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Marlins Acquire Tanner Scott, Cole Sulser From Orioles

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8:56PM: Both teams have officially announced the trade.  To clear 40-man roster space for Scott and Sulser, the Marlins have designated left-hander Nick Neidert for assignment and placed lefty Sean Guenther on the 60-day injured list.  MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola reported Friday that Guenther was dealing with an arm injury that may require surgery.

5:52PM: The Marlins have acquired left-hander Tanner Scott and right-hander Cole Sulser from the Orioles.  MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported (Twitter links) Scott’s inclusion in the deal, while The Miami Herald’s Craig Mish reported that Sulser had also been dealt.  Feinsand reports that the Orioles will receive prospects Antonio Velez and Kevin Guerrero, a player to be named later, and the Marlins’ pick in Competitive Balance Round B of this summer’s amateur draft.

The bullpen was known to be a target area for Miami, and the Fish have now bolstered their relief core with a pair of experienced arms.  In Sulser, the Marlins have also found a new closer candidate, as Sulser saved eight games with Baltimore last season.  While the Marlins aren’t expected to have a full-time closer, there is a vacancy for the ninth inning, as Dylan Floro is expected to start the season on the injured list.

Sulser is a late bloomer who didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 29, so he is still controlled through the 2025 season even though he only recently celebrated his 32nd birthday.  Injuries played a factor in Sulser’s late start, as he underwent two Tommy John surgeries (one in college, and the other in 2015 when he was pitching in Cleveland’s farm system).  He finally surfaced in the majors with the Rays in 2019, and then came to Baltimore on a waiver claim at the end of the 2019 season.

After posting a 5.56 ERA over 22 2/3 innings in 2020, Sulser broke out with a 2.70 ERA over 63 1/3 relief innings for Baltimore last season.  Though his 8.9% walk rate ranked only in the 40th percentile of all pitchers (as per Statcast), Sulser’s 28.4% strikeout rate was well above average, and fit in the high strikeout totals he has posted during his minor league career.

Scott also hasn’t had much trouble missing bats, but the southpaw’s control issues have resulted in some inconsistent numbers over 156 Major League innings.  Scott has an ungainly 13.6% walk rate during his MLB career, which is a big reason why he has posted only a 4.73 ERA with the Orioles despite a 50.1% grounder rate and a 29.4% strikeout rate.

Between those numbers, Scott’s mid-90s fastball, and his three remaining years of arbitration control (Scott is set to earn $1.05MM this season after avoiding arbitration with the O’s), it is easy to see why Scott has drawn his share of trade buzz over the years.  As well, Sulser’s name also surfaced in trade rumors earlier this year, as the rebuilding Orioles continue to be open for business on pretty much everyone on the roster.

In fact, the Marlins themselves swung another notable bullpen trade with the O’s back in August 2020, picking up Richard Bleier.  Sulser and Bleier will now join Anthony Bass and Anthony Bender as Miami’s top save candidates, with Floro joining the mix when he returns to action.  It is quite possible more names might end up emerging as closer possibilities for manager Don Mattingly, or one of those relievers might pitch well enough to firmly establish themselves as the top choice for the ninth inning.

From Baltimore’s perspective, the CBR-B draft pick may be the biggest score of the trade return.  The Competitive Balance Rounds are two separate draft rounds that respectively take place after the first round and second round of the draft, with 15 teams (all falling within the bottom 10 of market or revenue size) getting a bonus pick in one of the two rounds.  For the 2022 draft, the Marlins were selected into CBR-B and had the first pick of that round.  As it so happens, Baltimore will now be picking first in both Competitive Balance Rounds, as the O’s also have the first selection of CBR-A.  The Competitive Balance picks are the only draft selections that are allowed to be traded.

Baseball America ranked Guerrero 29th and Velez 34th on their most recent list of the Marlins’ top 40 prospects.  Guerrero is a 17-year-old outfielder who was part of the 2020-21 international signing class, and he hit .260/.373/.298 in 159 PA this past summer with the Marlins’ Dominican Summer League squad.  BA’s scouting report describes him as something of a work in progress, as his “future will be based around the way his body develops,” given that Guerrero is already 6’3″ but only 165 pounds.

Velez is a Miami native who wasn’t drafted coming out of Florida State, owing to the shortened nature of the 2020 draft.  Baseball America credited Velez as having the best changeup and best control of any pitcher in the Marlins’ farm system, which is no small achievement given all of the high-profile young arms in Miami’s minor league ranks.  In addition to that quality changeup, Velez’s “low-90s fastball is amplified by vertical break that borders on double-plus.”

While the Orioles continue to bolster their minor league ranks, today’s trade marks yet another move that depletes the MLB roster.  Sulser was tentatively set to act as Baltimore’s closer, and since Scott was also in the mix for save chances, it is now an open question as to who will end up getting ninth-inning duties.  Paul Fry, Jorge Lopez, and Dillon Tate look like the next men up on the depth chart, though any number of pitchers could be cycled through depending on performance, shifting roles, injuries, and perhaps more trades.

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.

Orioles Make Three Roster Moves

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The Orioles placed left-hander Tanner Scott on the 10-day injured list due to a left knee sprain.  Fellow lefty Keegan Akin has been reinstated from the COVID-related injury list to take Scott’s place on the active roster, while right-hander Thomas Eshelman was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot.

Scott has a 3.95 ERA/4.12 SIERA over 41 innings out of Baltimore’s bullpen this season, with a very strong 31.4% strikeout rate.  However, Scott’s 16.5% walk rate is one of the worst in baseball, continuing the control problems that have plagued the southpaw over his 143 career innings in the Show.  Despite these free passes, Scott still drew a lot of attention prior to the trade deadline, as rival teams were intrigued by his high fastball velocity and the fact that Scott isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2024 season.

This is the third time in as many seasons that the Orioles have DFA’s Eshelman, with the previous two designations resulting in the right-hander being outrighted to Triple-A.  All 92 of Eshelman’s career Major League innings have come with Baltimore in those three seasons, with the righty posting a 5.87 ERA and only an 11% strikeout rate.  The swingman has been mostly used in the rotation in 2021, as Eshelman has started five of his six games.

Two Orioles Lefties Commanding Trade Interest

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Baltimore left-handers Paul Fry and Tanner Scott aren’t household names, but both are drawing ample trade interest as Friday afternoon’s deadline approaches, per both Dan Connolly of The Athletic and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Right-handers Cole Sulser and Dillon Tate have also drawn some interest, but they’re both controlled four more years after the current season and won’t even be arbitration-eligible until the 2022-23 offseason at the earliest.

The 29-year-old Fry and 27-year-old Scott both offer plenty of club control in their own right. Both pitchers have an additional year of MLB service time over Sulser and Tate, making both arb-eligible this winter and controllable through the 2024 campaign. Either pitcher would make for an affordable upgrade who could impact his new club for several years down the road, and both pitchers have become increasingly appealing as the market context has changed this week.

This summer’s trade market was never particularly deep in high-quality left-handed relief help. But the injury to Minnesota’s Taylor Rogers, recent struggles for Washington’s Brad Hand, and the Athletics’ Monday acquisition of Andrew Chafin from the Cubs can only make the pair of Baltimore lefties all the more appealing.

Fry (60 2/3 innings) and Scott (61 innings) have near-identical innings totals over the past two seasons and have been similarly effective, relying on well above-average strikeout and ground-ball rates. Scott’s 2.51 ERA in that time has the edge on Fry’s 3.12 mark, but Fry has the edge in strikeout percentage (31.9 to 30.9) and ground-ball percentage (54.6 percent to 52.2 percent). Fry’s walk rate of 10.8 percent is worse than the league average but considerably lower than Scott’s mark of 14.3 percent. Scott, however, offers a blazing heater that has averaged 97 mph in 2021 and generates far more swinging strikes than Paul and his 93 mph fastball. It’s easy to see a club dreaming more on Scott’s stuff, but Fry’s demonstrably better control of the strike zone is a major point in his favor.

Naturally, Connolly suggests that there’s a split in other teams’ opinions on the pair of southpaws. Some figure prefer Fry’s less-dynamic repertoire but steadier control. Others will be drawn to Scott’s power arsenal. Kubatko reports that the Phillies, who have several former O’s execs in their front office, have been keeping tabs on the Baltimore bullpen. He also lists the Padres as a possibility.

Generally speaking, Fry and Scott are two of the market’s most appealing lefty relievers. The aforementioned Hand is sure to be available as the Nationals pivot to selling, but he’s also earning a $10.5MM salary this season and has surrendered eight runs in his past nine innings of work. It’s feasible that the Angels could move veteran Tony Watson, but their deadline direction remains unsettled and he’s a free agent at season’s end. Chasen Shreve, having a solid but unspectacular year in Pittsburgh, would also be a rental. Miami’s Richard Bleier is a quietly effective name who could likely be had in a trade, and even with Rogers down, the Twins have another interesting lefty in Caleb Thielbar. Both Bleier and Thielbar are 34 and lack even average fastball velocity, however.

Fry and Scott arguably offer the best combination of bottom-line results, quality stuff, age and remaining club control on the market at this point. That makes them more expensive in terms of prospects than rental veterans like Hand, Watson or Shreve, of course, but either would be a quality get for a contender’s relief corps.

Orioles Designate Nate Karns, Promote Dillon Tate, Place John Means On IL

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The Orioles announced multiple pitching moves this evening. One player is now likely headed out of the organization, as righty Nate Karns was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and designated for assignment.

Young hurler Dillon Tate, the former fourth overall pick, was promoted for his first attempt at the majors. Righty Evan Phillips will accompany Tate onto the active roster.

Unfortunately, the O’s also announced that southpaw starter and rookie All-Star John Means was placed on the 10-day injured list with a biceps strain. Lefty Tanner Scott was optioned down to create the other necessary roster opening.

Karns landed with the Baltimore organization over the winter. He threw 5 1/3 scoreless frames to open his tenure but hit the shelf early with a forearm strain. The 31-year-old struggled mightily on his rehab assignment, dishing out ten walks and recording only five strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings.

It’s also unwelcome news as concerns Means. It had already been a bit of a rough month, as his ERA has moved north from 2.50 to 3.12, but it’s never preferable to hear of any issues in the arm of a young pitcher. There’s no indication as of yet regarding the severity, but the club will surely hope it’s only a minor blip for the 26-year-old.

As he prepares to debut at 25 years of age, Tate won’t face the massive expectations he once did. Arm issues and inconsistencies have changed the trajectory of the twice-traded righty. He has been solid at Double-A, working to a 3.48 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 over 33 2/3 innings in 15 relief appearances and a pair of starts.

Orioles Option Tanner Scott

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Following today’s game, the Orioles have optioned left-handed pitcher Tanner Scott to Triple-A, reports Roch Kubatko of MASN on Twitter. Presumably, the move opens a roster spot for the club to add a starter for tomorrow night’s game, though specifics are not yet known.

Scott, just 24 years old, has functioned in a bullpen role for the Orioles this season. In his young career, the southpaw has displayed flashy strikeout stuff, notching 96 K’s in just 66 1/3 innings of work, good for a 13.0 average per nine innings. That’s the carrying tool for a youngster who profiles as a pure relief arm with potential to grow into a high-leverage role for the O’s, though he’s yet to actualize that potential: despite the high strikeout numbers, Scott has managed just a 5.56 ERA in his career, which has spanned parts of three seasons.

Though the corresponding move has not been officially announced, Kubatko additionally suggests (via Twitter) that Tom Eshelman could be the one to get the call for tomorrow night’s series opener against the Rays. Notably, though, Eshelman is not on the Orioles’ 40-man roster, meaning that an additional move would be required to clear a spot for him on the 40-man.

 

Orioles To Select Josh Lucas, Place Richard Bleier On Injured List

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The Orioles have lockers set up for right-hander Josh Lucas and lefty Tanner Scott this morning, per MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko (all Twitter links), indicating that both have been brought up to the Major League roster. Lucas isn’t on the team’s 40-man roster, so his contract will be formally selected prior today’s 12:35 ET starting time. Baltimore already optioned Josh Rogers to Triple-A Norfolk following last night’s game, creating one vacancy on the 25-man roster, and the other will be created by placing lefty Richard Bleier on the injured list.

Lucas, 28, signed a minor league pact with the Orioles back in late November. His experience at the MLB level is limited, though he’s appeared in each of the past two big league seasons: with the Cardinals in 2017 and the Athletics in 2018. He’s tallied just 21 2/3 frames in that time, working to a 5.40 ERA with a 21-to-13 K/BB ratio and a promising 54.8 percent ground-ball rate.

Lucas doesn’t throw particularly hard, sitting 91-92 mph with his fastball, but he’s induced a solid 11.4 percent swinging-strike rate and a strong 33.8 percent chase rate on pitches out of the strike zone. He’ll come to the O’s with a nice Triple-A track record, having logged a 3.32 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and above-average ground-ball tendencies.

Bleier, despite a lack of missed bats, was the Orioles’ most effective reliever from 2017-18. Through 4 1/3 innings this season, though, he’s already allowed as many runs (seven) as he did through 32 2/3 frames last year. Bleier’s 2019 season was cut short by a lat tear that required surgery, and it’s possible that he’s still dealing with some lingering effects from that procedure.

Prior to Opening Day, he’s totaled 119 innings in the Majors between the Yankees and O’s, pitching to an immaculate 1.97 ERA despite averaging 4.1 K/9. Bleier’s pristine control (1.6 BB/9) and knack for avoiding hard contact have helped him thrive to this point in his big league career. If he can get back on track between now and July, he’d stand out as a possible trade candidate; the late-blooming Bleier will turn 32 next week but has three years of team control remaining beyond 2019.

The 24-year-old Scott, meanwhile, is already on the 40-man roster after spending the bulk of the 2018 season with the Orioles. Last year, he logged a lackluster 5.40 ERA but did punched out 76 batters in just 53 1/3 innings of Major League relief. The flamethrower has averaged better than 97 mph on his heater at the MLB level with a gaudy 16.4 percent swinging-strike rate and 36.6 percent opponents’ chase rate on out-of-zone pitches. If Scott can rein in his control (4.7 BB/9), he has the makings of a quality late-inning reliever; fielding-independent pitching metrics are already quite bullish on him as it is (3.40 FIP, 2.96 xFIP, 3.18 SIERA in 2018).

Orioles Place Richard Bleier On DL, Select Corban Joseph, Designate D.J. Snelten

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SATURDAY: Bleier will indeed have season-ending surgery on Tuesday to repair a Grade 3 lat strain, as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun was among those to tweet.

FRIDAY, 3:33pm: Bleier may need surgery and is likely to miss the remainder of the season, MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli is among those to report on Twitter.

2:19pm: The Orioles have announced a host of roster moves today. Southpaw Richard Bleier is heading to the DL with what has been diagnosed as a lat strain. He’ll be replaced in the pen by southpaw Tanner Scott.

Infielder Corban Joseph has been selected and added to the active roster as well. To create the needed roster space, righty Yefry Ramirez was optioned and lefty D.J. Snelten was designated for assignment.

The news on Bleier was fully expected at this point, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com wrote earlier today. Bleier is said to be seeking a second opinion after already undergoing an MRI. It’s still unclear just how bleak the outlook is, but Kubatko suggests the internal belief is it’s a serious injury.

While Bleier, 31, is hardly a household name, perhaps he should be. The former Yankees southpaw is in his third big league season and currently is sporting the third sub-2.00 ERA of his career. Bleier has a 1.97 ERA in 119 innings, which is the sixth-lowest mark (min. 100 innings) in MLB history. He’s tied with Craig Kimbrel for the best ERA- (46) in MLB history (again, min. 100 innings; and a tip of the cap to ESPN’s Sam Miller for shining a light on Bleier’s curious dominance earlier this season).

Bleier has averaged just 4.1 K/9 in his career, but his 21.2 percent hard-contact rate in 2018 is outstanding. He’s allowed only two barreled balls this season (as defined by Statcast), and he leads the Majors in barrels per batted ball (1.8 percent of balls in play against him). Bleier may be an anomaly, but he’s been an important piece to the Baltimore bullpen who now looks headed for an absence of potential significance.

Orioles Outright Richard Rodriguez, Select Tanner Scott

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1:13pm: Rodriguez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Norfolk, per an announcement from Baltimore.

10:22am: The Orioles announced that they’ve designated right-hander Richard Rodriguez for assignment. The team selected left-hander Tanner Scott from Double-A Bowie in a corresponding move.

The 27-year-old Rodriguez, who’s in his third season with the Baltimore organization, got his first taste of major league action in 2017. It didn’t go well, as Rodriguez allowed nine earned runs on 12 hits and three walks, with three strikeouts, over 5 2/3 innings. He was far better across 70 2/3 frames this year at Triple-A Norfolk, where he pitched to a sparkling 2.42 ERA and logged 10.19 K/9 against 2.29 BB/9. Rodriguez was similarly effective at the Triple-A level in each of the previous two seasons.

A sixth-round pick in 2014, the hard-throwing Scott has developed into one of the Orioles’ top prospects. MLB.com ranks the 23-year-old sixth among Baltimore’s farmhands and suggests that he has the potential to become an excellent major league reliever. Scott worked out of the rotation with Bowie this season, but with just 69 innings in 24 starts, he averaged fewer than three frames per appearance. Along the way, Scott overcame a bloated walk rate (6.00 BB/9) with an 11.17 K/9, to go with a 52.1 percent groundball rate, en route to a 2.22 ERA.

Orioles Rumors: Deadline, Schoop, Prospects

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Earlier this week, Orioles general manager Dan Duquette seemed poised to market some of his veterans in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but that no longer looks like the case. Even though the Orioles are 46-50 and 4.5 games out of a wild-card spot, Duquette told reporters Saturday that they’re planning to approach the deadline as buyers. “Whatever we do [at the trade deadline], we are going to try to help the club,” he said (via Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com, on Twitter). “I still like a lot of our core players. I don’t believe all the stuff that says we have half the club on the market, because we have a lot of baseball left to be played.” Specifically, the Orioles will attempt to upgrade a rotation that entered Saturday ranked in the majors’ bottom three in ERA (5.93) and fWAR (2.0). Duquette noted that “if we can get a little bit better starting pitching or add to the pitching we can make a run at this.”

A couple more notes from Baltimore:

  • One of the few positives for the Orioles this year has been second baseman Jonathan Schoop, who has flashed improved plate discipline and slashed an excellent .303/.351/547 with 20 home runs in 388 PAs. The Orioles had interest in keeping him around for the long haul even before the season, as Duquette revealed that he discussed an extension with Schoop over the winter (Twitter link via Ghiroli). Whatever the asking price was then, it has certainly gone up between the 25-year-old’s 2017 performance and his dwindling team control. Schoop, who’s on a $3.475MM salary this season, has two more arbitration-eligible years before free agency.
  • The Orioles may have a couple of trade chips in left-handers Alex Wells and Tanner Scott, both of whom have drawn interest, according to Duquette (Twitter link via Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com). A team called Duquette on Friday about the 20-year-old Wells, who has logged a 2.56 ERA, 6.97 K/9 and .88 BB/9 in 102 Single-A innings this season. He ranks as the Orioles’ 28th-best prospect at MLB.com, which places Scott 10th. “Teams covet” Scott, notes Connolly; although the 23-year-old has walked 5.98 batters per nine in 52 2/3 Double-A frames this season, he has posted an 11.45 K/9 and managed a stingy 2.05 ERA.
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