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Ryan O'Hearn

Orioles Outright Ryan O’Hearn

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The Orioles announced that first baseman Ryan O’Hearn has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. He had been designated for assignment last week when the O’s claimed Lewin Díaz a second time.

O’Hearn, 29, had a strong debut in 2018. Over 44 games in that season, he hit 12 home runs and produced a batting line of .262/.353/.597. Unfortunately, he’s been struggling since that time, slashing .211/.282/.351 over the past four seasons while striking out in 26.9% of his plate appearances.

Despite that poor run of late, the Royals still believed in O’Hearn enough to tender him a contract. He and the club avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.4MM salary for this year. They later designated him for assignment, perhaps hoping to pass him through waivers and keep him in the organization but without him taking up a roster spot. Instead, the Orioles grabbed him off waivers and are now are the beneficiaries of that plan.

O’Hearn can technically reject this outright assignment and elect free agency, since he has over three years of MLB service time. However, only players past the five-year mark can both opt for free agency and retain their salaries. Since O’Hearn is in between those two thresholds, he would have to leave that $1.4MM on the table in order to head to the open market. If there were a team in the majors that thought he was worth something in that range or higher, they surely would have put in a claim this week. That means O’Hearn’s smartest play, from a pure financial point of view, is to head to Norfolk and try to earn his way back onto the roster.

The O’s have been trying for quite some time to pass a left-handed bat through waivers to improve their depth at first base. They have twice claimed Díaz and then designated him for assignment shortly thereafter. The first time didn’t work since the Braves clearly indicated they were interested and sent cash considerations to Baltimore to acquire him. But the Braves then quickly put him on waivers themselves and the O’s swooped in with a claim yet again. Díaz has since been sent into DFA limbo by the O’s for a second time, his fifth of the offseason overall, and is still there for now. If he clears, he and O’Hearn would seemingly have to battle each other to be the one to get the call whenever the O’s feel they are ready to commit a roster spot to one of them.

Orioles Claim Lewin Diaz, Designate Ryan O’Hearn For Assignment

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The Orioles have claimed Lewin Diaz off waivers from the Braves and designated first baseman Ryan O’Hearn for assignment in a corresponding move, according to a team announcement.

It’s the second time this offseason that the O’s have claimed Diaz off waivers. It’s a bit surprising to see them designate O’Hearn as the corresponding move, given that he was only acquired from the Royals a couple days ago, though the O’s also surely expect that O’Hearn would accept an outright assignment if they can pass him through waivers, as rejecting it in favor of free agency would mean forfeiting his $1.4MM salary. That salary could even help the O’s get O’Hearn through waivers, at which point they’d be able to have both lefty-hitting first basemen in the organization as depth options.

To call this a tumultuous offseason for Diaz would be an understatement. He’s been designated for assignment by four different clubs and claimed off waivers four times — twice by the Orioles now. Although he’s just a .181/.227/.340 hitter in 343 Major League plate appearances, Diaz is a 26-year-old former top prospect with above-average power who is also arguably the best defensive first baseman in the Majors. It’s led teams to continue to pluck him off waivers — the O’s, Pirates and Braves have all done so — though the general hope by the claiming team seems to be that it can succeed at passing him through waivers and retaining him as a depth piece without committing a 40-man spot.

To this point, that hasn’t happened yet, which surely makes for a frustrating situation for the player. Diaz surely would prefer to know where he’ll be reporting to Spring Training and where he might call home next season, but the offseason carousel hasn’t allowed that to happen. Given that the O’s are still looking to make some additions to their 40-man roster, it’s eminently plausible that a subsequent move — be it the signing of a veteran pitcher or another waiver claim in the coming weeks — will again push Diaz into DFA limbo. Even if he makes it to Spring Training, Diaz is out of minor league options, so the Orioles will need to carry him on the Opening Day roster or once again attempt to pass him through waivers.

As for O’Hearn, he was traded from Kansas City to Baltimore following his first DFA, so he’s yet to even hit the waiver wire once. The 29-year-old turned heads as a rookie in 2018 when he debuted with a thunderous .262/.333/.597 batting line and a dozen homers in 170 plate appearances, but he’s never come close to those levels again. Over the past four seasons, O’Hearn is a .211/.282/.351 hitter who’s fanned in 26.9% of his plate appearances. His struggles are particularly pronounced against left-handed pitching, but he’s been sub-par against righties as well.

The Orioles’ hope in acquiring O’Hearn could simply be that a change of scenery and the league’s new limitations on infield shifts will help O’Hearn get more out of his pull-happy approach at the plate. He consistently rates among the league’s best in terms of exit velocity and hard contact — never more so than in 2022. This past season, even while posting an ugly .239/.290/.321 slash, O’Hearn averaged 92.1 mph off the bat and launched 48% of his batted balls at a velocity of at least 95 mph.

Baltimore has been seeking lefty hitters who can help out at first base throughout the offseason, and at least for the time being, they’ve snagged a pair of them — likely with the ultimate hope of stashing both in Triple-A without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to either.

Orioles Acquire Ryan O’Hearn From Royals

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The Orioles  have acquired first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations, per announcements from both clubs. O’Hearn had recently been designated for assignment by the Royals. In order to open up a spot on the 40-man roster, the O’s designated right-hander Chris Vallimont for assignment.

O’Hearn, 29, will join a new organization for the first time in his career, as he was drafted by the Royals in 2014 and has been with them until today. He made his way to the majors by 2018 and had a tremendous debut in that season. He was selected to the club’s roster at the end of July and got into 44 games over the latter months of that campaign. He hit 12 home runs in that brief spell and produced a batting line of .262/.353/.597, with his 153 wRC+ indicating he was 53 percent better than league average in that time.

However, the subsequent four seasons have increasingly made that look like a mirage. From the beginning of 2019 to the present, O’Hearn has hit 26 home runs in 298 games and slashed .211/.282/.351, producing a wRC+ of just 68. That production was 32 percent below the league average hitter in that time but was especially disappointing given his defensive limitations. O’Hearn is primarily a first baseman who has occasionally seen time in the outfield corners. Since those positions come with higher expectations for offensive production, a tepid showing like O’Hearn’s was increasingly untenable.

The Royals had already tendered O’Hearn a contract for 2023, avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a $1.4MM salary for 2023. However, once they made their signing of Jordan Lyles official, they designated O’Hearn for assignment and have now sent him to Baltimore. For the O’s, they’ve been busy trying to add left-handed first baseman and/or corner outfielders for most of the offseason. They’ve signed Nomar Mazara and Franchy Cordero to minor league deals and also claimed Lewin Díaz off waivers, though they later designated Díaz for assignment and traded him to the Braves. A similar situation played out with Jake Cave, who was claimed off waivers from the Twins but then lost to the Phillies on a subsequent waiver claim.

The O’s are set to have right-hander Ryan Mountcastle as their primary first baseman in 2023 but they seem to be hoping to find a left-handed option to give manager Brandon Hyde some options in setting his lineups. O’Hearn certainly has noticeable splits in his career, as he’s hit just just .169/.244/.257 against lefties. He’s been much better the rest of the time, with a .228/.302/.414 line, though that’s still below average with his wRC+ coming in at 90 against righties. Regardless, the O’s will take a shot on him and see if they can get O’Hearn to take a step forward. He has one option year remaining and could therefore be sent to the minors for a time for some extra at-bats down there. FanGraphs calculates his service time at 4.002 right now, meaning he can be retained for 2024 via arbitration, though a significant stint in the minors would prevent him from reaching the five-year service mark this year and give the club an extra year of control beyond that.

As for Vallimont, 26 in March, he has yet to make his major league debut. Drafted by the Marlins, he was traded to the Twins in 2019 and got added to Minnesota’s roster in November of 2021 to protect against selection in the Rule 5 draft. He had just finished a season in which he posted a 6.03 ERA over 21 starts in Double-A, but with a huge 31.1 percent strikeout rate. He also walked 14.6 percent of the batters he faced, but the Twins were intrigued enough to give him a roster spot.

In 2022, he returned to Double-A and posted a huge 9.95 ERA over his first seven appearances and was designated for assignment in May. The O’s grabbed him off waivers sent him to their own Double-A affiliate and saw him turn things around for a time. He registered an ERA of 0.69 over three starts and got sent up to Triple-A. However, the new level proved a challenge for him, as he ran up a 5.38 ERA the rest of the way. The O’s will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Vallimont still has a couple of option years and could interest teams that are looking for some pitching depth.

Royals Designate Ryan O’Hearn For Assignment

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The Royals have made their signing of right-hander Jordan Lyles official, announcing the move today. To make room on the 40-man roster, first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn was designated for assignment.

O’Hearn, 29, burst onto the scene with an incredible debut in 2018. He was selected to the club’s roster at the end of July and got into 44 games over the latter months of that campaign. He hit 12 home runs in that brief spell and produced a batting line of .262/.353/.597, with his 153 wRC+ indicating he was 53% better than league average in that time.

However, the subsequent four seasons have increasingly made that look like a mirage. From the beginning of 2019 to the present, O’Hearn has hit 26 home runs in 298 games and slashed .211/.282/.351, producing a wRC+ of just 68. That production was 32% below the league average hitter in that time but was especially disappointing given his defensive limitations. O’Hearn is primarily a first baseman who has occasionally seen time in the outfield corners. Since those positions come with higher expectations for offensive production, a tepid showing like O’Hearn’s was increasingly untenable.

It doesn’t seem as though the organization has completely given up on O’Hearn turning things around and becoming a valuable contributor again, as they’ve already tendered him a contract for 2023. At the non-tender deadline in mid-November, he and the club avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.4MM salary for the upcoming campaign. In previous years, arbitration salaries were not guaranteed until the end of Spring Training, giving the club some wiggle room to cut the player before the season began and only pay out a portion of the deal. However, under the new CBA, arbitration salaries are guaranteed as long as the two sides don’t go to a hearing.

The Royals will now have one week to trade O’Hearn or try to pass him through waivers. Since O’Hearn has more than three years of MLB service time, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment in the event he cleared waivers. However, he lacks the five years of service time necessary to both reject an outright assignment and retain his salary for the upcoming season, meaning he would have to leave that $1.4MM on the table in order to become a free agent. Given his struggles in recent years, it seems possible that he will clear waivers and accept an outright assignment, sticking around the organization with a slightly higher salary than a traditional depth piece. Vinnie Pasquantino seems to have taken over the first base job in Kansas City with MJ Melendez, Hunter Dozier, Nate Eaton and Nick Pratto options for designated hitter duty. O’Hearn could work his way back into the mix if he shows improved form and an injury creates an opportunity.

Royals Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Royals announced Tuesday that they’ve designated lefty Jake Brentz, right-hander Nate Webb and first baseman/outfielder Brent Rooker for assignment. Their roster spots will go to right-hander Alec Marsh, catcher Freddy Fermin and outfielder Diego Hernandez, each of whom has been selected to the 40-man roster in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft.

Kansas City also announced a one-year deal with non-tender candidate Ryan O’Hearn, avoiding arbitration and ostensibly locking him into a roster spot for the 2023 season. Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star reports that O’Hearn will be guaranteed $1.4MM and can earn another $250K of bonuses. O’Hearn was paid $1.3MM in 2022 and is controllable through the 2024 season via arbitration.

Brentz, 28, had a nice rookie season with the Royals in 2021 when he pitched to a 3.66 ERA with a 27.3% strikeout rate in 64 innings of relief. A 13.3% walk rate always served as a red flag, but as a bat-missing lefty with an average fastball of 97 mph and a 49% ground-ball rate, Brentz showed plenty of promise. His 2022 season was unfortunately blown up by injury, however. Brent tossed just 5 1/3 innings with a woeful 9-to-11 K/BB ratio and a 23.63 ERA (14 earned runs) before undergoing surgery to repair a torn UCL in his pitching elbow. That procedure, performed in late June, ended his season.

Webb, 25, was limited to just 33 1/3 innings across three minor league levels this season, struggling at each stop and spending more than two and a half months on the injured list. Although he was healthy to finish out the season, Webb concluded his 2022 campaign with a combined 9.99 ERA and 39-to-27 K/BB ratio in those 33 1/3 frames.

Rooker, acquired on Aug. 2 in a trade that sent backup catcher Cam Gallagher to the Padres, appeared in only 14 games with the Royals and went 4-for-25 with four walks and a double. Drafted by the division-rival Twins with the No. 35 overall pick back in 2017, Rooker was a bat-first prospect touted for his plus raw power but has managed just a .200/.289/.379 batting line in 270 Major League plate appearances. He’s a career .274/.387/.590 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons, so it’s possible another club will take a look on waivers or in a minor trade — particularly since he still has a minor league option year remaining.

The Royals again opted against non-tendering the now-29-year-old O’Hearn, despite the fact that four full seasons have elapsed since his productive rookie effort in 2018. Since hitting .262/.353/.597 in 170 plate appearances as a 24-year-old rookie, the lefty-swinging O’Hearn has managed only a .211/.282/.351 slash in 901 plate appearances. Even with a pair of younger, highly touted first base prospects in Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Pratto needing playing time next season, though, Kansas City will continue to hope O’Hearn can eventually recapture that rookie form and factor into the first base/DH mix.

Royals Place Adalberto Mondesi On 10-Day IL

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12:57PM: The Royals have officially announced the move, with Mondesi sent to the 10-day IL with a strained left oblique.  O’Hearn has been recalled from Triple-A.

12:41PM: Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi looks to be going back onto the 10-day injured list with an oblique injury, GM Dayton Moore told the Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy (Twitter links) and other reporters.  First baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn will likely be the Triple-A call-up that replaces Mondesi on the active roster.

Mondesi was removed after six innings in yesterday’s 7-3 Royals victory over the Red Sox due to discomfort in his left side.  This latest oblique injury is on the opposite side of the body from the other oblique strain that sidelined Mondesi at the start of the season, delaying his debut until May 25.

Between that lengthy IL stint and another trip to the injured list for a hamstring strain, Mondesi has appeared in only 10 games all season.  While Mondesi has made the most of that brief playing time by posting a 1.212 OPS in 38 plate appearances, it has thus far been a lost season for the 25-year-old.

Once one of baseball’s top prospects, Mondesi has shown flashes of that potential over his 318 career MLB games, including a torrid stretch last September that saw him post a 1.130 OPS over his last 93 PA.  However, Mondesi’s hot streak was tempered by a miserable .440 OPS in his first 140 PA of the 2020 season, and he has been hampered by injuries both this season and in 2019.  Mondesi has already displayed strong defense, speed, and baserunning skills, so it isn’t out of the question that he could still unlock some superstar-level production with more consistent hitting and if he can just stay on the field.

Royals Activate Ryan O’Hearn

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The Royals announced that they’ve activated first baseman Ryan O’Hearn from the injured list. Left-hander Richard Lovelady was optioned to the team’s alternate training site to make room on the 30-man roster. O’Hearn, who turned 27 yesterday, tested positive for Covid-19 three weeks ago and had been absent from the club since.

O’Hearn has spent parts of the past two seasons in the big leagues, and it’s been a tale of two seasons for the slugger. His 2018 debut was outstanding, as he raked at a .262/.353/.597 clip (153 wRC+, 154 OPS+ ) and belted a dozen homers, 10 doubles and two triples in 170 plate appearances. In 2019, O’Hearn’s production plummeted to .195/.281/.369 in a larger sample of 370 plate appearances. As it stands, his left-handed bat is likely to pair with the right-handed-hitting Ryan McBroom to share time at first base, although it’s possible that either could produce enough to play his way into the lion’s share of playing time.

Even as one southpaw was sent down, another came down with a potentially worrisome injury. Former first-round pick Foster Griffin was cruising through his MLB debut on his birthday before feeling something in his pitching arm. He’ll undergo an MRI on his left forearm to diagnose the problems.

In other Kansas City roster news, the club has formally added catcher Cam Gallagher to its taxi squad, as Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star reports on Twitter. He’s still on the injured list for a previous COVID-19 diagnosis but has obviously now registered the requisite negative tests. The 27-year-old saw 45 games of MLB action last year while helping the Royals fill in for the injured Salvador Perez.

Brad Keller, Ryan O’Hearn Test Positive For Coronavirus

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Royals right-hander Brad Keller and first baseman Ryan O’Hearn have tested positive for the coronavirus, per the team. Keller said in a statement that is dealing with minor symptoms at the moment, while O’Hearn is asymptomatic. They’ll both need a pair of negative tests before they’re cleared to return to the team. For now, they’ll isolate as they await those negative tests. Keller and O’Hearn join Salvador Perez as known Royals players to have tested positive in the early days of Summer Camp.

The hope is obviously that both will make swift recoveries and be ready when games begin later this month, although there’s no way of knowing when either will be cleared. Keller, 25 later this month, is a lock for the Royals rotation and served as their Opening Day starter a year ago. The former Rule 5 pick tossed 165 1/3 frames of 4.19 ERA ball over the course of 28 starts for Kansas City this past season.

O’Hearn, who’ll turn 27 in late July, had a big Spring Training before the league shutdown and was competing with Ryan McBroom for regular reps at first base. There’s an obvious platoon pairing between the two if the organization sees fit, but both are looking at the 2020 season as a hopeful proving grounds. O’Hearn posted a monstrous .262/.353/.597 slash (153 wRC+) in 170 plate appearances in 2018 but saw his production decline precipitously in 2019 (.195/.281/.369).

Quick Hits: Maeda, Dodgers, Angels, Cards, Royals

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The Dodgers dealt Kenta Maeda to the Twins last month, after which the right-hander seemingly indicated that he asked for a trade out of the Los Angeles organization. However, that’s not what happened, according to Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). While Maeda did make it known to the Dodgers he prefers to start (they often used him as a reliever from 2018-19), Friedman insists there was no trade request when the two met last season. “I saw the headline and then we had someone actually listen to it. And he didn’t in that meeting demand anything and nor did he actually say he did in that interview,” Friedman stated. For their part, the Dodgers didn’t enter the offseason planning to move Maeda, per Friedman, but they pulled the trigger when the Twins offered a Brusdar Graterol-led package. Maeda, meanwhile, will now have an opportunity to return to being a full-time starter in Minnesota.

  • The Angels fired visiting clubhouse manager Brian Harkins on Thursday amid allegations that he provided “illegal substances” to help opposing pitchers grip the ball better, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports. The news did not come as a surprise to the Angels, per Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register. “I think everybody knows that most guys are doing it,” left-hander Andrew Heaney said. “I don’t think it’s that surprising for anybody who knows baseball.” Pitching coach Mickey Callaway told Fletcher he expects Major League Baseball to ban hurlers from using pine tar and other such substances, but he believes it could have a detrimental effect because they help pitchers’ control – especially in cold conditions. “If I were a hitter, I’d be scared to dig into the box in Detroit on April 10,” he said. Manager Joe Maddon also weighed in, saying pitchers have been using substances to better their grip for “as long as I’ve been in baseball.” Maddon wonders whether MLB will eventually have to make changes to the ball, as the current one has become slicker.
  • Cardinals righty Carlos Martinez has been a starter for most of his career, but shoulder issues helped force the hard-throwing 28-year-old to their bullpen last season. He’s now back in the Cardinals’ rotation, though, and is showing off his old form this spring, as Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch observes.  “Everything’s been really good,” manager Mike Shildt said after Martinez threw five scoreless innings against Washington on Thursday. “That was a pretty dramatic display of, ‘Hey, I’m a starter.’ He’s established himself, for sure.”  Martinez has been quite successful in a starting role, having recorded a 3.38 ERA/3.61 FIP in 712 1/3 innings from the Cardinals’ rotation. The reigning NL Central champions would surely be pleased if he can offer similar production this season, especially with fellow righty Miles Mikolas set to miss the beginning of the year with an elbow injury.
  • There is a growing likelihood that the Royals will use first basemen Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan McBroom in “a soft platoon” to open the season, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com writes. As we touched on Friday, the left-handed O’Hearn is seeking a bounce-back year after logging horrid production in 2019. The right-handed McBroom was better with the Royals last year in his first season in the majors, hitting .293/.361/.350. However, it was only an 83-plate appearance sample, in which McBroom failed to hit a home run, struck out over 30 percent of the time and was the beneficiary of an unsustainable .440 batting average on balls in play. To his credit, though, McBroom thrived as a Yankees farmhand last season in Triple-A ball, where he slashed .315/.402/.574 and slugged 26 homers in 482 PA.

Royals Designate Lucas Duda For Assignment

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The Royals have designated 1B/DH Lucas Duda for assignment and recalled 1B Ryan O’Hearn in his place, the team reports.

Duda, 33, produced in volume for the Mets clubs of the mid- and early-decade, but has fallen on hard times since a 2017 trade to the Rays. In 119 plate appearances for Kansas City this season, the lefty slashed a putrid .171/.252/.324 (47 wRC+) and appeared in just 19 games at first base. His long track record of righty-mashing will be hard for certain clubs to ignore, but it’s possible this is the end of the line for Duda, who’s cracked 156 MLB homers thus far.

Following an out-of-nowhere 2018, in which O’Hearn posted a 153 wRC+ in limited action despite an uneven-at-best minor-league track record, the 26-year-old has fallen back to earth in ’19, slashing a mere .186/.286/.333 in near-full-time action at the season’s outset. He’ll likely again be in line for at least semi-regular at-bats for a club that’s long since fallen out of the race.

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