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Orioles Designate Roansy Contreras, Outright Matt Bowman

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The Orioles announced their Opening Day roster today, noting that right-handers Roansy Contreras and Matt Bowman are no longer on the 40-man. Contreras has been designated for assignment. Bowman has already cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A.

Both pitchers are out of options. That meant they needed to stick on the active roster or else be removed from the 40-man entirely. In both cases, they didn’t make the Opening Day squad and have subsequently lost their 40-man spots.

Bowman, 34 in May, signed a minor league deal with the O’s in the winter. They selected his contract a few days ago, perhaps to stop him from triggering an opt-out in his contract. They’ve now quickly run him through waivers. He has at least three years of service time but less than five. That means he has the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, but in so doing would forfeit the money still owed to him on his contract.

It’s not known how much Bowman is owed but is seems he preferred to stick with his current deal, as opposed to looking for a new one. He’ll provide the O’s with some non-roster depth. In 216 career innings, he has a 4.17 earned run average, 19% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 54.6% ground ball rate.

Contreras, 25, has been bouncing around the league for a long time. That’s due to some enticing numbers and his out-of-options status. Dating back to May of last year, he has gone from the Pirates to the Angels, Rangers, Reds, Orioles, Yankees and then Orioles again via small trades or waiver claims. He has a 4.72 ERA, 19.7% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 39.3% ground ball rate in his 234 2/3 career innings.

He has less than three years of service time and doesn’t have a previous career outright, which means he would not have the right to elect free agency if he passes through waivers. The O’s will have a maximum of one week of DFA limbo time to figure out what’s next for Contreras. The waiver process can take 48 hours, so any trade talks would need to develop in the next five days.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Orioles Select Matt Bowman

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The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Matt Bowman.  Righty Tyler Wells was placed on the 60-day injured list in the corresponding move, as Wells is expected to miss at least the first couple of months of the season as he recovers from a UCL-related surgery last June.

Bowman saw big league action for four different teams in 2024, delivering a 4.40 ERA over 30 2/3 combined innings with the Twins, Diamondbacks, Mariners, and Orioles.  Baltimore was the last stop in that transactional carousel, as Bowman posted a 3.45 ERA in 15 2/3 innings for the O’s after his minors deal was selected to the active roster in August.  The Orioles outrighted Bowman after the season and he elected free agency, only to re-up with the team on another minor league contract in December.

That new minors deal contained an opt-out clause that could’ve been triggered today, Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner writes.  Technically, today’s move just continues the Orioles’ control over the right-hander and doesn’t officially guarantee that he’ll be included on the team’s Opening Day roster.

But, Bowman made a solid showing in the Grapefruit League by posting a 2.70 ERA in 6 2/3 innings across six appearances, so it would appear as though he will likely end up breaking camp.  He is also out of minor league options, which might’ve also helped his case in making the roster if the O’s didn’t want to try and sneak him through waivers.  For making the big league roster, Bowman would receive a $1.1MM salary, as well as another $400K in available incentives.

Bowman is a veteran of six MLB seasons, though he didn’t play at all during the 2020-22 seasons while recovering from a Tommy John surgery and other injuries.  Bowman had a 4.02 ERA and a 56.6% grounder rate over 181 1/3 relief innings for the Cardinals and Reds from 2016-19, and a 4.93 ERA in 34 2/3 innings since returning from his injury hiatus in 2023.  His grounder rate over the last two seasons is a more modest 44.4%, and he’ll likely need to bump that number back over the 50 percent mark since Bowman isn’t a big strikeout pitcher.  That said, he has shown a much greater ability to miss bats in the limited sample size of his work this spring, whiffing 10 batters over his 6 2/3 frames of work.

Orioles Re-Sign Matt Bowman To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles have re-signed right-hander Matt Bowman to a minor league deal with an invite to big league spring training, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The righty will make $1.1MM if in the majors and will also have the chance to unlock incentives valued at $400K.

Bowman, 34 in May, just finished a nomadic season. He pitched for four clubs this year: the Twins, Diamondbacks, Mariners and Orioles, with Baltimore being his final stop. He signed a minor league deal with the O’s in August and was added to the roster shortly thereafter. He tossed 15 1/3 innings with Baltimore down the stretch, allowing 3.45 earned runs per nine. The O’s outrighted him off the roster at season’s end and Bowman elected free agency.

When combined with his other stops, he tallied 30 2/3 innings on the year with a 4.40 ERA, 18.2% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate and 44.1% ground ball rate. Keeping the ball on the ground has been Bowman’s best attribute in his career. Dating back to his 2016 debut, he has 216 big league innings with a 4.17 ERA. His 19% strikeout rate is a bit below average but his 8.3% walk rate is fine and he has kept the ball on the ground at a 54.6% clip.

The bulk of that came work from 2016 to 2019, before Bowman missed the 2020 to 2022 seasons due to injuries, with rehab from Tommy John surgery being the main culprit. He was healthy in 2023 but spent most of the year in Triple-A, getting into just three big league contests. As mentioned, he bounced around quite a bit this year but managed to get his largest chunk of big league work in quite a while.

He’ll give the O’s a bit of non-roster depth for their relief group. If he gets added to the roster at any point, he’ll make a salary a bit above league minimum, which will be $760K next year. He is out of options, which is part of the reason why he bounced around so much this past season. He has less than five years of service time, so he can theoretically be retained for 2026 via arbitration if he has a roster spot at season’s end.

Orioles Claim Rene Pinto, Thaddeus Ward

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The Orioles have made a few tweaks at the back of the roster to start the offseason. Baltimore announced a pair of waiver claims: catcher Rene Pinto from the division rival Rays and right-hander Thaddeus Ward from the Nationals. Baltimore also sent veteran reliever Matt Bowman through outright waivers; he elected free agency. Finally, the O’s selected the contract of lefty reliever Luis González. That series of moves leaves them with 37 players on the 40-man roster.

Pinto opened this past season as Tampa Bay’s starting catcher. It didn’t take long before he lost that job. He only made 19 appearances before being optioned to Triple-A Durham. Pinto spent the bulk of the year in the minors and slumped to a .191/.257/.373 line over 230 trips to the plate. His broader minor league track record is quite a bit better. The Venezuelan-born backstop is a .253/.303/.487 hitter in his Triple-A career. He owns a .231/.263/.404 slash in 237 plate appearances against big league pitching. He joins Blake Hunt on the 40-man roster as options to back up Adley Rutschman, though an external acquisition still seems likely.

Ward, 27, pitched in 26 games for the Nats last year. Washington took him out of the Boston system in the Rule 5 draft. Like many Rule 5 picks, he struggled in his debut campaign. The UCF product posted a 6.37 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings. Washington kept him on optional assignment to Triple-A for the entire ’24 season. Ward started 28 games but allowed a 5.64 ERA over 119 2/3 frames. He walked an untenable 17% of batters faced.

Bowman bounced around the league via waivers before finishing the year in Baltimore. The sinkerballer posted a 4.40 earned run average through 30 2/3 innings between four teams. He had a strong year in Triple-A and should have no trouble landing another minor league deal this winter.

As for González, he earns a long-awaited selection to a 40-man roster. He turns 33 in January and has yet to pitch in the majors. The Dominican Republic native has pitched in Japan, Mexico and even Italy during his winding career arc. He worked his way to the Orioles on a minor league deal and tossed 60 innings of 4.50 ERA ball with Triple-A Norfolk this past season. González punched out nearly 29% of batters faced while walking fewer than 5% of opponents.

Those underlying numbers evidently impressed the Baltimore front office. Rather than allow González to hit minor league free agency, they’ll give him a spot on the 40-man for now. If he holds that all winter, there’s a good chance he’ll make his major league debut next year.

Orioles Option Trevor Rogers, Designate Bruce Zimmermann

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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.

Orioles, Matt Bowman Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles have agreed to a minor league pact with right-handed reliever Matt Bowman, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The ZS Sports client recently opted out of a minor league deal with the Twins. Bowman’s deal in Baltimore pays him a prorated $1MM base salary and contains an upward mobility clause next week (Aug. 22) and a straight opt-out clause on Aug. 28.

Baltimore will be Bowman’s fourth organization of the season. He’s pitched in both the majors and minors for each of the Twins, D-backs and Mariners as well in 2024. His big league work includes a 5.40 ERA in a small sample of 15 innings, but he’s posted an excellent 2.05 ERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate in 30 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. Originally a 13th-round pick out of Princeton by the 2012 Mets, Bowman has pitched 200 1/3 MLB frames across parts of six seasons. He owns a career 4.22 ERA, 18.8% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 55.6% grounder rate in the majors.

Bowman’s Orioles deal continues a dizzying string of transactions involving the journeyman righty this season. He originally signed a minor league deal with the Twins but was designated for assignment not long after being selected to the MLB roster and traded to the D-backs for cash. Upon being designated for assignment in Arizona, he cleared waivers and elected free agency, going on to ink a minor league deal with the Mariners. He was back in the majors shortly thereafter but designated for assignment a third time. Bowman elected free agency, re-signed with Seattle, triggered an opt-out a few weeks later, then re-signed with Minnesota on a new minor league deal — only to opt out of that minor league contract earlier this week.

The clauses in Bowman’s contract could lead to further movement in the two weeks ahead. Next week’s upward mobility clause would require the Orioles to gauge whether any of the other 29 clubs around the league is willing to put Bowman on the 40-man roster. If so, the O’s would need to either add him to their own 40-man roster or facilitate a move sending Bowman to the organization that’s willing to do so. His Aug. 28 out date would again give the O’s 48 hours to add Bowman to the roster and, if they choose not to, give Bowman a brief window to sign with a new team before Aug. 31 — the deadline for players to be eligible for their organization’s postseason roster.

Matt Bowman Opts Out Of Twins Deal

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The Twins released right-hander Matt Bowman, per an announcement from the St. Paul Saints, their Triple-A affiliate (hat tip: Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, on X). The 33-year-old Bowman had been pitching well with the Saints and exercised an opt-out clause over the weekend (as first reported by the New York Post’s Jon Heyman). Minnesota had until today to add him to the 40-man roster but have instead opted to let Bowman become a free agent.

Bowman was in his second stint with the Twins organization this season alone. He inked a minor league pact with Minnesota back in January, was selected to the big league roster in mid-April, and wound up pitching 7 2/3 solid innings out of the ’pen. Bowman yielded only two runs in that first stretch, though his command was quite shaky. In addition to a pair of hits, he issued four walks and plunked a pair hitters while fanning six others. The Twins designated him for assignment and traded him to the D-backs for cash — the first in a lengthy series of transactions for Bowman in 2024.

Bowman spent about three weeks with the D-backs before being designated for assignment once again, this time clearing waivers and electing free agency. He inked a minor league deal with the Mariners and was selected back to the majors in mid-June, only to clear waivers and again elect free agency after just one appearance. Bowman quickly re-signed with Seattle on a new minor league deal, opted out before he got back to the big leagues, and then re-signed a new minor league deal back in Minnesota. He’s now a free agent once again.

It’s a fairly dizzying sequence that’s emblematic of the paths many journeyman of this ilk walk over the course of a given season. Bowman has pitched for six different teams in parts of six MLB seasons. He’s tossed 15 innings this season (5.40 ERA) and has a career 4.22 earned run average in 200 1/3 frames. The Princeton product was originally drafted by the Mets with their 13th-round pick back in 2012, and he’s fanned a below-average 18.8% of his big league opponents against a more solid 8.3% walk rate and a terrific 55.6% ground-ball rate.

This season, Bowman has been outstanding when pitching at the Triple-A level. He’s tallied 30 2/3 innings between Tacoma and St. Paul, logging a sparkling 2.05 ERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate and a 6.6% walk rate. Between that performance and his respectable track record in the majors, Bowman should get a look from another club seeking some bullpen help in the season’s final six-plus weeks.

Twins Sign Matt Bowman To Minor League Deal

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The Twins have signed relief pitcher Matt Bowman to a minor league contract, according to his player page on MLB.com. The deal includes an opt-out in early August (per Darren Wolfson of SKOR North). The right-hander has been assigned to the Triple-A St. Paul Saints.

Bowman began the 2024 season with the Twins, with whom he signed a minor league deal in January. Although he did not make Minnesota’s Opening Day roster, the team selected his contract in mid-April. He made five appearances for the Twins, giving up two earned runs in seven 2/3 innings of work before he was designated for assignment at the end of the month.

The Twins traded Bowman to the Diamondbacks for cash considerations, and the journeyman made four appearances for Arizona (6 ER, 6 2/3 IP) before he was designated for assignment once more. The 33-year-old elected free agency and found his next opportunity with the Mariners, signing a minor league contract with Seattle. He made just one appearance for the M’s, giving up a home run and a walk and recording two outs, before he was DFA’d yet again. After electing free agency, Bowman signed a new minor league deal with the Mariners in mid-June, but the deal contained an opt-out clause – one which he chose to exercise earlier this week. Presumably, the reliever decided he had a better chance to get back to the majors with a different organization.

Thus, Bowman returned to the place where his 2024 campaign began. The Twins have had one of the better bullpens in the American League this season, but they currently have four relievers on the 60-day IL. They only have two right-handed relievers on the 40-man roster who aren’t in the majors (Josh Winder and Ronny Henriquez), neither of whom has anywhere close to as much big league relief experience as Bowman. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why both sides were interested in a reunion.

Bowman began his professional career with the Mets in 2012 and made his MLB debut as a Rule 5 Draft pick with the Cardinals in 2016. He has also spent time with the Reds and Yankees. The righty made 183 appearances from 2016-19, pitching to a 4.02 ERA and 3.86 SIERA. Unfortunately, he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020 and did not make his way back to the majors until September 2023, when he made four appearances for the Yankees. In other words, while he has plenty of experience, it has been several years since he enjoyed any prolonged big league success. His MLB numbers over the past two years are uninspiring (19 IP, 13 K, 9 BB, 4 HR, 6.16 ERA), but his minor league stats (74 2/3 IP, 3.62 ERA, 4.24 FIP) are significantly more promising.

Matt Bowman Opts Out Of Deal With Mariners

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Reliever Matt Bowman exercised an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Mariners, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (X link). Seattle granted him his release rather than call him to the MLB bullpen.

That sends Bowman back to free agency, a fairly common occurrence over the past few weeks. He decided to test the open market after successive designations by the Diamondbacks and Mariners. Bowman inked minor league deals with Seattle both times. He was called to the majors once during his first stint but didn’t get a call since signing his most recent contract a couple weeks ago. The 33-year-old sinkerballer has pitched six times with Triple-A Tacoma over the last two weeks, surrendering four runs through eight innings.

Bowman had fired six innings without allowing an earned run for the Twins’ top affiliate in April. He has surrendered five runs (four earned) with 18 strikeouts and three walks across 16 Triple-A frames on the season. He hasn’t matched that at the major league level, where he has given up nine runs with a 10:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 15 frames.

It has been a few years since Bowman held down a long-term stop in a major league bullpen. He’s putting together a second straight solid Triple-A campaign after turning in a 3.99 ERA with a 51.9% ground-ball rate in 49 appearances for the Yankees’ top affiliate a year ago. Bowman should quickly land another minor league contract now that he’s again on the free agent market.

Mariners Re-Sign Matt Bowman To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners and right-hander Matt Bowman have reunited on another minor league pact. The righty elected free agency a few days back but has now joined the Tacoma Rainiers, tossing a scoreless inning for them yesterday.

Bowman, 33, has been bouncing around the league this year. He started with the Twins on a minor league deal and was added to that club’s roster in mid-April. After just over two weeks with the Twins, he was designated for assignment and sent to the Diamondbacks in a cash deal. After about three weeks as a Snake, he was designated for assignment again, that time clearing waivers and electing free agency. He then landed a minor league deal with the Mariners and was selected to their roster shortly thereafter. But just a few days after that, he was designated for assignment yet again and eventually elected free agency once more.

Around all those transactions, Bowman has thrown 15 major league innings for three different clubs with a 5.40 earned run average. His 15.2% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate are both subpar but he’s kept the ball on the ground at a solid 46.8% clip.

Injuries kept Bowman from pitching during the 2020-22 seasons, with recovery from Tommy John surgery making up a big chunk of that absence. He returned last year and has been able to put up decent results in Triple-A. He tossed 58 2/3 innings at that level while in the Yankees’ system last year and has tossed nine more Triple-A innings this year. Putting those stints together, he has a 3.46 ERA, lots of ground balls and a 23.5% strikeout rate, though with his 11.1% walk rate a tad on the high side.

That has gotten him limited looks in the majors, both last year and this year. However, he exhausted his final option season with the Yankees in 2023, which is why he’s been in DFA limbo so often this season.

The Mariners have four relievers on the injured list, with Gregory Santos, Matt Brash, Jackson Kowar and Gabe Speier all on the shelf. Brash and Kowar both had Tommy John surgery earlier this year and are done for the season. The M’s also have just 38 players on their 40-man roster right now and could easily call upon Bowman again whenever the relief corps is taxed and they need a fresh arm.

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