 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.87 ERA, 31.3% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and grounders on more than half of the balls in play he’s allowed.

That minor league performance has seemingly led to plenty of interest around the league, with Baltimore being his latest stop. If he can perform like that at the major league level, he could be a nice asset for a Baltimore bullpen that hasn’t been strong this year. Their relief corps has a collective 4.18 ERA, putting them in the bottom third of the league. If things click, he can be retained beyond this season via arbitration, but based on the way his year has gone, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him bouncing around again soon.

Zimmermann, 29, has been in the Orioles’ organization for more than six years now. He came over from Atlanta in the July 2018 trade that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day the other way. He appeared in 38 games over the 2020-23 seasons, logging 158 1/3 innings with a 5.57 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 41.1% ground ball rate.

He’s been on optional assignment for all of 2024 so far, having tossed 69 1/3 innings in the minors with a 4.41 ERA, 21.7% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate. With the trade deadline now passed, the O’s will have to put Zimmermann on waivers in the coming days.

This is his final option year, so he’ll be out of options next year. A claiming club could potentially stash him in the minors for the rest of this season but he would need an active roster spot by next year. He has less than two years of service time, so any claiming club could control him for five seasons beyond this one. If he were to pass through outright waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the O’s in a non-roster capacity.

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Baltimore Orioles Newsstand Transactions Bruce Zimmermann Colin Selby Emmanuel Rivera Livan Soto Matt Bowman Nick Vespi Trevor Rogers

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Orioles Option Coby Mayo

By Steve Adams | August 15, 2024 at 11:57am CDT

Top Orioles prospect Coby Mayo will see his initial taste of the majors draw to a close after just seven games and 20 plate appearances. Baltimore announced Thursday that Mayo has been optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk. Infielder Livan Soto was recalled from Norfolk in his place.

Mayo, regarded as one of the top prospects not just in Baltimore’s system but in all of baseball, was called up shortly after third baseman Jordan Westburg suffered a fractured hand when he was hit by a pitch. Expectations were high, considering his prominent placement on national prospect rankings and his gaudy .301/.375/.586 batting line through 341 Triple-A plate appearances during just his age-22 season. However, like fellow top prospect Jackson Holliday before him, Mayo stumbled out of the gate with a strikeout-laden showing and was sent back to Triple-A in fairly short order. He went just 1-for-17 with three walks and 10 strikeouts in those 20 trips to the plate.

There’s no sense in making any long-term judgment on Mayo based on a tough week in his first glimpse of the majors. Many detractors were quick to write Holliday off after similar early struggles, and he’s returned from Norfolk with a .255/.314/.596 line and five home runs in 51 plate appearances. Twenty ugly plate appearances don’t say anything about Mayo’s long-term future other than that he might yet need a bit more work in the upper minors before he gets his next big league audition.

In sending Mayo back to Norfolk, the O’s seem to be committing to Ramon Urias as the primary third baseman in Westburg’s absence — although Soto could also see some run at the hot corner. The Orioles could also retain Mayo’s prospect/rookie status for the 2025 season as well, which would put them in position to potentially land a draft pick if he finishes well enough in ’25 Rookie of the Year voting. So long as Mayo finishes with fewer than 130 at-bats and fewer than 45 days on the active roster, he’ll still be eligible for that benefit. If that were a primary concern for them, they likely wouldn’t have brought Mayo to the big leagues in the first place, but retaining that possibility is now surely seen as an ancillary benefit of today’s move.

Urias, 30, seems likeliest to garner additional playing time. He drew sensational defensive marks at third base just two seasons ago, but both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have soured on his glovework at the position. At the plate, Urias has turned in a .236/.306/.372 slash at the plate this season, sitting about 5% worse than league-average overall (by measure of wRC+).

As for Soto, he’s hit extremely well in a small sample of 74 plate appearances, batting .358/.397/.507 dating back to 2022. It should be emphasized that his line is propped up by a gargantuan .451 average on balls in play that he won’t sustain, and Soto has a much more modest track record in Triple-A, where he’s hit .267/.364/.386 in 709 plate appearances as a utilityman.

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Baltimore Orioles Coby Mayo Livan Soto

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Orioles Designate Cristian Pache For Assignment, Option Heston Kjerstad

By Darragh McDonald | August 1, 2024 at 1:05pm CDT

The Orioles announced a batch of roster moves today, activating three trade acquisitions. Outfielders Eloy Jiménez and Austin Slater as well as left-hander Trevor Rogers have now been added to the roster and the club also recalled infielder Liván Soto. One spot was opened by placing infielder Jordan Westburg on the 10-day injured list with a right hand fracture, a development that was reported yesterday. To open three more spots, they optioned left-hander Keegan Akin and outfielder Heston Kjerstad and designated outfielder Cristian Pache for assignment. Vinny Nittoli, who was designated for assignment last week, elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment.

The Orioles engineered a surprising outfield shuffle in the week leading up to the deadline. It started with a notable subtraction, as Austin Hays was sent to the Phillies, bringing back reliever Seranthony Domínguez as well as Pache. The Baltimore roster is loaded with position player talent and the outfield still looked strong without Hays, consisting of Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser, Anthony Santander and Kjerstad. Since Pache is more of a glove-first guy, he was likely ticketed for a bench role.

But in the final moments of the deadline, the O’s also acquired Jiménez from the White Sox and Slater from the Reds. Since Slater is generally considered to be a solid defender and hits lefties very well, perhaps they figured he was an upgrade on Pache for a bench outfielder role.

That would be an understandable position to take, as Pache has struggled to make an impact from the batter’s box. He was once considered one of the top 10 prospects in all of baseball during his time in Atlanta’s system since it was believed he had the ability to be an all-around contributor. While the speed and defense have been as advertised, his hitting has been abysmal. He has hit .181/.244/.274  in his first 546 major league plate appearances. He exhausted his final option season in 2022, a year in which he hit .248/.298/.389 for a 68 wRC+ at the Triple-A level.

But he has continued to find work due to his glove. In just over 1,300 innings in the outfield, he has racked up 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 16 Outs Above Average. Oakland acquired him from Atlanta as part of the Matt Olson trade but was flipped to the Phillies at the start of last year, with the Phils mostly keeping him on the bench since he is out of options and can’t be sent down to the minors without being exposed to waivers. The O’s seemed to have some interest in a similar role for him but perhaps decided to move on when Slater became available.

With the deadline now passed, the O’s won’t have the ability to trade Pache elsewhere. He will be freely available to all 29 clubs at some point in the coming days as Baltimore will have no choice but to put him on waivers. Perhaps another team will take a flier on him based on his past prospect pedigree and the solid floor provided by his glovework. Many clubs have roster openings in the wake of the deadline and could perhaps find room for him. As mentioned, he is out of options but is still in the pre-arbitration phase of his career. If he lands a roster spot somewhere, he can be retained via arbitration for three seasons after this one.

Kjerstad getting sent down is somewhat surprising in that he’s been performing well, but it’s also not surprising since it’s not the first time. This is actually going to be his third optional assignment of the year, as he was sent down just prior to Opening Day, recalled in late April and optioned again in the middle of May before being recalled again in late June. In 81 major league plate appearances, he has struck out 29.6% of the time but also drawn walks at an 11.1% rate and hit .261/.370/.420 for a wRC+ of 125.

Despite that strong performance, the club’s stockpile of talented position players has bumped him down to Norfolk yet again. It’s perhaps a bit perplexing to see him nudged out for guys like Jiménez and Slater, but the deadline was essentially the last chance to meaningfully add talent. The O’s took that chance even though it meant bumping a guy like Kjerstad into a depth role for the time being, and those new additions are likely looking at part-time roles anyway.

Slater has a .274/.364/.433 batting line and 122 wRC+ against lefties compared to a .226/.316/.334 line and 84 wRC+ against righties. Jiménez is having a rough season overall but is hitting .304/.360/.370 against southpaws this year for a wRC+ of 109. The two of them will likely be in short-side platoon roles, Jiménez helping to shield Ryan O’Hearn from lefties while Slater protects Mullins. O’Hearn has hit .259/.286/.296 for a 67 wRC+ this year with the platoon disadvantage while Mullins is at .141/.164/.211 for a wRC+ of 3.

Rather than have Kjerstad collecting dust on the bench, the O’s will have him get some regular work for the Tides again, at least until an injury changes the calculus down the line. Even if he doesn’t carve out a role with the big league club this year, he should have a better path in 2025 as Santander is slated for free agency. Jiménez has a $16.5MM club option but the O’s will probably go for the $3MM club option instead.

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Baltimore Orioles Transactions Austin Slater Cristian​ Pache Eloy Jimenez Heston Kjerstad Jordan Westburg Keegan Akin Livan Soto Trevor Rogers Vinny Nittoli

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Orioles Acquire Austin Slater, Livan Soto

By Mark Polishuk and Darragh McDonald | July 31, 2024 at 10:18am CDT

Today: Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports that the Reds will receive cash considerations in the deal, not a player to be named later.

July 30: Just before the deadline, the Orioles have picked up Austin Slater and infielder Livan Soto and cash considerations in a trade with the Reds, per announcements from both clubs. The Reds receive cash considerations or a player to be named later.

Slater is on the move for the second time this month, as Cincinnati acquired the outfielder in a deal with the Giants only three weeks ago. But the Reds recently nabbed Ty France from the Mariners, perhaps leading to Slater being squeezed out of their plans.

He has long been a solid defender with a right-handed bat that performs well with the platoon advantage. He’s hit just .226/.316/.334 against righties in his career for an 84 wRC+ but his slash against southpaws is .274/.364/.433, which leads to a 122 wRC+.

On the defensive side of things, Slater has close to 3,000 outfield innings on his ledger, with almost 1,200 of those in center field. Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating consider him subpar in center but good in a corner, while Outs Above Average considers him to be strong in all three spots.

The O’s traded Austin Hays for Cristian Pache and Seranthony Domínguez but were reportedly looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder to take some of the at-bats that were available in the wake of Hays’ departure. It would appear that Slater will be the one to step up for that job.

Soto, 24, is clearly a favorite of the Baltimore front office. They claimed him off waivers from the Angels in February, but the Angels claimed him back later that month. The O’s claimed him a second time back in April but then also quickly put him back on waivers, when the Reds claimed him.

He has a small sample of major league experience, with 23 games scattered over this season and the previous two. He’s hit .280/.378/.376 in Triple-A this year for a 101 wRC+. He’s capable of playing the three infield spots to the left of first base and even has a small amount of center field experience. He can still be optioned for the rest of this year and an additional season as well.

C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic first reported on X that Slater was going to the O’s. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com relayed Soto’s inclusion on X. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer first relayed the cash on X.

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Baltimore Orioles Cincinnati Reds Newsstand Transactions Austin Slater Livan Soto

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Reds Activate Noelvi Marté

By Darragh McDonald | June 27, 2024 at 3:55pm CDT

The Reds announced today that infielder Noelvi Marté has been activated from the suspended list, having now served his 80-game PED suspension. In corresponding moves, they optioned infielder Liván Soto and transferred right-hander Emilio Pagán to the 60-day injured list.

Marté, 22, had an excellent debut for the Reds last year. Long considered one of the top prospects in the league, he was called up in August of last year and hit .316/.366/.456 in his first 35 games at the major league level. That set him up to be a key part of the 2024 club but he was hit with an 80-game suspension in early March after testing positive for Boldenone.

That has been just one of several notable absences for the Reds this year. Matt McLain, TJ Friedl and Christian Encarnacion-Strand have all missed significant time due to injury, with several pitchers having spent time on the IL as well. Those health problems and Marté’s suspension have left the club fairly hamstrung so far on the season.

Those issues have contributed to a fairly lackluster performance from the club, as the Reds are currently 37-43. That leaves them only 4.5 games out of a playoff spot in the fairly weak National League Wild Card race, but many expected better results this year after the club seemed to be overflowing with young talent towards the end of last year.

The return of Marté could perhaps give them a boost, though for what it’s worth, he hasn’t been in good form after his layoff. He began a rehab assignment a couple of weeks ago and hit .151/.151/.170 in 15 Triple-A games. That’s a small sample size and perhaps some rust is expected after missing time, but the Reds will obviously hope for better than that going forward.

The Reds still have McLain, Friedl and Encarnacion-Strand on the injured list while Jake Fraley and Jeimer Candelario are each dealing with minor ailments. Despite Marté’s poor form during his rehab, he might get some runway to get in a good place with so many other players ailing. He was primarily playing third base during his rehab, which has been Candelario’s home for much of this season. Santiago Espinal has been covering that spot lately but is hitting just .203/.253/.297 on the year. Even when Candelario is healthy again, he is capable of moving over to first base, while regular first baseman Spencer Steer could perhaps move into the corner outfield mix.

As for Pagán, he landed on the 15-day injured list June 9 due to a right lat strain. This transfer suggests the Reds don’t expect him back until early August in a best-case scenario. He signed a two-year, $16MM deal in the offseason, with the chance to opt out after one year. He has a mediocre 4.43 earned run average on the year and seemingly won’t have a ton of time to improve that number after this IL stint. The Reds could look to improve their bullpen prior to the trade deadline, but their aggressiveness in that department will depend on how the club plays over the next month.

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Cincinnati Reds Transactions Emilio Pagan Livan Soto Noelvi Marte

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Austin Wynns Accepts Outright Assignment With Reds

By Nick Deeds | June 25, 2024 at 12:42pm CDT

June 25: Wynns cleared waivers and has accepted an outright assignment back to Louisville, tweets Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

June 23: The Reds announced this morning that they’ve designated catcher Austin Wynns for assignment. The move opens up a spot on the active roster for infielder Livan Soto, who has been recalled to the majors from Triple-A.

Wynns, 33, was brought up to the majors by the Reds on Friday to act as a third catcher behind Tyler Stephenson and Luke Maile while Stephenson has been day-to-day with an unknown issue. Evidently, whatever concern the club had regarding Stephenson has passed as the 27-year-old returned to the starting lineup behind the plate today after pinch hitting in yesterday’s game. The catcher is now set to depart the Reds without having made an appearance at the big league level for the club.

The 33-year-old got his start in pro ball as a tenth-round pick by the Orioles back in 2013. He made his big league debut with Baltimore in 2018 and served as a backup for the club behind the plate in parts of the 2018, ’19, and ’21 seasons. He hit just .216/.255/.326 during that time but was generally regarded as a solid defender behind the plate. The Orioles outrighted Wynns off their 40-man roster shortly after the 2021 season concluded, allowing him to test free agency. He found a minor league deal with the Phillies in relatively short order but was swapped to the Giants in June of 2022 and was selected to the club’s 40-man roster when the Giants demoted former top prospect Joey Bart to Triple-A.

Wynns found some success with the Giants in 2022 as he broke out with the bat, slashing a decent .241/.315/.356 (93 wRC+) across 177 plate appearances in that time. Despite that solid success, Wynns nonetheless found himself outrighted off the roster in San Francisco last January. He accepted that outright assignment with the club and found himself added back to the 40-man roster in early April of last year when Roberto Perez was sidelined by a rotator cuff strain, but made it into just one game before being designated for assignment. Wynns briefly caught on with the Dodgers later that month but was designated for assignment once again in early May. His tour of the NL West continued when he was claimed off waivers by the Rockies, and that turned out to be a more permanent home for the veteran as he remained with Colorado through the end of the season, appearing in 45 games but hitting just .214/.273/.282 in that time.

Once again on the open market after being outrighted off the Rockies’ 40-man last October, Wynns found a split big league deal with the Reds back in December and remained with the club even after being outrighted to the minors in January. Looking ahead, Cincinnati will have one week to either trade the journeyman or attempt to pass him through waivers and outright him back to the minor leagues. Although Wynns would have the ability to reject that outright assignment, it seems as though he would be unlikely to do so given the nature of his split contract with the club, which offers him a $300K salary in the minor leagues.

As for Soto, the infielder appeared in 22 games with the Angels between 2022 and 2023 and made the most of that playing time, slashing .375/.414/.531 over the course of his 71 big league trips to the plate. Soto nonetheless found himself designated for assignment by the Angels this past offseason, and he was claimed multiple times by both the Orioles and Angels throughout the early stages of the season before he was finally claimed by the Reds in early April after what proved to be an eventful winter for the 24-year-old. The youngster’s unsustainable .469 BABIP at the big league level suggests that he won’t be able to keep that fantastic slash line up in his third stint in the big leagues, but even Soto’s .292/.384/.385 slash line at the Triple-A level this year would make him a useful bench piece for the Reds infield mix.

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Cincinnati Reds Transactions Austin Wynns Livan Soto

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