Orioles Claim Chris Shaw, Release Renato Nunez, Designate Thomas Eshelman
The Orioles announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed first baseman/outfielder Chris Shaw off waivers from the Giants. Right-hander Thomas Eshelman was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Additionally, the O’s revealed that corner infielder/designated hitter Renato Nunez, whom they designated for assignment last Friday, went unclaimed on waivers and has been released.
Shaw, 26, long seemed like a change-of-scenery candidate for the Giants. The former No. 31 overall draft pick has a productive .280/.328/.538 slash in more than 1000 Triple-A plate appearances, but he’s also struck out in 30 percent of his plate appearances there. He made his big league debut in 2018 but still only has 82 plate appearances, as the new-look Giants front office never seemed as bullish on Shaw as the prior regime that drafted him. Shaw was initially omitted from San Francisco’s 60-man player pool this season, and although he was later added, he never got called up to the big leagues. With the O’s, his left-handed bat will get some looks at first base, in the outfield corners and at designated hitter.
The release of Nunez in many ways opens a spot for Shaw to get an opportunity in Baltimore. While Orioles fans were alarmed to see Nunez, who slugged 43 home runs in just over 800 plate appearances from 2019-20, designated for assignment last week, the move wasn’t necessarily a shock.
Nunez has struggled to get on base even while showing considerable power, and he’s a below-average defender at both infield corners. The market for OBP-challenged, defensively limited sluggers has dried up considerably in recent years, and Nunez was due a raise in arbitration. That he went unclaimed speaks to the fact that his one-dimensional skill set isn’t one that’s valued highly around the game at the moment.
As for the 26-year-old Eshelman, he gave the Orioles an aesthetically pleasing 3.89 ERA in 34 2/3 innings this past season, but that mark was likely misleading. Eshelman managed just 16 strikeouts in that time, and while many low-strikeout arms can mitigate damage by keeping the ball on the ground, his 35.9 percent grounder rate makes him a fairly extreme fly-ball pitcher.
Eshelman has just 38 strikeouts in 70 2/3 career innings, and he’s allowed 19 home runs in that time as well — a rate of 2.42 per nine innings pitched. He has a decent minor league track record, but that lack of missed bats and penchant for serving up the long ball has led to a career 5.22 ERA and even higher 6.56 FIP. The Orioles will have a week to trade Eshelman, run him through outright waivers or release him.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/5/19
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Orioles announced that infielder Jace Peterson and right-hander Tom Eshelman have been outrighted to Triple-A. Both players were designated for assignment earlier this week. Peterson had the ability to reject the assignment and become a free agent, though he opted to remain in the organization. Peterson hit .220/.269/.330 over 108 plate appearances for the O’s this season, while Eshelman debuted in the big leagues for the first time, posting a 6.50 ERA over 36 innings (10 games, four of them starts).
Orioles Activate Mark Trumbo, Designate Tom Eshelman For Assignment
The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve activated designated hitter Mark Trumbo from the 60-day injured list. In order to clear space on the 40-man roster, right-hander Tom Eshelman has been designated for assignment.
Trumbo, 33, hasn’t appeared in the Majors since last August due to a knee injury that ultimately required surgical repair. He’s endured a lengthy and grueling rehab in an effort to get back to the field before his three-year, $37.5MM contract expires at season’s end. Trumbo recently acknowledged that his future in the game very much depends on how his knee responds to his return; while the veteran slugger expressed interest in continuing his playing career if he can get back to feeling the way he did a few years ago, the pain in his knee has at least made him contemplate whether he’ll be able to continue beyond the current campaign.
Trumbo was quite good in his first season with the O’s back in 2016, hitting .256/.316/.533 (122 OPS+) with a league-leading 47 home runs in an All-Star showing. That prompted the former Baltimore front-office regime to re-sign Trumbo to the aforementioned three-year pact. The first year of that deal was largely disappointing, though he was in the midst of a solid rebound in 2018 (.261/.313/.452, 109 OPS+) when his knee troubles reached their breaking point.
The 25-year-old Eshelman, meanwhile, was acquired from the Phillies back on June 10 in a deal that sent international bonus allotments to Philadelphia. Eshelman, who was drafted by the Astros when current Orioles GM Mike Elias was Houston’s scouting director, made 10 big league appearances with Baltimore and another seven in Triple-A, though the cumulative results weren’t especially impressive. The 2015 second-rounder logged a 4.70 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and 1.4 HR/9 in 38 1/3 innings with Triple-A Norfolk but was lit up for a 6.50 ERA with a 22-to-11 K/BB ratio and a dozen homers allowed in 36 MLB frames. Fielding-independent metrics weren’t much more optimistic on his results — 7.33 FIP, 5.93 xFIP, 5.54 SIERA — and because post-July trades have been eliminated, Eshelman will now become available to all 29 other clubs on outright waivers.
Orioles Recall Hunter Harvey
The Orioles recalled right-hander Hunter Harvey, the team’s PR department announced. This comes after Tom Eshelman was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk last night.
Harvey, 24, is a former top prospect whose ascent was slowed by a number of injuries. When he enters a game, it will be a major league debut for Harvey, though it’s not his first call-up. Harvey spent three games with the big league club without making an appearance in April 2018, baltimorebaseball.com’s Rich Dubroff reminds us (via Twitter).
The 6’3″ North Carolina native has been a starter for most of his career, including for 11 turns in Double-A this season, where he went 2-5 with a 5.19 ERA/5.57 FIP/3.52 xFIP over 59 innings. Upon a promotion to Norfolk, Harvey moved to the bullpen. In 16 2/3 innings over 12 relief outings, he struck out 22 while walking just 5 batters en route to a 4.32 ERA/3.62 FIP. Fangraphs gives him a 40 FV while ranking him the Orioles 22nd best prospect before the start of the season. MLB.com currently pegs him as the organization’s 15th best prospect.
Eshelman, 25, has been an active traveler this season. He started the year in Reading with the Phillies Double-A affiliate. A month after being promoted to Lehigh Valley, the Phillies traded Eshelman to the Orioles in June. Eshelman made his debut in a spot start against the Rays on July 1. After giving up two runs over five in the 3-6 loss, he was optioned back to Triple-A until a call-up two weeks later.
In total, Eshelman made four starts and six relief appearances for Brandon Hyde’s club. He went 1-2 with a 6.50 ERA/7.33 FIP in 36 innings of work.
Orioles Select Asher Wojciechowski, Designate Matt Wotherspoon
The Orioles announced today that they have selected the contract of just-acquired hurler Asher Wojciechowski. He’ll take the roster spot of fellow right-hander Matt Wotherspoon, who was designated for assignment.
In other roster machinations, the Baltimore organization reinstated righty reliever Josh Lucas from the 10-day injured list. To create space, the team optioned Tom Eshelman, who took a spot start for the club yesterday.
The O’s had selected Wotherspoon to the roster in late June, but he was tagged for eight earned in just 4 2/3 innings over two appearances. He’s through 34 1/3 innings of 4.93 ERA ball at Triple-A, where he carries 10.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
Orioles Select Tom Eshelman
The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Tom Eshelman from Triple-A Norfolk. Lefty Josh Rogers, who is sidelined with a UCL injury, was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. The Orioles have listed Eshelman as their probable starter tonight.
Baltimore acquired the 25-year-old Eshelman from the Phillies back on June 10 in exchange for international bonus allocations that the Phils used to sign Australian pitching prospect Josh Gessner. In 20 innings since being acquired by Baltimore, Eshelman has a 4.05 ERA with 11 strikeouts and six walks. Eshelman was originally drafted by the Astros when Mike Elias, now the Orioles’ general manager, was the scouting director in Houston. In all, the righty has pitched to a 4.46 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 74 2/3 minor league innings this season.
The Orioles have gotten disastrous results out of the final two spots in their rotation this season, with each of Dan Straily, Davis Hess and Alex Cobb throwing poorly in their time with the club. All-Star John Means and righties Andrew Cashner and Dylan Bundy have ranged from surprisingly excellent (Means) to generally serviceable (Bundy), but there are questions beyond that trio. Given the uncertain state of the rotation, Eshelman would seem to have a chance to carve out a long-term spot for himself if he can impress his new organization.
Orioles Acquire Tom Eshelman From Phillies
The Orioles have acquired right-hander Tom Eshelman from the Phillies in exchange for international bonus allocations, per announcements from both clubs. Eshelman has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk for the time being.
Eshelman, 24, was a second-round pick by the Astros back in 2015 (when Baltimore GM Mike Elias was with Houston) and landed with the Phillies by way of the Ken Giles trade in the 2016-17 offseason. Eshelman opened the season in Double-A Reading and struggled to a 6.28 ERA in 28 2/3 innings, but he did so with strong K/BB numbers that led metrics like FIP (3.79) and xFIP (2.98) to forecast better days on the horizon. The Phillies bumped him up to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and Eshelman responded well. In four starts there (26 innings), he’s notched a 2.77 ERA with a 23-to-5 K/BB ratio and a 48.6 percent ground-ball rate.
While Eshelman is Norfolk-bound for the time being, it’s not difficult to see him emerging as an option at the Major League level in the near future. Between the 2017-19 seasons, he’s made a total of 48 starts at the Triple-A level, so he has plenty of upper-minors experience. And the Orioles’ rotation has performed dreadfully as a collective unit, posting a 5.42 ERA that ranks 26th in the Majors as well as an MLB-worst 5.87 FIP.
Manager Brandon Hyde said about three weeks ago that the front office had been exploring various avenues to add some rotation depth to the organization, and acquiring Eshelman certainly fits that mold. He wasn’t considered to be among the top prospects in the Phillies’ system but gives the Orioles the type of fairly advanced arm that they’re lacking in the upper levels of a farm system that’s still being rebuilt (and will be for the next few years).
Currently, the Orioles are deploying Andrew Cashner, Dylan Bundy, John Means, David Hess and Gabriel Ynoa, but the latter two of that quintet have struggled in particular. Veteran righty Alex Cobb remains sidelined by a back injury, while Nate Karns is on the shelf indefinitely due to a flexor strain. The alternatives in Triple-A are collectively underperforming, as each of Josh Rogers, Luis Ortiz and Chandler Shepherd has an ERA over 7.00.
As for the Phillies, they’ll add a bit of money — no amount was specified — to add a few more international players to their minor league ranks in the coming days. The 2018-19 international signing period comes to a close on June 15, but this swap should give them more funds to add a bit more talent to the lower levels of the system. International signing slots need to be traded in $250K increments, so the Phils picked up at least that much in this deal — and quite possibly more, given Eshelman’s proximity to the Majors.