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AL East Notes: Adam, Blue Jays, Wells

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Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Rays right-hander Jason Adam was unavailable during tonight’s 7-6 loss to the Guardians due to an oblique strain that will send him to the injured list. Adam hasn’t pitched since August 27 due to the issue. It’s another devastating injury for Tampa’s pitching staff, which has already lost three of its five opening day rotation members for the season in Jeffrey Springs, Drew Rasmussen and Shane McClanahan. Now, the bullpen has lost perhaps its most reliable setup arm for right-hander Pete Fairbanks.

After a sensational 2022 campaign with the Rays where Adam posted a 1.56 ERA in 67 appearances, the 31-year-old righty has taken a step back but is still dominant with a 2.67 ERA in 54 innings this season, 56% better than league average by measure of ERA+. With Adam headed to the IL, it’s fair to wonder if his regular season is in jeopardy, though without confirmation from Rays brass its hard to speculate on a timetable for return given the considerable variance in severity regarding oblique injuries. With Adam headed to the shelf, the Rays figure to rely on Fairbanks, Colin Poche, and Robert Stephenson to cover the late innings, with veteran Andrew Kitteredge as a potential X-factor for the bullpen as he returns from last year’s Tommy John surgery.

More from around the AL East…

  • The Blue Jays had interested in then-Mets outfielder Mark Canha prior to the trade deadline, when he was ultimately traded to the Brewers. Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, the club considered dealing for an additional bat like Canha or fellow Met Tommy Pham (who was eventually traded to Arizona) before ultimately opting to rely on prospect Davis Schneider to boost the offense down the stretch. While the decision to lean on Schneider looks prescient as the 24-year-old has set the world on fire with a 270 wRC+ in his first 15 games, a bat like Canha or Pham would surely help cover for the loss of Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman to the injured list earlier this week. Nicholson-Smith also notes that the club rebuffed interest from a free agent middle infielder toward the end of August in deference to Ernie Clement, who like Schneider has also delivered in a small sample size since taking over for Bichette at shortstop.
  • Orioles right-hander Tyler Wells is struggling with arm fatigue as he converts to a bullpen role with Triple-A Norfolk, as manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Jake Rill of MLB.com) today. As Rill notes, Wells last pitched on August 25, with Hyde noting that the righty hasn’t “bounced back” from his last outing as hoped. Wells posted a 3.18 ERA in 104 2/3 innings of work prior to the All Star break but was rocked for 11 runs in nine innings of work in three appearances after the break, prompting the club to demote the 29-year-old hurler for a conversion to the bullpen.

Orioles Moving Tyler Wells To Bullpen

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The Orioles are taking a look at right-hander Tyler Wells out of the bullpen down in Triple-A Norfolk and could use him as a reliever down the stretch and into the postseason, tweets Jake Rill of MLB.com. Wells was optioned to Double-A last month after an alarming lapse in his command saw him walk or hit a quarter of his opponents in his first three starts following the All-Star break (nine walks, three hit batters, 48 total opponents faced).

Wells, 29 this weekend, got out to a brilliant start for the O’s in 2023, pitching to a 2.68 ERA in his first seven starts (47 innings). That success was largely built on a minuscule .145 average on balls in play and 88.2% strand rate, however, both of which are unsustainable measures for any pitcher over a larger sample. Dating back to mid-May, Wells has turned in a more pedestrian 4.59 ERA, while both his BABIP (.250) and strand rate (80.1%) in that time have begun to regress (though they’re both still a ways from league-average levels). The right-hander also lost a mile per hour off his fastball during that stretch; he averaged 93.2 mph through his first seven starts and 92.2 mph thereafter.

The 106 innings that Wells threw for the Orioles in 2022 (minors and big leagues combined) was his highest total since 2018. The former Rule 5 pick out of the Twins organization tossed just 57 innings from 2019-21, owing to injury and the canceled minor league season in 2020. Including the 9 2/3 innings he’s pitched since being optioned, Wells is up to 123 1/3 innings this season — topping the career-high 119 1/3 innings he pitched back in ’18.

Though the plan might be to manage Wells’ workload down the stretch with shorter relief appearances, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes that the organization isn’t necessarily closing the book on Wells a starter entirely. He could get a look in the rotation again next year, depending on the extent to which the O’s address the starting staff in the offseason. Baltimore will see both Kyle Gibson and trade acquisition Jack Flaherty become free agents at season’s end. Wells would join Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Bruce Zimmermann and DL Hall as in-house rotation options next season (though Hall has also been working in relief since returning from a stint on the minor league injured list).

If Wells acclimates well to the relief role and pitches his way back onto the big league roster, he’d be a boon for what’s already a strong relief corps — headlined by All-Stars Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano. Baltimore relievers rank sixth in the Majors with a 3.58 ERA, third with a 26.5% strikeout rate and first with just 0.82 homers per nine innings pitched. Wells pitched out of Baltimore’s bullpen in 2021, logging 57 innings of 4.11 ERA ball as a rookie. In 274 1/3 innings at the big league level — all with the O’s — he’s posted a 4.04 ERA with a roughly average 22.9% strikeout rate and an excellent 6.6% walk rate but a more troubling 1.64 homers per nine frames.

Wells needed a full 172 days of Major League service time in 2023 to reach three years of service, which he won’t get after being optioned late last month. However, assuming he’s recalled at some point between now and season’s end, he should still gain enough service to qualify as a Super Two player, making him arbitration-eligible four times rather than the standard three. This optional assignment has nevertheless likely delayed his path to free agency by a year; since he can’t reach three years of service this season, he’ll now be controllable at least through the 2027 campaign instead of after the 2026 season, as he’d been on pace for entering the year.

Orioles Designate Eduard Bazardo For Assignment

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The Orioles have designated right-hander Eduard Bazardo for assignment, per a club announcement. In corresponding moves, the club has selected the contract of right-hander Joey Krehbiel and optioned right-hander Tyler Wells to Double-A Bowie.

Bazardo, 27, made his big league debut back in 2021 with the Red Sox, pitching for them in parts of two seasons. Bazardo then elected free agency after being designated for assignment in October 2022. That December, he landed with Baltimore on a minor league deal before being selected to the roster earlier this month. In all, Bazardo sports a career 3.74 ERA and 5.26 FIP in 21 2/3 innings in the majors. He’s posted similar numbers at the Triple-A level in his career, with a 3.86 ERA with a 24.5% strikeout rate in 107 innings of work at the level, which includes a strong 3.05 ERA in 38 1/3 innings with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk this season.

The Orioles have a week to trade, waive, or release Bazardo, though of course any trade would have to come prior to the trade deadline on August 1. In the event that Bazardo clears waivers successfully, the Orioles will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues, though Bazardo has the right to reject that assignment as a player who’s been outrighted previously in his career.

Bazardo’s exit makes room for Krehbiel on the 40-man roster. A 12th-round pick by the Angels in the 2011 draft, Krehbiel broke into the majors with the Diamondbacks and the Rays before settling in with the Orioles midway through the 2021 campaign. He became a major piece of Baltimore’s bullpen in 2022, with a 3.90 ERA that clocked in at exactly league average by measure of ERA+.

While his work last season was certainly solid, Krehbiel was ultimately designated for assignment early in the 2023 season, before making an appearance at the major league level this season. He performed well at the Triple-A level this year after accepting an outright assignment, with a 3.00 ERA in 30 innings of work. That performance has earned Krehbiel another chance in the majors, where he figures to cover the middle innings for the Orioles alongside the likes of Bryan Baker and Shintaro Fujinami.

Perhaps the most surprising news of the day is the club’s decision to option Wells to make room for Krehbiel on the active roster. Wells has pitched fairly well as a member of the club’s rotation this season, with a 3.80 ERA in 113 2/3 innings of work. That quality run prevention figure belies his recent control problems, however. In the month of July, Wells has walked 13 batters in 21 innings, nearly as many as he’s struck out (16). That’s contributed to a 6.43 ERA and a 7.76 FIP this month, the latter of which has ballooned his FIP to a worrisome 5.17 figure on the season.

It’s unclear how long Wells figures to remain in the minor leagues, but his struggles and subsequent demotion highlight the club’s need for starting pitching ahead of the trade deadline on August 1. Only eight teams in the majors have gotten less fWAR out of their starters than Baltimore, and of those only the Yankees, Reds, and Red Sox have any hope of making the playoffs this season.

MLBTR Trade Rumors Podcast: Stroman Lobbies for Extension, Mets’ Woes and Astros Seeking Bats

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

  • Marcus Stroman lobbying for an extension with the Cubs (1:40)
  • The struggling Mets lose Pete Alonso to the injured list (6:00)
  • The Astros seem more focused on getting bats than arms at the deadline (10:05)

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • Other than a pure prospect, I don’t see a difference making middle of the order bat being available at the trade deadline. Be it a 2 month rental or even someone with 1 or 2 years of control. Do you? If so please tell me about him. (14:45)
  • Could this be the year in which the O’s get a starter? They’re notoriously cheap when it comes to big contracts or giving up the farm, but I can’t see any team going deep into the playoffs with Kyle Gibson or Tyler Wells as their Game One ace. If so, who are the top candidates, knowing that the O’s will have to compete on the market with any team with a winning percentage over .500? (19:45)
  • The Cardinals are full of young players that may not be stars in the making, but probably get a fairer shot at regular playing time on many other rosters to prove their worth. If the Cards ultimately become sellers at the deadline, do they really get much value in moving guys like Iván Herrera, Juan Yepez, Luken Baker, Moises Gomez, and/or one of their outfielders? Or are they content to have that depth if the returns are minimal? (22:35)

Check out our past episodes!

Sorting Through The Orioles’ Rotation Options

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The Orioles headed into the winter intent on adding a pair of veterans to the rotation, and while there was a substantial layoff between their first and second additions, with Kyle Gibson signing a one-year deal back on Dec. 5 and Cole Irvin not joining the staff until last Friday’s trade. That gives the O’s a pair of veterans who are plenty capable of eating up innings while still also leaving a fairly wide-open window for several younger arms to pitch their way into the team’s plans.

In all likelihood, the Orioles will wind up using ten or more starters over the course of the season. It’s commonplace for teams to cycle through far more than the five (or six) members of the Opening Day rotation — particularly younger teams like Baltimore, where the rotation will be composed primarily of yet-unproven starters and/or prospects whose workloads will be handled with care.

Locks

Kyle Gibson, RHP: Whether by design or by happenstance, the decision to bring in Gibson over 2022 staff innings leader Jordan Lyles wound up being a cost-neutral gambit, which will lead to inevitable comparisons between the two. The Orioles bought Lyles’ $11MM club option out for $1MM, then turned around and invested the exact same $10MM they saved into a one-year deal with Gibson.

The 35-year-old Gibson, like Lyles, is a workhorse by today’s standards. He’s averaged 29.875 starts per 162-game season, dating back to 2014, and made a full slate of 12 starts in the shortened 2020 season. He has a below-average strikeout rate with solid command and above-average ground-ball tendencies. The O’s are going to count on him for 30-plus starts and 160-plus innings, although if they’re not in contention when the trade deadline rolls around, it’s easy to see them putting Gibson on the market.

Cole Irvin, LHP: For the second time in as many weeks, I’m listing Irvin as a “lock” in a team’s rotation while profiling their various options on the back end of the staff. As noted on that rundown of the A’s rotation, there was always a chance that Irvin could be moved, though a midseason deal felt likelier. The O’s instead jumped to add Irvin as a durable source of innings.

Over the past two seasons, he’s made 62 starts of 4.11 ERA ball with a well below-average 16.8% strikeout rate but a superb 5.2% walk rate as a member of Oakland’s rotation. That’ll be the type of production they’re looking for not just this year but for the next several seasons. Irvin is controlled for another four years and won’t even be arbitration-eligible until next offseason.

There’s some risk in acquiring Irvin, who’s had far more success at the spacious Oakland Coliseum than on the road. Dating back to Opening Day 2021, the lefty owns a 3.44 ERA pitching in Oakland, where opponents have batted just .243/.288/.355 against him in nearly 800 plate appearances. In that same timeframe, Irvin’s road ERA is a more alarming 4.88, and opponents have pounced on him for a .285/.330/.491 slash. The O’s recently made their left field dimensions quite a bit more pitcher-friendly, but Irvin will still be facing some righty-heavy lineups within the AL East.

Pitchers who made 15+ starts in 2022

Dean Kremer, RHP: Kremer, 27, finished second on the Orioles with 125 1/3 innings pitched and notched a tidy 3.23 ERA last season despite a tepid 17% strikeout rate. Kremer, acquired from the Dodgers in the Manny Machado trade, doesn’t miss bats or keep the ball on the ground, but he has a better-than-average walk rate. Any regression in his 0.79 HR/9 mark or his 77.8% left-on-base rate — he entered the season at 2.12 and 65.1%, respectively — could spike his ERA closer to his 4.54 SIERA. That said, Kremer at least looks the part of a back-of-the-rotation arm. And, now that he’s poised to take on a larger workload, he should at least be a decent source of average-ish innings.

Kyle Bradish, RHP: One of four minor leaguers acquired in the trade sending Dylan Bundy to the Angels, Bradish ranked third on the 2022 O’s with 117 2/3 innings pitched. He missed more bats and generated more grounders than Kremer but was also more prone to both walks and home runs. Bradish’s 4.90 ERA isn’t much to look at, but while fielding-independent metrics feel Kremer had some good fortune in ’22, the opposite is true of Bradish, whose FIP, SIERA, etc. are all quite a bit lower than his earned run average. Both pitchers seem capable of turning in an ERA in the low- or mid-4.00s over 150-plus innings.

Spenser Watkins, RHP: A former 30th-round pick by the Tigers, Watkins signed with the O’s as a minor league free agent in Jan. 2021 and debuted as a 29-year-old rookie later that season. He tallied 105 1/3 innings for the 2022 Orioles, posting a 4.70 ERA along the way. Among the 156 pitchers with at least 150 innings thrown since 2021, no one has posted a lower strikeout rate than Watkins’ 13.7%. His 7.9% swinging-strike rate is fifth-lowest among that group. Watkins has good command and has posted solid numbers in Triple-A over the past two seasons, but he feels like more of a depth option based on his big league work to date.

Tyler Wells, RHP: Baltimore’s most effective starter for much of the 2022 season, Wells carried a 3.09 ERA through his first 16 starts but needed a .225 average on balls in play to get there. That minimal BABIP and a 16.7% strikeout rate made the ERA look fairly dubious, and Wells indeed struggled mightily over his final few starts of the season. It should be noted that he missed more than a month due to a side injury and landed back on the shelf due to shoulder trouble to close out the year, but he nonetheless yielded a 7.39 ERA over his final 28 innings (seven starts). None of Wells, Kremer or Bradish miss bats at a particularly high level, nor do they possess elite command or ground-ball tendencies. They each have some appealing traits, however, and any of this trio could be a viable fourth/fifth starter.

Austin Voth, RHP: Continuing on that trend, Voth is another fly-ball pitcher with passable but not eye-catching strikeout and walk numbers. Claimed off waivers from the Nationals in early June, Voth made 17 starts and five relief appearances, pitching to a 3.04 ERA in that time. He’s not going to keep stranding 82% of the baserunners he allows — that’s 10 percentage points above the league average and above Voth’s career mark prior to 2022 — but he has the makings of a back-end starter, as he’s shown on occasion with the Nats in the past. Voth is out of minor league options, so he’s going to be on the roster either as a starter or as a swingman.

The Top Prospects

Grayson Rodriguez, RHP: The arm on which so many Orioles fans are pinning their hopes, the 23-year-old Rodriguez might have already made his big league debut were it not for a lat strain that sidelined him for half the 2022 season. Rodriguez, selected with the No. 11 pick of the 2018 draft, ranks among the sport’s top 15 overall prospects at each of Baseball America (6), MLB.com (7), ESPN (12) and The Athletic (15). A 6’5″, 220-pound righty armed with a four-pitch mix that’s headlined by an upper-90s heater and elite changeup, Rodriguez has genuine front-of-the-rotation potential.

Rodriguez is regarded as one of the sport’s five best pitching prospects, and now that the new CBA actually reward teams for promoting prospects via potential draft compensation based on Rookie of the Year voting, Rodriguez will have a legitimate chance to make the Opening Day rotation. The O’s may want to be cautious, as that lat strain limited him to just 75 2/3 innings in 2022 and a jump to a full season of MLB starts would probably more than double that total. Rodriguez might be the organization’s best starter right now, even though he hasn’t made his MLB debut. He posted a combined 2.62 ERA across three minor league levels and did so with a mammoth 36.6% strikeout rate against a 9.3% walk rate. He’s going to make his MLB debut in 2023 — it’s just a matter of when.

DL Hall, LHP: Unlike Rodriguez, Hall has already made his debut at the MLB level, although it didn’t go as the team had hoped. The former No. 21 overall pick pitched in 11 games — 10 of them relief appearances — but was tagged for nine runs on 17 hits and six walks. The resulting 5.93 ERA wasn’t particularly encouraging, but Hall fanned 19 opponents (29.7%) and issued walks at a lower clip in the Majors than he had in Triple-A (9.4% versus 14.2%).

Command issues have long been the primary flaw scouts see in Hall — a 6’2″ lefty with a heater that averaged 96.4 mph during that MLB debut and multiple plus or better secondary pitches. Baseball America pegs Hall’s fastball as an 80 on the 20-80 scale, while also crediting him with a plus-plus slider, a plus curve and a plus changeup. Unfortunately, all of that is accompanied by well below-average command. Hall has walked 13.4% of his opponents in the minors, and in his 18 minor league starts this past season, he completed six innings just once. Some of that is the Orioles being cautious with an arm they hold in high regard, but Hall averaged 75 pitches per outing despite averaging under four innings per start. Certainly, he could stand to be more efficient.

Last year’s 98 innings were a career-high for Hall, who’s also missed ample time due to injury in his pro career. Between the lack of innings and the shaky command, many scouting reports feel he’s likelier to be a dynamic reliever than a starter, but the O’s will likely give him some considerable leash as a starter because the ceiling is so high.

Other options on the 40-man

Mike Baumann, RHP: The 27-year-old Baumann was one of the organization’s best pitching prospects as recently as two years ago, but a flexor strain cost him time and he hasn’t topped 100 innings in either of the past two seasons. The O’s have begun working Baumann out of the bullpen more frequently, and given the number of rotation options the organization has, that could be a better path to the big leagues for him. There’s benefit to keeping him stretched out as a starter, of course, but Baumann made just 13 starts to 20 relief appearances last year.

Bruce Zimmermann, LHP: A local product the O’s acquired in the trade that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to the Braves back in 2018, Zimmermann has pitched in parts of three seasons for the O’s but never posted an ERA south of 5.00. In 145 MLB frames, he carries a 5.69 ERA (5.78 FIP, 4.43 SIERA) with a low 17.6% strikeout rate but a strong 5.7% walk rate. Zimmermann has averaged just 91.3 mph on his heater, and opponents have teed off on both that pitch and his changeup, clubbing an average of 2.23 homers per nine innings against the southpaw. Zimmermann still has a pair of option years remaining and has been good in Triple-A over the past two seasons, but he needs to find a way to curtail his issues with the long ball.

Drew Rom, LHP: The O’s selected Rom to the 40-man roster back in November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. The 2018 fourth-rounder split the 2022 season between Double-A and Triple-A, logging a combined 4.43 ERA with a 27.1% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate and solid ground-ball tendencies. He’s not an overpowering lefty, but he’s pretty close to big league ready and the O’s clearly felt he’d have been poached in the Rule 5 had he gone unprotected. There are a lot of candidates for innings in Baltimore, but he’ll be in the mix to debut this year.

Recovering from injury

John Means, LHP: Baltimore’s best starter from 2019-21, Means logged a 3.73 ERA in 345 1/3 innings during that time and was named the Orioles’ Opening Day starter in 2022. He made just two starts last year before an elbow injury shelved him, however, and Means underwent Tommy John surgery in late April. That’ll take him out of the equation early in the year, but the O’s can hope for Means to return at some point over the summer. He only has two years of club control remaining.

—

As things stand, the Orioles have two veteran locks (Gibson, Irvin), a series of righties who achieved solid results despite middling K/BB and batted-ball profiles in 2022 (Kremer, Bradish, Wells, Voth) and a pair electric prospects (Rodriguez, Hall) — the former of which is arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball.

It’s a promising group, but the O’s will need to convert on Rodriguez and either see Hall improve his command or another young arm (e.g. Cade Povich) take a pronounced step forward in 2023. Baltimore’s system is rife with high-end bats but less stocked with arms. A rotation featuring Rodriguez (assuming he hits the ground running) and a host of No. 4 types is enough to compete, but it’s still a bit surprising that the team didn’t land a higher-profile arm this winter in an effort to bolster the starting staff. Perhaps the O’s are confident that an incumbent arm is on the cusp of a breakout, but right now Baltimore’s lineup looks more formidable than its rotation.

Injury Notes: Jones, Wells, Castillo

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Less than two weeks after being drafted second overall, Druw Jones’ pro debut will now likely be put off until 2023 due to a left shoulder injury suffered in Jones’ first batting-practice session with the Diamondbacks.  Jones received an MRI yesterday but it isn’t known yet if surgery could be required, Arizona farm director Josh Barfield told reporters (including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert).

Most pundits tabbed Jones as the top player available in the 2022 draft class, though after the Orioles opted for Jackson Holliday with the first overall pick, the D’Backs jumped to select Jones in the second spot.  The 18-year-old was tentatively slated to start playing Arizona Complex League games this week, and possibly further minor league action later in the season if all went well.  Now, Jones probably won’t officially get onto the field until next season, and even the start of the 2023 season might not be a sure thing if he indeed has to get surgery.

More injury notes from around baseball…

  • The Orioles placed right-hander Tyler Wells on the 15-day injured list due to discomfort in his lower left side.  Baltimore also optioned left-hander Nick Vespi to Triple-A and called up righties Logan Gillaspie and Beau Sulser in corresponding moves.  After making his big league debut as a reliever in 2021, Wells became a solid member of the Orioles rotation this year, posting a 3.90 ERA over 20 starts and 94 2/3 innings.  However, his side injury forced him to make an early exit from his start yesterday against the Rays, and the full extent of Wells’ injury (i.e. a possible oblique problem) isn’t yet known.
  • The Mariners placed Diego Castillo on the 15-day IL due to right shoulder inflammation, with a placement retroactive to July 26.  Righty Matt Brash was recalled from Triple-A to take Castillo’s roster spot.  This is the third time in four seasons that shoulder inflammation has sent Castillo to the IL, though he was able to return within 2-3 weeks in each of those previous stints.  It was almost exactly one year ago that the Mariners acquired Castillo from the Rays in a pre-deadline trade, and the righty has continued his quality work in a Seattle uniform, posting a 3.53 ERA over 58 2/3 innings as a Mariner.  Walks have been an issue for Castillo this season, but has mitigated these control problems with above-average strikeout and hard-contact numbers, as well as a career-best 9.7% home run rate.

Orioles Place Tyler Wells On 10-Day Injured List

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The Orioles have placed right-hander Tyler Wells on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation.  Righty Spenser Watkins was recalled from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Since Wells just pitched yesterday, there is no retroactive placement on the IL move, and thus Wells’ first Major League season is officially over.  Though Wells had never pitched above the Double-A level and hadn’t pitched at all since 2018, the 27-year-old made a very impressive accounting for himself in his debut season.

Over 57 innings out of Baltimore’s pen, Wells posted a 4.11 ERA and very strong walk (5.4%) and strikeout (29%) rates, plus a chase rate that ranked in the 95th percentile of all pitchers.  Wells allowed a lot of hard contact and benefited from a .226 BABIP, though his 3.37 SIERA was quite a bit lower than his actual ERA.

This is the second time Wells has been placed on the IL this season, as he missed just short of three weeks due to wrist tendinitis.  As a Rule 5 Draft pick, Wells needed to spend the entire season on the Orioles’ roster for the team to fully assume his rights, and he has already well surpassed the necessary threshold for time spent on the active roster.

The Orioles have been arguably baseball’s most aggressive team on the Rule 5 front for years, and that tradition has continued under current GM Mike Elias.  Anthony Santander, T.J. McFarland, and Ryan Flaherty are perhaps the most prominent Baltimore Rule 5 picks who went on to become notable big league regulars for the Orioles and other teams, and Wells’ rookie year is a nice first step towards joining that group.

Wells was a 15th-round pick for the Twins in the 2016 draft, and he began his career primarily as a starter while posting some solid numbers in Minnesota’s farm system.  However, his career was stalled by a Tommy John surgery that cost him all of the 2019 campaign, and then he couldn’t play in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season.  The Twins decided to leave him exposed in last December’s Rule 5 draft, and the O’s snapped Wells up in the second round.  (The Orioles also made a first-round pick in right-hander Mac Sceroler, though he was returned to the Reds in June after an injury-marred season.)

AL East Notes: Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles

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To some, the Rays recent trade of Rich Hill to the Mets may have seemed incongruous with their plans for contention, but this is how the Rays do business: players play for the present, front office plays for the future. GM Erik Neander suggested it was simply a matter of coming up on having too many guys for the rotation, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He didn’t shut down the idea of upgrading the rotation, however, suggesting they weren’t in love with Hill’s output projections for this season. For now, Luis Patino and Chris Archer will soon round out the rotation, pending another deal in the coming days. Elsewhere in the AL East…

  • Red Sox southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez was removed from his start in the second inning today with what’s being reported as “migraine symptoms,” per Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald and others (via Twitter). Rodriguez has a 5.19 ERA in 95 1/3 innings this season, though a 3.51 FIP and 21.9 percent strikeout-to-walk rate suggests his performance has been quite a bit better. He threw just 25 pitches in today’s outing.
  • The Yankees were also dealt a potential blow today as Gary Sanchez was removed from the game with back spasms. The Yankees are already without backup Kyle Higashioka, who will remain on the COVID-related injured list at least until next week, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Rob Brantly would be the stand-in, should Sanchez need further days off.
  • Orioles Rule 5 pick Tyler Wells was placed on the 10-day injured list today with right wrist tendonitis, per the team. His placement was backdated to July 20th, however, and the O’s don’t expect him to be out for longer than the minimum ten days, per The Athletic’s Dan Connolly (via Twitter).

2020 Rule 5 Draft Update

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An abnormal number of picks from the 2020 Rule 5 Draft survived Spring Training and made the Opening Day rosters with their new clubs. The Orioles and Marlins both broke camp with a pair of Rule 5 picks on the active roster, while the Pirates opened the season with one Rule 5 pick on the roster and one on the injured list. Most clubs that are carrying a Rule 5 pick, unsurprisingly, have little in the way of postseason aspirations. There are a few October hopefuls among those still clinging to Rule 5 picks, however, and it’ll take some uncharacteristically strong Rule 5 showings for those players to survive the season.

We’ll take a look at how the surviving Rule 5 draftees are faring periodically throughout the year. Here’s the first glance…

Currently in the Majors

  • Brett de Geus, RHP, Rangers (via Dodgers): Injuries throughout the Rangers’ bullpen might have helped the 23-year-old de Geus crack the Opening Day roster in Texas. He’s out to a shaky start, having walked three batters and hit another three against just two strikeouts through his first 5 2/3 innings. On the plus side, 13 of the 15 balls put into play against him have been grounders.
  • Akil Baddoo, OF, Tigers (via Twins): Baddoo is one of the best stories (maybe the best) of the young 2021 season. The 22-year-old homered on his first swing in the big leagues as his family rejoiced in the stands, and in less than two weeks’ time he’s added a grand slam, a walk-off single (against his former organization) a 450-foot dinger off Zack Greinke and a fourth homer. Baddoo has a ludicrous 1.342 OPS through his first 29 plate appearances in the Majors, and while he obviously won’t sustain that, he’s forcing a legitimate audition in the Detroit outfield. Baddoo missed nearly all of 2019 due to Tommy John surgery and didn’t play in 2020. Despite that layoff and the fact that he’d never played above A-ball, the Tigers called his name in December. It may have seemed like a stretch at the time, but it doesn’t look that way now.
  • Garrett Whitlock, RHP, Red Sox (via Yankees): The Sox would surely love for Whitlock to stick, having plucked him from their archrivals in New York. So far, so good. Better than good, in fact. Through 6 1/3 scoreless innings, Whitlock has yielded three hits and punched out nine batters without issuing a walk. He’s sitting 95.6 mph with his heater and has posted a hefty 16.9 percent swinging-strike rate. Whitlock also had Tommy John surgery in 2019, so even though he’s previously been a starter, it makes sense to monitor his workload ease him into the mix as the Sox hope to get through the year with him in the ’pen.
  • Tyler Wells, RHP, Orioles (via Twins): Wells has allowed a pair of homers and surrendered three total runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 frames. The O’s aren’t trying to win in 2021, but their bullpen also has four arms that can’t be optioned (Cesar Valdez, Shawn Armstrong, Adam Plutko, Wade LeBlanc). Keeping both Wells and Mac Sceroler (currently on the IL) brings them  to six and will hamper their flexibility.
  • Zach Pop and Paul Campbell, RHPs, Marlins (via Orioles and Rays): Pop was technically the D-backs’ pick in the Rule 5, but Arizona immediately flipped him to the Marlins for a PTBNL. The 24-year-old didn’t allow an earned run in five spring frames but as I was finishing this post, he served up a three-run homer, bringing his season line to seven runs on three hits, three walks and two hit batters in 3 1/3 innings. Campbell has struggled to a similar extent. He’s surrendered five runs (three earned) and given up four hits and three walks in just 2 2/3 innings. With the Marlins out of tank mode, it’ll be tough to carry both all year.
  • Jordan Sheffield, RHP, Rockies (via Dodgers): Sheffield was the No. 36 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, but control issues prevented him from being protected on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen gives Sheffield three plus pitches in his scouting report (fastball, curveball, changeup) but also pegs his command at a 30 on the 20-80 scale. Sheffield has walked or plunked 15 percent of the hitters he faced in the minors. He’s yet to walk anyone 13 batters he’s faced with the Rockies, but he did hit one and has also tossed a pair of wild pitches. That said, he’s also sitting 95.5 mph with his heater and is unscored upon in 3 2/3 frames.
  • Luis Oviedo, RHP, Pirates (via Indians): Oviedo was the Mets’ pick at No. 10, but they had a deal worked out to flip him to the Pirates in exchange for cash. Oviedo has been hammered for six runs on six hits (two homers) and two walks with five strikeouts through 4 2/3 innings so far. Even pitching for a tanking club, Oviedo will need to show some improvement in order to stick on the roster all season.
  • Will Vest, RHP, Mariners (via Tigers): The Mariners kept last year’s Rule 5 pick Yohan Ramirez for the whole season, but it’ll be tougher to do with a full schedule in 2021. The Mariners’ young core is also beginning to rise to the big leagues, and Vest will need to fend off some intriguing young arms. He’s done a decent job so far, allowing a pair of runs (one unearned) on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.
  • Trevor Stephan, RHP, Indians (via Yankees): Stephan whiffed 16 of 44 hitters this spring to earn a spot on the Indians’ Opening Day roster, but he’s allowed four runs in his first four MLB frames. The 25-year-old has surrendered five hits (including a homer), walked a pair and hit a batter so far while facing a total of 21 hitters.
  • Ka’ai Tom, OF, Athletics (via Indians): Tom, 26, raked at a .310/.412/.552 pace with a homer, two doubles and a triple in 34 spring plate appearances. After that strong audition, however, he’s just 1-for-16 with six strikeouts through his first 16 trips to the plate with the A’s.

On the Major League injured list

  • Jose Soriano, RHP, Pirates (via Angels): It wasn’t a surprise to see Soriano open the year on the injured list. He’s still recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in Feb. 2020 and didn’t pitch in a game with the Pirates this spring. He’ll be sidelined for at least the first two months, as the Bucs put him on the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot when they signed Tyler Anderson. Soriano hasn’t pitched above A-ball, but the Pirates aren’t exactly a win-now club, so they can afford to stash him as a seldom-used bullpen piece in order to secure his rights beyond the 2021 season.
  • Mac Sceroler, RHP, Orioles (via Reds): Sceroler fanned six hitters in 3 2/3 innings early in the season but also yielded three runs on five hits (two homers), three walks and a hit batter. The Orioles recently placed him on the 10-day injured list due to tendinitis in his right shoulder, although it’s not expected to be too lengthy an absence.
  • Dedniel Nunez, RHP, Giants (via Mets): Nunez was hit hard in the Cactus League, surrendering four runs in 3 1/3 innings. He’ll now miss the entire 2021 season after sustaining a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery this spring. Nunez will spend the season on San Francisco’s 60-day injured list and receive a year of MLB service, but he’ll still be subject to Rule 5 restrictions in 2022 once he’s healthy. He’ll need to spend at least 90 days on the MLB roster before he can be sent to the minors; if he doesn’t last that long, he’ll have to pass through waivers and, if he clears, be offered back to the Mets.

Returned to their original club

  • Jose Alberto Rivera, RHP, Angels (via Astros): The Angels didn’t take much of a look at Rivera, returning him to Houston on March 24 after just one inning of official work in Cactus League play.
  • Kyle Holder, SS, Reds (via Yankees): The Reds weren’t sure who their shortstop was going to be heading into Spring Training, but they ultimately settled on moving Eugenio Suarez back to that spot, sliding Mike Moustakas back to third base and giving prospect Jonathan India the nod at second base. A strong spring from Holder might have at least given him a bench spot behind that trio, but he hit just .219/.359/.250 in 39 plate appearances. The Reds returned him to the Yankees on March 30.
  • Gray Fenter, RHP, Cubs (via Orioles): The Cubs returned Fenter to the Orioles on March 12 after just one spring appearance. He hasn’t pitched above A-ball yet.
  • Dany Jimenez, RHP, Athletics (via Blue Jays): The 27-year-old Jimenez was a Rule 5 pick in consecutive offseasons — once by each Bay Area club. The A’s returned him to the Jays on March 15, however, after he yielded four runs (two earned) in three innings of work this spring.

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