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34 Players Become Free Agents

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The Wild Card round of the 2022 postseason begins today, but for the majority of teams and players, the offseason is now underway. With that will come plenty of roster formalities, including veteran players who’ve been outrighted off their respective teams’ rosters reaching minor league free agency. This week, there have been 34 such instances throughout the league, per the transactions log at MiLB.com.

None of these are a surprise, to be clear. Any player who is not on his team’s 40-man roster at season’s end but has three-plus years of Major League service time, multiple career outright assignments and/or seven-plus seasons in the minors has the right to elect free agency. Everyone in today’s group of players falls under that umbrella. The majority of the group will likely find minor league deals over the winter, although a few of the players in question could potentially find a big league deal as a bench piece or middle-inning reliever.

There will be several more waves of players of this ilk, and we’ll make note of them in bunches over the coming weeks as we await the launch of Major League free agency, when all unsigned players with at least six years of Major League service time will reach the open market. For now, here’s the first of what will likely be several waves of newly minted minor league free agents:

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Orioles Outright Travis Lakins Sr.

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The Orioles announced this afternoon that right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. has gone unclaimed on waivers. He’s been sent to Triple-A Norfolk, but he’ll have the right to refuse that assignment in favor of minor league free agency as a player who has previously been outrighted in his career.

Lakins, 28, has appeared in parts of four big league campaigns. He debuted with the Red Sox in 2019 and has spent the past three seasons as a multi-inning reliever in Baltimore. Lakins owns a 5.20 ERA across 64 frames with the O’s, striking out 19.7% of batters faced while walking 12.5% of opponents. That includes 10 1/3 frames of 11-run ball earlier this season. Lakins was selected onto the big league roster in mid-April and made six appearances before hitting the injured list during the second week of May with inflammation in his throwing elbow.

Baltimore eventually transferred Lakins to the 60-day IL, and he’s spent the past three and half months on the shelf. He recently began a rehab assignment and is apparently healthy enough for reinstatement, but the O’s no longer wanted to devote him a 40-man roster spot. Rather than put him back on the roster, they sent him through waivers.

A former sixth-round draft pick, Lakins owns a 4.13 ERA over parts of four seasons in Triple-A. He’ll now decide whether to head back to Norfolk or set out to the open market in search of a new opportunity. If he accepts the outright assignment, Lakins would reach free agency at the end of the season if he’s not first added back to the 40-man roster.

Orioles Select Rico Garcia

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The Orioles announced some roster moves prior to today’s game, selecting the contract of right-hander Rico Garcia to their roster. To make room for Garcia on the active roster, lefty Bruce Zimmermann was optioned to Triple-A. To create a spot on the 40-man roster, righty Travis Lakins Sr. was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Additionally, righty Marcos Diplan, who was designated for assignment last week, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.

Garcia, 28, has 19 innings of MLB experience under his belt, including three with the Orioles earlier this year. He was selected as a COVID-19 “substitute” when the club travelled to Toronto and placed Anthony Santander and Keegan Akin on the restricted list due to their unvaccinated status. As Garcia was given substitute status, he was removed from the roster after the Toronto series without being exposed to waivers.

Garcia also appeared in the big leagues with the Rockies in 2019 and Giants in 2020, generating a career ERA of 6.63 so far in that small sample of scattered work. He missed all of 2021 recovering from Tommy John surgery and signed a minor league deal with the O’s in the offseason. He’s had a solid showing in Triple-A this year, throwing 18 innings with an even ERA of 3.00, along with a 25.3% strikeout rate, 10.7% walk rate and 31.1% ground ball rate.

As for Lakins, this transfer will mean he’s ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement for elbow inflammation, which was on May 20. Those 60 days are almost up and there’s no news on his prognosis, making this move a mere formality.

Diplan has been outrighted by the Orioles twice before and returned to the club both times. He has the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency, though it seems possible he’ll stick with the O’s like he did in those previous instances.

Orioles Place John Means On Injured List, Select Travis Lakins

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3:23pm: Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun) that Means has a muscular strain in his forearm. The southpaw is headed for further testing to determine if there’s any structural damage, and Hyde said the O’s will be without their top pitcher for “a while.”

2:15pm: The Orioles announced Friday that they’ve placed left-hander John Means on the 10-day injured list due to a left elbow strain. In his place, they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. from Triple-A Norfolk. Lefty Kevin Smith was outrighted to Norfolk after clearing waivers, thus opening a spot on the roster for Lakins.

It’s an ominous IL placement for Means, who’s been Baltimore’s top (and only consistently serviceable) starter since 2019. The 28-year-old southpaw carries a 3.72 ERA with a 21.2% strikeout rate and a stellar 5.1% walk rate through 353 1/3 innings in that time — including a 3.38 ERA in two starts this season. Means, however, exited his most recent outing due to forearm tightness, which is often a precursor to an elbow injury. The O’s haven’t made any further announcements about the extent of the strain or a possible timetable for Means’ return, though a strain, by definition, involves at least some degree of stretching or tearing.

Lakins, 27, will return for a third straight season of big league work with the O’s. He posted a strong 2.81 ERA in 25 2/3 innings for the Birds back in 2020, albeit with more dubious peripheral stats (in particular, his 11.2% walk rate). He tossed another 28 innings with the Orioles in 2021 but saw the pendulum swing the other direction on his results, as opponents knocked him around to the tune of a 5.79 ERA.

A sixth-rounder by the Red Sox back in 2015, Lakins has spent parts of three seasons in the Majors and compiled a 4.21 ERA in 77 frames, albeit with a sub-par 19.7% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate. He’s posted similar numbers in 66 career innings at the Triple-A level as well.

As for Smith, the 24-year-old lefty had yielded just two runs through his first 7 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball this season. That said, he’d also issued six walks against just three strikeouts in that time — a continuation of last year’s troublesome penchant for issuing free passes. Smith didn’t have major control problems prior to reaching Triple-A, but since debuting at that level in 2021, he’s walked a sky-high 18% of the 306 opponents he’s faced. Paired with only an average strikeout rate, those issues locating the ball led him to go unclaimed by all 29 other teams. He’ll remain with the O’s and hope to work out those command issues.

Diamondbacks Claim Zack Burdi Off Waivers From Orioles

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The Diamondbacks have claimed reliever Zack Burdi off waivers from the Orioles, both clubs announced. Baltimore also announced that reliever Travis Lakins Sr. has cleared waivers and been outrighted off the 40-man roster. Arizona’s 40-man roster is up to 38, while Baltimore’s 40-man tally now sits at 39. Lakins had previously been on the 60-day injured list and didn’t count against the 40-man.

Burdi is a hard-throwing righty who was selected by the White Sox in the first round after a dominant season closing at the University of Louisville. The hope had been that the Sox could fast-track Burdi to the big league ’pen, but his career was beset by injuries. He missed most of the 2018 season recovering from a Tommy John surgery, then wound up missing the final three months of the 2019 campaign.

Over the past two seasons, Burdi has tossed 17 1/3 innings of 7.79 ERA ball, allowing seven homers in that brief showing. His average fastball velocity sat just under 98 MPH in 2020. It was down two ticks last season, though, and Chicago lost him on waivers to the O’s in mid-August.

Even working with diminished arm strength, Burdi’s heater was still above-average. The D-Backs will take no-risk flier on that live arm which once made Burdi such a promising relief prospect. He still has a minor league option year remaining, so Arizona can shuttle him between the majors and Triple-A Reno next season if he sticks on their 40-man roster for the entire winter.

Lakins made 24 appearances with the O’s last season, his third consecutive year logging big league action. He worked 28 innings with a 5.79 ERA, striking out a below-average 19.5% of batters faced while walking an elevated 13.8% of opponents. Lakins ended the season on the injured list after undergoing surgery to repair an olecranon stress fracture in his elbow in early July, although the hope at the time had been that he’d be ready for Spring Training. He’ll remain in the organization without requiring a 40-man roster spot and hope to pitch his way back into the mix next spring.

Orioles’ Travis Lakins Undergoes Elbow Surgery

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Orioles right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. underwent surgery this morning to address a recurrent olecranon stress fracture in his throwing elbow, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). The hope is that Lakins will be ready for Spring Training in 2022, although that doesn’t seem to be a foregone conclusion.

It’s not especially surprising to hear Lakins required surgery. He’d already been placed on the 60-day injured list after leaving an outing last week with an elbow issue the team called “significant.” That suggested a season-ending absence was a possibility, and that’ll indeed prove to be the case.

Lakins has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons. He broke in with the Red Sox in 2019 and was traded to Baltimore in 2020. The 27-year-old has made 46 appearances (45 in relief) with the O’s since then, working 53 2/3 innings of 4.36 ERA/4.65 FIP ball. He’ll remain on the 60-day IL for the rest of the season, but he’ll need to be reinstated from the injured list at the beginning of the offseason. If the O’s feel it’s worth devoting a 40-man roster spot to him over the winter, he’d be controllable through 2025 and wouldn’t reach arbitration eligibility until after 2022.

Orioles Acquire Kelvin Gutierrez From Royals For Cash Considerations

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The Orioles have acquired Kelvin Gutierrez from the Royals for cash considerations, per the team. The Royals had designated Gutierrez for assignment. He’ll now join the Orioles, who have optioned him to Triple-A. Both teams have confirmed the deal.

The 26-year-old third baseman saw the most Major League time of his career this season for Kansas City, posting a triple slash line of .215/.254/.296 in 142 plate appearances. Between Hunter Dozier and Hanser Alberto, the Royals figure to have third base covered, even with Emmanuel Rivera recently hitting the injured list and Alcides Escobar being traded to Washington.

Baltimore has Maikel Franco at third base on a one-year, $800K contract. The former Royal and Philllie doesn’t necessarily fit into the O’s long-term plan. The 28-year-old has a 75 wRC+ on the season, not exactly stolid production at the hot corner. Gutierrez also has some experience at shortstop, should the Orioles want to use him there while Freddy Galvis is on the injured list.

The Orioles moved Travis Lakins to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for Gutierrez. Lakins was injured in his start last Tuesday. His injury has been labeled as right elbow pain, though an official diagnosis has not been revealed as of yet.

Orioles Place Hunter Harvey On 10-Day Injured List, Recall Zac Lowther

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The Orioles have placed Hunter Harvey back on the injured list with a right lat strain, per Rich Dubroff of baltimorebaseball.com. Harvey’s career continues to switchback from potential high-impact arm to star-crossed former prospect. The former first round pick has produced promising bottom-line results since moving to the bullpen full-time in 2019, though his opportunities has been limited because of injuries. This season, the 26-year-old appeared nine times for 8 2/3 innings of work with a 4.15 ERA/4.31 FIP. He’s shown decent control (8.3 percent walk rate), but for the second consecutive season, he has struck out less than 17 percent of opposing batters, a rate that falls well below the 23.3 percent league average (small sample caveats apply). Harvey now goes back on the 10-day injured list, not quite a month since coming off it: He missed the first 64 days of the year with an oblique injury.

Zac Lowther has been added to the active roster to claim Harvey’s roster spot. The 25-year-old southpaw made his Major League debut earlier this season, starting one game and pitching twice out of the bullpen, covering a total 5 1/3 innings. Lowther was knocked around for nine earned runs on 11 hits. On the plus side, he only allowed two walks — good for a 6.9 percent walk rate — and he missed some bats, posting a solid 24.1 percent strikeout rate. Because of the small sample, both the good and the bad here can be taken with a grain of salt. Lowther was the O’s No. 19 ranked prospect by Baseball America entering the season.

Baltimore also received bad news on Travis Lakins, who left his first start of the year earlier this week in just the second inning. Manager Brandon Hyde said that Lakins has a “significant elbow injury,” Dubroff noted. The 27-year-old right-hander has been a reliever for the O’s, pitching 23 times out of the pen before starting last Tuesday’s game. He has not, however, proved particularly effective in either role, logging a 5.79 ERA/5.11 SIERA in 28 innings. He’s neither missed very many bats (19.5 strikeout rate) nor done enough to limit free passes (13.8 percent walk rate). Still, his ability to handle multiple innings had value for the Orioles, who will dig deeper into the organization to fill innings.

Orioles Make Five Roster Moves

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The Orioles announced a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game with the Astros, including the news that right-hander Travis Lakins Sr. is heading to the 10-day injured list due to right elbow pain.  Additionally, infielder Stevie Wilkerson has been designated for assignment and left-handed Alexander Wells was optioned to Triple-A.  Filling the spots on the active roster will be right-handers Isaac Mattson and Spenser Watkins — Mattson was called up from Triple-A, while Watkins’ contract was selected.  USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported earlier today that Watkins would be added to Baltimore’s 26-man roster.

Lakins was making a rare appearance as a starting pitcher last night when his elbow issue forced him out of the game ( a 13-3 Orioles victory over the Astros) after 1 2/3 innings.  O’s manager Brandon Hyde specified to The Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli and other reporters that Lakins suffered an elbow strain, and the righty will undergo further evaluation.  This isn’t Lakins’ first time dealing with elbow problems, as inflammation cut short his 2016 season while pitching in the Red Sox minor league system.

Baltimore claimed Lakins off waivers from the Cubs in the 2019-20 offseason, and the right-hander had a solid 2.81 ERA over 25 2/3 relief innings for the Orioles last year.  Things haven’t gone as smoothly this season, however, as Lakins has a 5.79 ERA and 13.8% walk rate over 28 innings of work in 2021.

With the O’s still in need of some rotation help while John Means is on the IL, it could open the door for Watkins to get a look in the starting five as he gets his first taste of the big leagues.  A 30th-round pick for the Tigers in 2014, Watkins pitched well at the lower levels of Detroit’s farm system but had some struggles at Double-A and Triple-A.  This almost led him to walk away from the game, as Nightengale notes that Watkins had a high school coaching job lined up before he signed a minor league deal with the Orioles this winter.

Wilkerson was another offseason minors signing for the O’s, and the utilityman appeared in 30 games for the team, hitting only .167/.211/.208 over 76 plate appearances.  Wilkerson didn’t see any big league action in 2020, and he has a career .210/.268/.340 slash line in 486 PA over parts of three seasons with Baltimore.

AL Injury Notes: Robert, Lakins, Urquidy

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Luis Robert could be roughly four weeks out from a rehab assignment, per The Athletic’s James Fegan (via Twitter). Assuming all goes well for Robert — a significant assumption this far out — and the White Sox could hope to have their star centerfielder back in the lineup for the stretch run late in August. The club itself has not put an exact timetable on his return, however. Still, an update of any kind is a positive sign for the first-place Sox. If Robert avoids any hiccups in the next few weeks, the White Sox could be emboldened enough to stick with their current roster, rather than make a move to add another centerfielder before the deadline. In the meantime,Brian Goodwin has been the latest replacement to man center, joining Billy Hamilton and Adam Engel as fill-ins.

Elsewhere in the American League, there were a couple notable injuries in last night’s games to check in on…

  • The Astros/Orioles game saw a couple of pitchers leave early due to injury. Both starters, Jose Urquidy and Travis Lakins, left their respective outings in the second inning. The Orioles expect to have the results of an MRI on Lakins sometime today, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Lakins was making his first start of the season.
  • As for Urquidy, he left with shoulder discomfort after 1 2/3 innings. For those wondering if this was a return of the shoulder discomfort that sidelined Urquidy for a couple weeks in May, that does not appear to be the case. The pain that forced Urquidy from Tuesday’s start was in a different area than his prior injury, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Urquidy has been a big part of the Astros’ strong first half, pitching to a 3.38 ERA/4.00 FIP across 14 starts while totaling 77 1/3 innings — more than five innings per outing.
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