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Pat Valaika

Dodgers Acquire Pat Valaika From Mariners

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The Dodgers have acquired infielder Pat Valaika from the Mariners, per Alex Freedman, broadcaster for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. It’s unknown what the Mariners are getting in return but it’s possible it’s just a cash deal.

Valaika, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in April and has been in Triple-A this year. In 38 games at that level, he’s walked in 13.3% of his 143 plate appearances. However, he’s hit only four home runs in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, so his .240/.343/.405 slash line amounts to a wRC+ of just 77.

He hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since 2021 but has 374 games of major league experience with the Rockies and Orioles dating back to 2016. He hit .221/.264/.378 in those contests for a wRC+ of just 62, striking out in 27.2% of his trips to the plate and walking in 5.4% of them. He was able to provide defensive versatility though, having played all four infield positions, the outfield corners and even taking the mound for mop-up duty twice.

The Dodgers have been without infielder Gavin Lux all year after he tore the ACL in his right knee during Spring Training. More recently, utility player Chris Taylor landed on the injured list due to a bone bruise in his knee. That has pushed outfielder Mookie Betts into spending more time in the middle infield of late. Glove-first shortstop Miguel Rojas is still in the lineup pretty regularly but he’s hitting just .236/.276/.291 for a wRC+ of 56, below his own standards. Meanwhile, Miguel Vargas is hitting just .197/.301/.369 for an 85 wRC+ and Yonny Hernández is at .222/.273/.333, 62 wRC+.

It’s not the most inspiring part of the Dodgers’ roster and they have decided to add some depth by bringing aboard a veteran in Valaika. He’ll head to Oklahoma City and try to work his way back to the big leagues. If he succeeds, he still has an option year and could be sent back down without being exposed to waivers.

Mariners Sign Pat Valaika To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners signed infielder Pat Valaika to a minor league deal last week. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Tacoma, where he made his season debut over the weekend.

A right-handed hitter, Valaika has appeared in parts of six big league campaigns. He got to the highest level each season between 2016-21, suiting up for the Rockies and Orioles. Valaika set a career mark with 281 plate appearances for Baltimore in 2021 but struggled to a .201/.250/.290 slash that season. For his career, he carries a .221/.264/.378 line with 30 home runs and a lofty 27.2% strikeout rate over 864 plate appearances.

Last season, the UCLA product spent the year in the Braves’ system. He got into 114 games for their top affiliate in Gwinnett, putting up a .242/.303/.368 mark with a reasonable 20.6% strikeout percentage in 466 trips to the dish. He never got an MLB call from Atlanta and returned to minor league free agency over the offseason.

Valika has extensive experience throughout the infield. He’s capable of playing anywhere on the dirt, though public metrics have been lukewarm on his shortstop performance. He’ll bring a fair bit of experience and defensive flexibility to the upper minors in Seattle and adds another righty-swinging utility bat to the mix.

Dylan Moore is on the injured list, pushing the switch-hitting Sam Haggerty into a complementary role to the lefty-swinging Kolten Wong at second base. The M’s acquired Nick Solak in a trade with the Reds last week and have him on optional assignment to Tacoma. Valaika and Mason McCoy are among the non-roster depth players in the organization.

Brock Holt Granted Release From Braves

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The Braves announced this morning that veteran utilityman Brock Holt requested and was granted his release. He’d been in camp on a minor league deal in hopes of winning a roster spot in Atlanta but will now return to the open market in search of a new opportunity.

It’s common for veteran players to exercise out clauses and/or request their release in this manner late in Spring Training. Manager Brian Snitker tells reporters that Holt had been informed he would not make the team (Twitter link via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), and the club honored his request to explore other options. Veterans Phil Gosselin and Pat Valaika are still vying for a utility spot, Toscano adds.

Holt, 33, spent the 2021 season with the Rangers and appeared in 77 games, batting .209/.281/.298 in 260 trips to the plate. That rough season continued a downturn at the plate that began in 2020, but Holt still isn’t too far removed from a productive 2018-19 stretch in Boston that saw him slash .286/.366/.407 in a larger sample of 662 plate appearances.

A left-handed hitter known for his defensive versatility, Holt’s jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none skill set has found him consistent opportunities at the big league level dating back to 2014. He’s played every position on the diamond with the exception of catcher, including 2 1/3 innings on the mound. Holt’s work in center field is limited to just 75 innings, but beyond that he’s played at least 224 innings in both outfield corners and at all four infield slots.

With rosters expanding to 28 players for the early portion of the season, a versatile veteran with Holt’s overall track record at the plate — he’s a .262/.332/.362 hitter in 2661 MLB plate appearances — ought to have interest from other clubs. For what it’s worth, he went 3-for-9 with a home run, a double and a walk in his limited time with the Braves this spring.

Braves To Sign Pat Valaika

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The Braves have reached an agreement to sign infielder Pat Valaika to a one-year, $775K deal if he makes the Major League team, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter).

The 29-year-old is a veteran of six MLB seasons, having spent 2016-2019 with the Rockies and the past two seasons with the Orioles. Valaika has defensive versatility and has shown flashes of power in his career, but he also comes with low batting averages and high strikeout rates.

In 864 career plate appearances, he has 30 home runs but an overall line of .221/.264/.378, along with a strikeout rate of 27.2%. While he’s spent more time at second base than any other position, he’s also frequently appeared at the other three infield spots, in addition to brief spells in the outfield corners and 1 1/3 innings of mound work.

For the Braves, Valaika will join a mix of players who will compete for bench/utility roles with the club. Orlando Arcia was already on the roster, and the Braves reportedly signed Phil Gosselin to a minors deal earlier today. Valaika is still relatively young and has an option year remaining, meaning he could be shuffled between Triple-A and the big leagues. He also has just over four years of MLB service time, meaning Atlanta could keep him around for next year via arbitration, if his performance warrants.

Four Orioles Players Elect Free Agency

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OCTOBER 25: Baltimore announced that each of Valaika, Eshelman and Wade has elected free agency as expected. That’s also true of catcher Austin Wynns, who was designated for assignment himself last week.

OCTOBER 23: The Orioles have outrighted infielder Pat Valaika and right-handers Thomas Eshelman and Konner Wade to Triple-A, according to MLB.com’s official transactions page.  All three players have the option of rejecting the outright assignment and opting for free agency.

Valaika has the most big league experience of the trio, with 373 games under his belt with the Rockies and Orioles, including 142 appearances in a Baltimore uniform over the last two seasons.  Valaika hit .277/.315/.475 over 150 PA in 2020 but his numbers cratered to a .540 OPS in 281 plate appearances this year, and he no longer seems to be in the club’s plans.  Valaika was projected to earn $1.3MM in his second trip through the arbitration process this winter and already seemed like a non-tender candidate.

Eshelman could be a candidate to return for another season with the O’s, as he re-signed with the team on a new minor league deal after opting for free agency last offseason in the wake of an outright assignment.  Eshelman has spent parts of the last three seasons with Baltimore, with a 5.77 ERA to show for his 98 1/3 career innings.  While he has some extra utility as a swingman, Eshelman has only an 11.3% strikeout rate over his brief MLB career.

Wade made his MLB debut this season, posting an 11.68 ERA in 12 1/3 innings over seven appearances for Baltimore.  A seventh-round pick for the Rockies in the 2013 draft, Wade pitched in the Mexican League and the independent leagues amidst stints in the Colorado and Boston farm systems before landing with the Orioles on a minor league deal this past winter.  A groundball specialist earlier in this career, Wade has a 3.76 ERA over 735 innings in the minors, starting 109 of 175 career outings.

Orioles Select Pat Valaika

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The Orioles announced they’ve selected infielder Pat Valaika back to the big league roster. Baltimore also recalled righty Marcos Diplán from Triple-A Norfolk. Left-hander Tanner Scott has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left knee sprain, while utilityman Jorge Mateo was placed on the 60-day IL due to right lumbar inflammation.

Valaika has logged substantial big league action with the O’s in each of the last two seasons. He flashed some intriguing power potential last year, popping eight home runs in 150 plate appearances en route to a solid .277/.315/.475 showing. But he struggled badly over a slightly longer look this year, posting a .192/.251/.280 line over 212 trips to the dish. He was designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers last month. Valaika will be eligible for arbitration this offseason, but given his disappointing season, he looks like a non-tender candidate.

Baltimore grabbed Mateo off waivers from the Padres last month, with the rebuilding O’s in a far better position than the win-now Padres to give regular playing time to the former top prospect. (Mateo is out of minor league option years, so he’d spent much of his San Diego tenure in a bench role). The 26-year-old showed fairly well in his look with the Orioles, hitting .280/.328/.421 with a pair of homers and five stolen bases over 116 plate appearances. His season comes to a premature end because of the injury, but he’s seemingly done enough to warrant a spot on Baltimore’s 40-man roster over the upcoming offseason.

Unlike Mateo, Scott isn’t officially ruled out for the rest of the year by his IL placement. Nevertheless, manager Brandon Hyde suggested to reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) the hard-throwing reliever is unlikely to make it back this season. Scott appeared in 62 games and tossed 54 innings of 5.17 ERA ball, striking out a solid 27.9% of opponents but issuing walks at an elevated 14.7% clip. He’ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/8/21

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The latest minor league moves from around the sport…

  • The Orioles outrighted Pat Valaika to Triple-A after the infielder cleared waivers and accepted the move off the 40-man roster.  Baltimore designated Valaika for assignment earlier this week.  Now in his second season with the O’s, Valaika has seen quite a bit of action in a reserve role, and had most recently been getting starts at second base since Ramon Urias was moved over to shortstop.  Known more for his defensive versatility than his bat over his six MLB seasons with the Rockies and Orioles, Valaika showed some pop in 2020 but is hitting only .192/.251/.280 over 212 plate appearances this year.

Orioles Claim Jorge Mateo Off Waivers From Padres

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The Orioles announced they’ve claimed utilityman Jorge Mateo off waivers from the Padres. To create active and 40-man roster space, infielder Pat Valaika was designated for assignment.

Mateo has spent the past season-plus in San Diego, tallying his first 121 MLB plate appearances in the process. He’s only managed a .195/.235/.310 line with two home runs in that time, but Mateo’s also never had the benefit of regular playing time on a win-now Padres club. However, because Mateo is out of minor league options, San Diego had to keep him on the active roster or else risk losing his long-term rights. That left the 26-year-old as a sort of designated bench piece, with most of his time coming as a pinch hitter, pinch runner or late-game defensive replacement (primarily in the outfield).

As with the Padres, the O’s have to keep Mateo on the big league roster or risk losing him on waivers themselves. Mateo ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects at Baseball America for three consecutive seasons (2016-18) thanks to his blistering speed and decent raw power. There’s plenty more opportunity for the rebuilding Orioles to give him a regular look against big league pitching if they’re so inclined. If Mateo earns a permanent spot on the roster, he can be controlled through 2025.

Valaika has spent the past two seasons in Baltimore. He broke into the majors with the Rockies, briefly landed with the Diamondbacks, but wound up with the Orioles on waivers. Valaika performed well in a brief look in 2020 (.277/.315/.475 over 150 plate appearances) but he hasn’t followed up on that this season. The 28-year-old has tallied 212 trips to the dish this year and managed just a .192/.251/.280 line with four homers.

Baltimore will place Valaika on waivers in the coming days. Should he pass through unclaimed, he’d have the right to reject a minor league assignment by virtue of the fact that he’s previously been outrighted in his career.

Freddy Galvis Out One-To-Two Months

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JUNE 27: Galvis has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right quadriceps strain, the team announced. Urias and Leyba were each recalled from Norfolk, as was outfielder Ryan McKenna. Righty Konner Wade and utilityman Stevie Wilkerson were optioned in corresponding moves.

Galvis will miss between one and two months, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com). That casts serious doubt about his trade candidacy. Galvis would need to return at the very early end of that projected timetable to be healthy by the July 30 deadline. Players on the injured list can still be traded, but a veteran role player like Galvis never looked likely to bring back a highly impactful return, and contenders’ interest in acquiring him would be dealt a serious blow if he’s still on the IL come deadline day.

JUNE 26: Freddy Galvis was carted off the field during today’s loss to the Blue Jays. The team described the injury as right quadriceps discomfort. A roster move appears likely to follow, with Galvis heading to the injured list, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.

Along with being one of the Orioles’ more vocal veteran leaders, the well-respected, glove-first shortstop was a potential trade piece for GM Mike Elias. With little more than a month before the trade deadline, Baltimore will have to wait and see about the severity of Galvis’ injury to know whether he might still be considered a trade chip. Galvis has been worth 0.9 rWAR while slashing .246/.304/.411 in 273 plate appearances.

In the meantime, Pat Valaika took over at shortstop today, while Ramon Urias or Domingo Leyba seem most likely to get the call from Triple-A for more regular playing time. For what it’s worth, neither Urias nor Leyba was in the starting lineup for Triple-A Norfolk tonight, notes Kubatko, suggesting one or both could be on the way to Buffalo. The Orioles play a day game against the Blue Jays tomorrow.

Orioles Make Several Roster Moves

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The Orioles announced a flurry of moves this afternoon, including the news that infielder Domingo Leyba has been claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks and optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.  Infielder Ramon Urias and right-hander Travis Lakins have been called up from Norfolk, and righty Hunter Harvey has been activated off the 60-day injured list.

To create roster space, right-hander Shawn Armstrong and lefty Brandon Waddell were designated for assignment.  (Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported earlier today that Waddell was being DFA’ed.)  Additionally, infielder Pat Valaika was placed on the bereavement list.

Leyba was designated for assignment just two days ago.  The 25-year-old went hitless (with two walks) in 24 plate appearances for Arizona this season, following a very respectable .807 OPS over his first 30 career big league PA in 2019.  This wide range of production comes on the heels of a solid .290/.347/.434 slash line in 2624 PA in the minors as part of the Diamondbacks’ and Tigers’ farm systems since 2013.  Leyba put up particularly big numbers with Arizona’s Triple-A team in 2018-19, though the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League environment might have played a role considering his more modest career output in previous years.

Harvey suffered a left oblique strain in mid-March, and is now set to finally make his 2021 debut.  Injuries have pretty much been the story of Harvey’s career since being selected 22nd overall in the 2013 draft, as his MLB resume consists of only 15 total innings in 2019-20.  Even that small sample size still hints at some promise, however, as Harvey’s fastball sits in the high 90’s and he has struck out 17 of his 63 batters faced.  Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told The Athletic’s Dan Connelly and other reporters that Harvey will be used in a variety of bullpen roles, with seemingly no concession made to his injury history — he’ll be deployed “like a regular piece in the bullpen,” Hyde said.

Since being claimed off waivers from the Mariners in April 2019, Armstrong has been something of a workhorse out of the Baltimore pen, appearing in 85 games and tossing 89 1/3 innings.  The results weren’t always there, however, as Armstrong had a 5.34 ERA during his stint in the orange and black.  Armstrong is out of minor league options, so the O’s had no choice but to designate him and expose him to a potential waiver claim.

Waddell was a waiver pickup himself, selected by the Orioles off of the Twins’ roster in early May.  He has pitched in only one game for the O’s and two games for Triple-A Norfolk, as Kubatko notes that Waddell was delayed by the intake process required by COVID-19 protocols.  A longtime member of the Pirates’ minor league system, Waddell has seen MLB action with the Bucs, Twins, and Orioles over the last two seasons, with a 6.48 ERA over 8 1/3 total career innings in the big leagues.

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