Orioles Place Ramón Urías On IL With Knee Sprain
The Orioles announced a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game, recalling left-hander Keegan Akin, right-hander Beau Sulser and infielder Tyler Nevin. In corresponding moves, righties Joey Krehbiel and Jake Reed were both optioned to Triple-A while infielder Ramón Urías was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain.
Urías, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Cardinals in 2020 prior to making his MLB debut with O’s that year. He only got into ten games but had a nice showing in that small sample, hitting .360/.407/.560. He followed that up with 85 games in 2021 with a .279/.361/.412 line. That production was 15% better than league average, according to wRC+, helping Urías produce 1.1 wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs.
Here in 2022, he’s had a bit of a mercurial season which began with a dismal April. By the end of that month, he was hitting just .194/.239/.224, wRC+ of 33. He then got into a good groove, hitting .245/.293/.491 for a wRC+ of 119 from the start of May until he landed on the IL on June 10 due to an oblique strain. He returned in early July and tore the cover off the ball that month, producing a line of .329/.380/.575, wRC+ of 170. He hit a skid in August to the tune of .221/.262/.368 but then bounced back with a .258/.370/.371 showing in September.
Since there’s only one week left, Urías won’t be able to return in the regular season, meaning he will finish the campaign with a batting line of .248/.305/.414. The resulting 104 wRC+ is a downturn from 2021, but still above average despite multiple injuries. On the other side of the ball, Urías took notable steps forward. He produced eight Outs Above Average in 769 1/3 innings at third base and one OAA at second base in 147 innings. The work at the keystone is especially encouraging since he was below-average prior to this year. Thanks to the improved glovework, he’s amassed 2.7 fWAR in 118 games this year.
Urías will finish the season just beyond two years of MLB service time, meaning he still won’t be arbitration eligible and isn’t slated to reach free agency until after the 2026 season. Rougned Odor is heading into free agency, which could potentially open the door for Urías to become a more regular second baseman, with Jorge Mateo at shortstop, Gunnar Henderson at third and Ryan Mountcastle at first, though it’s also possible the club brings in reinforcements and bumps Urías back into a utility role.
Injured List Transactions: Urias, Holderman, Mayza
On yet another injury-filled day in baseball, let’s catch up on a few more comings and goings from the IL…
- The Orioles placed infielder Ramon Urias on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain, and selected Richie Martin‘s contract from Triple-A. With a pretty even split of playing time between shortstop, second base, and third base over his three MLB seasons, Urias has handled the majority of third base duty for the O’s this season, though he hasn’t matched his production from the 2021 season. After posting a 115 wRC+ in 296 PA with Baltimore last year, Urias has a more modest 86 wRC+ and a .225/.273/.387 slash line in 188 PA this season. Tyler Nevin figures to get most of the third base playing time with Urias out, and Martin (called up for his first Major League action of 2022) will likely spell Rougned Odor and Jorge Mateo at the two middle infield positions.
- The Mets placed right-hander Colin Holderman on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement. The placement is retroactive to June 8, and righty Jake Reed has been called up from Triple-A to take Holderman’s spot in New York’s bullpen. Pitching in his first MLB season, Holderman has an impressive 3.18 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate, and 8.7% walk rate in his first 11 1/3 innings as a big leaguer.
- Tim Mayza was activated off the Blue Jays‘ 15-day injured list, as the left-hander returned to action after missing a little under four weeks due to forearm inflammation. After throwing a scoreless two-thirds of an inning today against the Tigers, Mayza improved his ERA to 1.98 over 13 2/3 total frames this season.
Orioles Hire Matt Borgschulte And Ryan Fuller As Co-Hitting Coaches
The Orioles announced a pair of additions to the coaching staff this morning, hiring Matt Borgschulte and Ryan Fuller as co-hitting coaches. (Joe Trezza of MLB.com first reported the moves yesterday). They’ll replace Don Long, who was let go last month after a three-year stint in Baltimore.
Borgschulte comes over from the Twins organization, where he’s spent the past four seasons. The 31-year-old worked his way up to hitting coach with the Twins’ top affiliate in St. Paul before earning his first big league job in Baltimore. Fuller, also 31, is an internal promotion. The O’s hired him as a minor league instructor over the 2019-20 offseason. As with Borgschulte, this’ll be Fuller’s initial job on a major league staff.
In addition to the coaching changes, the club also provided reporters (including Trezza and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com) updates on a trio of injured players this week. Left-hander Keegan Akin recently underwent a hip adductor repair, his second procedure within the past couple months. Outfielder Austin Hays and infielder Ramón Urías, meanwhile, each recently underwent core repair surgeries. It’s expected that all three players will be ready for Spring Training.
Orioles Designate Cesar Valdez For Assignment
The Orioles announced Wednesday that right-hander Cesar Valdez has been designated for assignment for a second time this season. Baltimore also recalled second baseman Jahmai Jones and righty Konner Wade from Triple-A Norfolk, optioned right-hander Joey Krehbiel to Norfolk and placed infielder Ramon Urias on the 10-day injured list due to a right adductor strain.
Valdez, 36, only had his contract selected back to the big league roster yesterday. It’ll be a daylong stint on the MLB roster for the righty, who pitched two-thirds of an inning in last night’s game and surrendered two runs (one earned) on a hit and a walk. Valdez has now been scored upon in six of his past seven Major League appearances and 12 of his past 19 dating back to June 1.
Up to that point, Valdez had emerged as an unlikely closer in Baltimore. The journeyman right-hander notched eight saves for the O’s through the season’s first five weeks and carried a 1.23 ERA into mid-May before a swift collapse cost him the closer’s gig and eventually his spot on the roster. Dating back to May 11, Valdez has been tagged for 28 earned runs on 51 hits and 11 walks with 28 strikeouts through 31 1/3 innings. The O’s will either place him on outright waivers or release waivers within the next couple of days.
Given the timing of the Urias IL placement, it seems quite possible that this injury will end his season. He’s somewhat quietly had a nice run as a utility option with the O’s since making his MLB debut last summer, as the 27-year-old has batted .286/.365/.425 with eight home runs and 16 doubles in his first 323 big league plate appearances. A .376 average on balls in play has surely helped his cause, but Urias also owns an impressive 25 percent line-drive rate and a 42.9 percent hard-hit rate.
Urias has split his time between second base, shortstop and third base, although he doesn’t have particularly strong grades. Still, his solid showing at the plate to date suggests he could be a bat-first utility option for the O’s moving forward.
Freddy Galvis Out One-To-Two Months
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
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.
Orioles Place Alex Cobb On Injured List, Outright Mason Williams
The Orioles announced Friday that righty Alex Cobb has been placed on the injured list. Right-hander Branden Kline has been selected from the team’s alternate training site in his place. Additionally, outfielder Mason Williams cleared waivers and was assigned outright to the alternate site, while infielder Ramon Urias has been added as the 29th man for today’s twin bill.
No reason was provided for Cobb’s IL placement, and manager Brandon Hyde would only state that the club is “following protocol” and hopes Cobb can return soon (Twitter link via MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski). That will surely lead to Covid-19 speculation, although it’s worth reminding that a player can be placed on the Covid-19 IL not only for testing positive but also for exhibiting symptoms or coming into contact with someone who has since tested positive. Righty Tom Eshelman will start in Cobb’s place today.
Cobb, 32, is in the midst of what has been a mostly solid rebound campaign. He was torched by the Blue Jays in his most recent start but still carries a 4.33 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.27 HR/9 and an impressive 55.9 percent ground-ball rate. He was viewed as a possible trade candidate prior to the deadline earlier this week, though Baltimore surely would’ve had to pay down the bulk of his contract in order to facilitate a deal; Cobb is being paid a $14MM salary in 2020 (prorated to $5.04MM) and is also set to be paid $15MM in 2021 — the final season of his four-year, $57MM deal.
The 28-year-old Kline was hit hard in his debut campaign last year, yielding a 5.93 ERA with a 34-to-19 K/BB ratio and nine homers allowed in 41 innings. Last year’s poor showing aside, however, Kline has had some success in the upper minors. The 2012 second-rounder missed all of the 2016-17 seasons but came back with a brilliant 1.64 ERA, 9.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 through 65 2/3 minor league frames. He’ll give the O’s some depth in the ‘pen with Cobb sidelined for a yet-to-be-determined period of time.
Williams, 29, went 2-for-11 with the O’s in a small sample before he was removed from the roster. The former Yankees prospect had a solid showing with the 2018 Reds when he hit .293/.331/.398 in a career-high 132 plate appearances, but he hasn’t had much success (or opportunity) at the MLB level outside that 51-game stint. He’ll stay on hand as depth in the team’s 60-man player pool and is eligible to rejoin the club later this season, should a need arise.
Orioles Activate Jose Iglesias From 10-Day IL
The Orioles have activated shortstop Jose Iglesias from the 10-day injured list, one of multiple transactions announced today by the team. Infielder Ramon Urias and southpaw Keegan Akin have been optioned to the Orioles’ alternate training site, while the O’s selected the contract of right-hander Cesar Valdez. In addition, outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. cleared waivers (Smith was designated for assignment earlier this week) and was outrighted to the alternate site.
Iglesias’ return from a left quad injury comes after a minimum 10-day absence, as his original placement was backdated to August 16. Baltimore will now get perhaps its most unexpectedly hot bat back in the lineup, as Iglesias was off to a fantastic .400/.414/.564 start through his first 58 plate appearances.
Valdez signed a minor league deal with the Orioles over the offseason and is now on track to appear in his first Major League game since the 2017 season. His 30 2/3 innings with the A’s and Blue Jays that season marked a return to the Show from an even longer absence, as Valdez’s previous MLB experience came in a nine-game stint with the Diamondbacks in 2010. In between these hiatuses from the big leagues, Valdez has a long track record in the Mexican League, as well as eight games in the Chinese Professional Baseball League and 861 1/3 career minor league innings with the A’s, Blue Jays, D’Backs, and also the Marlins, Astros, and Pirates.
Orioles Place Jose Iglesias On 10-Day Injured List
The Orioles have placed shortstop Jose Iglesias on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 16) due to a left quad injury, the team announced. Infielder Ramon Urias has been called up from the alternate training site to take Iglesias’ spot on the Baltimore roster.
Known as a defensive specialist over his eight seasons prior to 2020, Iglesias has almost doubled his 84 OPS+ from 2011-19 with a whopping 166 OPS+ through 58 plate appearances this season. Small sample size notwithstanding, Iglesias’ .400/.414/.564 slash line has been a key reason why the surprising Orioles are keeping pace in the playoff race with a 12-10 record.
Despite his production, Iglesias has been bothered by his quad all season. He hasn’t played since last Saturday, so clearly the Orioles felt an IL stint was necessary to get the veteran shortstop fully recovered.
Andrew Velazquez has been filling in at short in Iglesias’ absence, and Urias could also help in this regard given his experience at all four infield positions. A longtime veteran of both the Mexican League and 298 minor league games in the Rangers’ and Cardinals’ farm systems, the 26-year-old Urias is on the verge of his first Major League appearance. Urias hit .263/.369/.424 with nine homers over 375 PA with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate in 2019.
Orioles Add 3 To 60-Man Pool
The Orioles have added three players to their 60-man player pool, per a club announcement. Outfielder Yusniel Diaz, lefty DL Hall, and infielder Ramon Urias will all be joining the team’s second training location at Bowie.
Each of these players is still working towards a big league debut. In the case of Diaz and Hall, they’ve long been considered among the organization’s top prospects. The former came over in the Manny Machado trade, while the latter was chosen in the first round of the 2017 draft.
Urias, 26, is in a different position. He earned a 40-man spot with the Cardinals but ended up on the waiver wire over the offseason. The O’s plucked the second bagger with intentions of giving him a crack at earning a utility job. He had scuffled in limited Spring Training action, following a rough stretch in the Mexican League, but did turn in a solid .263/.369/.424 output in 375 Triple-A plate appearances last year.