The Orioles have acquired left-handed pitcher Cole Irvin in a trade with the Athletics, per announcements from both clubs. Right-handed pitching prospect Kyle Virbitsky will also head to Baltimore while infield prospect Darell Hernaiz is heading to the A’s.
On one hand, this move comes as a surprise, since there had been no previous indication the A’s were shopping Irvin or that they were talking to the Orioles. On the other hand, it’s not shocking to see the club continue tearing down the roster, since they’ve been aggressively committed to that path for the past year. Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt were all traded just before the 2022 campaign, while Frankie Montas was dealt midseason and Sean Murphy this winter.
With the club seemingly willing to strip the roster down to the studs, any established Oakland player is at least a speculative trade candidate. There was no real rush to move Irvin, since he still had four years of club control remaining, but he will qualify for arbitration at the end of this season and would start to make a more significant salary. It appears that they received an offer they liked enough to pull the ripcord early and jettison Irvin from the roster in yet another future-focused move.
The Orioles have been looking for rotation upgrades all winter and were reportedly still on the hunt earlier this week. They haven’t been running out huge payrolls in recent years so Irvin’s low salary and years of cheap control were surely appealing to them. They made one modest upgrade to their rotation this offseason by signing veteran Kyle Gibson to a one-year, $10MM deal but have otherwise been quiet until today. Irvin will quickly become the club’s second-most experienced starter behind Gibson.
Irvin, 29 next week, was a Phillies’ draftee and made his MLB debut with them. He made 19 appearances over 2019 and 2020 but with a bloated 6.75 ERA in that time. But his minor league results were much better and the A’s took a shot by sending cash considerations to Philadelphia to get him. The change of scenery went very well for him, as he made 62 starts over the past two seasons with a 4.11 ERA over 359 1/3 innings.
This new change of scenery will have risk for the O’s, though. Irvin has succeeded in Oakland over the past couple of years with a low-strikeout, pitch-to-contact approach. He’s only walked 5.2% of the batters he’s faced over those two campaigns, which is a very strong number. For reference, the league average for starters last year was 7.5%. But he’s only punched out hitters at a 16.8% rate for Oakland, well below last year’s 21.6% league average. His 37.6% ground ball over that span was also a bit below par. That kind of profile has worked for him in the pitcher-friendly confines of Oakland Coliseum but might not be as effective in different conditions. It’s perhaps notable that Irvin has posted a 3.44 ERA at home over the past two years but a 4.88 mark outside of Oakland.
The O’s are apparently undeterred by those splits and have added Irvin to their starting mix, where he and Gibson should take two of the spots. The rest of the rotation will be less certain, with options like Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells, Bruce Zimmermann, Mike Baumann and Spenser Watkins on the 40-man. Each of those guys have a bit of MLB experience but inconsistent results have prevented them from truly establishing themselves as big leaguers. There’s also Grayson Rodriguez, who is considered one of the best pitching prospects in the sport but he’s yet to make his MLB debut and missed most of last year due to a lat strain. John Means could be a factor down the line but likely not until midseason due to undergoing Tommy John surgery in April of last year. It’s a group with a lot of unknowns but the club will hope to get some reliability out of Irvin and Gibson while they sort through the rest and see who separates themselves from the pack. In addition to Irvin, the O’s will add Virbitsky to their system. The 24-year-old was a 17th round draft pick in 2021. He posted a 4.63 ERA last year between Class-A and High-A, striking out 25.7% of batters faced while walking 5.5%. He’ll add some starting depth to the lower levels of their system.
By letting go of Irvin and Virbitsky, the A’s are adding an intriguing young player in Hernaiz. The 21-year-old was a fifth-round selection of the O’s in 2019. Baseball America ranked him the #25 Orioles prospect going into 2020, highlighting his athleticism but noting that the lack of power could be an issue for him. That seems to have played out in his minor league time so far. After the minors were canceled in 2020, Hernaiz spent 2021 in Class-A, hitting six home runs in 94 games. He did steal 22 bases but his .277/.333/.358 batting line was a bit below average, with his wRC+ coming in at 92. In 2022, he shot up three levels, going from Class-A to High-A and Double-A. He got into 105 games between those three levels and stole 32 bases with 12 home runs. His combined batting line of .273/.341/.438 resulted in a 112 wRC+. He’s split his time between second base, third base and shortstop and will slot into Oakland’s infield prospect mix. He struggled in his first 13 Double-A games and will likely head back to that level to start this season. He’ll be Rule 5 eligible at the end of the upcoming season.
The O’s have plenty of infield prospects, with the likes of Gunnar Henderson, Coby Mayo, Joey Ortiz, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Connor Norby some of the exciting youngsters in the system. It seems they felt they could part with Hernaiz and still be in good shape there, whereas the A’s have continued to bolster their farm by subtracting from their major league club. Without Irvin, their rotation will consist of offseason signees Shintaro Fujinami and Drew Rucinski, incumbents Paul Blackburn and James Kaprielian, as well as a huge pile of unestablished options who will be jockeying for playing time as the season rolls along.
Jeff Passan of ESPN reported the deal before the official announcement (Twitter links).
The Orioles checked off another item on their offseason to-do list on Wednesday night. This time, they went to the trade market to fill one of the holes on their roster.
McCann has two years and $24 million left on his contract, but the Orioles will assume only $5 million of that total, a source told MLB.com executive reporter Mark Feinsand. The player the Mets will receive is not expected to be a notable prospect, according to the source.
It’s a low-risk, potentially high-reward move for Baltimore, which needed a No. 2 catcher after Robinson Chirinos became a free agent. McCann, a nine-year big league veteran who has played for the Tigers, White Sox and Mets, was an All-Star with Chicago in 2019, when he had a slash line of .273/.328/.460 with 18 homers and 60 RBIs in 118 games.
However, McCann wasn’t quite as productive over his two-year stint in New York. He was limited to 61 games in 2022, due to two trips to the injured list (for a hamate bone fracture in his left wrist and a left oblique strain). The right-handed batter slashed .195/.257/.282 with three homers and 18 RBIs in ’22.
In addition to backing up Rutschman behind the plate, McCann could get some starts at designated hitter, especially against left-handed pitchers. He has a .258/.325/.452 career slash line against southpaws as opposed to a .237/.284/.351 line against righties.
McCann also played nine games at first base over the past two seasons, so he may be an option to get some time there on Ryan Mountcastle’s days off.
The Mets and Orioles swung a trade late Wednesday night, with Baltimore acquiring James McCann and cash considerations from the Mets for a player to be named later. New York is reportedly covering $19MM of the $24MM still remaining on McCann’s contract over the next two years. To create a spot on the 40-man roster, Baltimore designated infielder Tyler Nevin for assignment.
It looked like only a matter of time before McCann changed teams. New York agreed to terms with Omar Narváez on a two-year contract last Thursday. As soon as news of that agreement broke, it became clear the Mets were likely to deal one of their incumbent backstops, with McCann the likeliest candidate. Neither McCann nor Tomás Nido could be sent to the minor leagues, and carrying three catchers on the 26-man roster would’ve been challenging. That’s before considering top prospect Francisco Álvarez, who figures to get an extended MLB look at some point soon after debuting late in the 2022 season.
McCann will secure his roster spot in Baltimore. The O’s entered the day with just one catcher on their 40-man roster, making it an inevitability they’d bring in some help from outside the organization. Of course, that backstop is AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Adley Rutschman. McCann will have to move into a backup role with the O’s.
The past couple seasons have been rough for McCann, who first joined the Mets over the 2020-21 offseason. New York placed a sizable bet on the veteran backstop’s previous couple seasons with the White Sox. The University of Arkansas product had hit .276/.334/.474 through 587 plate appearances for Chicago between 2019-20. That handily dwarfed the .240/.288/.366 mark he’d posted over the preceding four-plus seasons with the Tigers, and the Mets clearly felt he’d turned a corner offensively. They inked him to a four-year, $40.6MM free agent contract that handily topped most expectations.
New York gave McCann extended run in his first season, starting him at catcher for 97 of their 162 games in 2021. His production more closely resembled that of his Detroit days, however. He hit .232/.294/.349 over 412 plate appearances, connecting on just 10 home runs after hitting 18 longballs in his only full season with the White Sox. Nevertheless, McCann was back in the Opening Day lineup for the second season of the deal as the Mets hoped for a bounceback campaign.
That wasn’t to be, as he struggled with both underperformance and injury this year. The veteran fractured the hamate in his left hand/wrist in mid-May. He required surgery and lost six weeks to rehab. A few weeks after his return, he suffered a strain in his left oblique and went back on the injured list for a little less than a month. In between the health setbacks, he managed just a .195/.257/.282 line in 61 games. By the time the postseason rolled around, Nido was starting behind the dish. McCann was relegated to a depth role, while Álvarez was with the big league club in a catcher/DH hybrid role.
The past two seasons certainly aren’t what the Mets had envisioned when they signed McCann. As a result, they’re left to pay down a notable chunk of the remaining money on his contract. His deal was backloaded, with a $600K signing bonus followed by successive $8MM salaries in the first two seasons. He’s due $12MM in each of the next two years, the bulk of which will remain on the Mets’ ledger.
While New York only sheds $5MM in actual salary, their actual savings from the deal are a bit more than that for owner Steve Cohen and his front office. New York is going to shatter all four thresholds of the competitive balance tax, meaning they’re paying a 90% tax for every additional dollar spent.
It’s a rather straightforward move from the Orioles perspective as well. A $5MM commitment spread over two years is minimal for a veteran catcher. Players like Mike Zunino and Austin Hedges have signed one-year deals in the $5-6MM range recently as free agents. Those players will take on a more larger role in their new destinations than McCann will with the Orioles, but he’d have fit in that group were he available on the open market this winter. The O’s are nowhere near the luxury tax threshold, so the money New York saves in that regard is of little consequence to the O’s.
There’s no question it’s Rutschman’s job, but McCann offers a respected and experienced voice behind him on the depth chart. After a few seasons of subpar pitch framing numbers, he has rated as a slightly above-average framer in two of the past three years. McCann doesn’t have a great arm, but he’ll bring competent receiving when called upon in Rutschman’s stead. A situational role could allow manager Brandon Hyde to work him in against left-handed pitching, against which he has a career .258/.325/.458 mark. They’ll presumably look to shield him from righties, who have limited him to a meager .237/.284/.351 line.
It’s a minimal financial hit for Baltimore, and the acquisition cost will be minor. It’s not likely the player to be named later will be a prospect of much renown, with the Mets not negotiating from a position of strength. For the most part, the swap is about the Mets clearing the roster spot and some money (more than the Orioles will have to kick in). Baltimore will plug the #2 catcher spot they’d been seeking to address.
Doing so does mean they risk losing Nevin, who was bumped from the 40-man roster. The son of Angels skipper Phil Nevin, he briefly debuted in the majors in 2021, but the bulk of his MLB experience came this past season. He hit just .197/.299/.261 with a pair of home runs across his first 184 trips to the plate. Nevin appeared at all four corner positions but rated poorly in the eyes of public metrics for his work at third base.
Prospect evaluators have long considered Nevin more of a bat-first prospect, so his defensive struggles at the hot corner aren’t too surprising. Baltimore has stockpiled plenty of upper level talent in the infield that had surpassed or was likely to soon leapfrog Nevin on the depth chart. They’ll now have a week to trade him or place him on waivers.
While Nevin doesn’t have much MLB experience, he’s only 25 and has a more respectable Triple-A track record. The righty is a .246/.328/.417 hitter through 644 plate appearances at the top minor league level. Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun tweets the O’s were granted a fourth minor league option year, meaning any team that acquired Nevin could bounce him between the majors and Triple-A for another season.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Orioles were acquiring McCann. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the Mets were receiving a player to be named later and that the O’s were covering $5MM in salary.
The Orioles and infielder/outfielder Adam Frazier are in agreement on a one-year, $8MM contract, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The O’s subsequently announced the signing.
It’s a belated birthday present for Frazier, who turned 31 years old yesterday. The veteran spent the first five years of his career with the Pirates but has bounced to the Padres and Mariners over the past couple of seasons. One of his most attractive traits is his defensive versatility, as he’s played all three outfield positions as well as the three infield positions to the left of first base.
Though he might be a bit stretched at shortstop or in center, he generally gets solid grades for his work at the corners and at second. All three of Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average give him positive numbers for his career at second and in left, while DRS and UZR also favor his work in right field. At second base, where he’s spent the vast majority of his time, he’s tallied 15 DRS, 1.5 from UZR and 11 OAA.
Offensively, his track record is a bit inconsistent. In his five seasons with Pittsburgh from 2016 to 2020, he was above-average in two of them, by measure of wRC+. In another two seasons, his 97 wRC+ was just below the 100 average. In the shortened 2020 season, he was down to 79. At the end of those five campaigns, his batting line was .273/.336/.413, amounting to a wRC+ of 99, just a hair under league average. Still, he was able to produce 6.8 wins above replacement due to his defensive contributions, according to FanGraphs.
In 2021, he bounced back by hitting .324/.388/.448 in 98 games with the Bucs, amounting to a wRC+ of 127. The Pirates flipped him to the Padres at the deadline but he wilted down the stretch. He hit .267/.327/.335 with San Diego for a wRC+ of 86. The Friars then traded him to the Mariners prior to 2022, but his struggles continued. As a Mariner, he hit .238/.301/.311 for a wRC+ of 81.
Despite that inconsistent track record at the plate, Frazier is a solid fit for a Baltimore team that is still trying to chart its path forward. They have a number of infielders and outfielders who are still trying to get accustomed to the major leagues or have not yet made it to the show. Jorge Mateo had a solid defensive season at shortstop but didn’t hit much and struck out in 27.6% of his plate appearances. Gunnar Henderson had a solid debut in 2022 and seems to be ticketed for third base duty, though he’s also played second and shortstop. Ramón Urías had also been a solid contributor, even winning a Gold Glove at third base this year, though Henderson’s arrival seems to have bumped him into a utility role. Terrin Vavra could also be in the mix for a bench/utility job. Infield prospects like Joey Ortiz, Jordan Westburg and Coby Mayo could get to the big leagues in 2023 and further crowd the picture.
The O’s could conceivably platoon the left-handed hitting Frazier with the right-handed Urías at second base, though both players could also move to other positions if Baltimore wants to give some extended playing time to a young prospect. If Frazier’s bat bounces back or he’s simply getting squeezed out by other players, they could trade him at the deadline given his one-year deal.
The Orioles took a huge step forward in 2022, winning 83 games after five straight dismal seasons. Nonetheless, it seems like 2023 will be another evaluation season, as the club still has many young prospects who need to either make their major league debuts or continue acclimating to the big leagues. Frazier has the ability to slot in wherever he’s needed, giving the club a reliable defender who also has a chance to contribute with the bat. Whether the club can truly compete in 2023 or not, Frazier is likely to be a serviceable addition.
This is the second signing of the offseason for the O’s, as they also signed Kyle Gibson for a one-year, $10MM deal. Since both are one-year contracts, the club continues to have no commitments on the books for 2024, as they have completely avoided multi-year deals in recent years. The last time they signed a free agent to a deal longer than a single season was with Alex Cobb back in 2018. Roster Resource calculates their payroll as now just under $60MM, which is already a sizeable increase over last year’s $44MM figure, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
Major League Baseball’s 2022 amateur draft got underway Sunday night, with a total of 80 selections made during the first night. That included the Baltimore Orioles making their third No. 1 pick in franchise history, choosing Oklahoma high school shortstop Jackson Holliday, the son of longtime big-league outfielder Matt Holliday. You can find every pick from Sunday night in our draft tracker.
The draft will resume with Round 3 beginning on Monday afternoon. But first, let’s take a look back at a memorable first night by handing out grades for every first-round pick, plus the Dodgers’ first selection. As always, do note that this is more of an art than a science; what looks like a questionable pick on draft night can easily become a great one for a team in due time. This is, in a sense, a snapshot of this moment in time and nothing more.
Let’s get to the grades.
1. Orioles: Jackson Holliday, SS, Stillwater HS (OK)
Holliday, ranked No. 3 by CBS Sports prior to the draft, is a defensible top pick. He raised his stock this summer, showing an improved physique and a better plan at the plate that allowed him to use the entire field more frequently. The upside here is a left-handed shortstop with a plus bat. That’ll play. Grade: A
2. Diamondbacks: Druw Jones, CF, Wesleyan HS (GA)
Jones came into the summer ranked by CBS Sports as the No. 1 prospect in the class. He was the preferred choice of the industry sources who spoke to CBS Sports, too. The Diamondbacks, then, have to be pleased to land him at No. 2. A fully actualized Jones could feature five plus or better tools, including a good glove in center field. Grade: A
3. Rangers: Kumar Rocker, RHP, unaffiliated
One of the big surprises of the first round. Rocker’s stock was hard to pin down following a year that included a shoulder operation and a proof-of-life tour in the Frontier League. There’s no knocking Rocker’s past success at Vanderbilt, but clubs have expressed reservations about his long-term outlook because of his lacking changeup and the negative impact his delivery has on his command and, potentially, his arm health. The Rangers reuniting Rocker with former Vanderbilt teammate Jack Leiter is rad as heck though. Grade: C
Termarr Johnson went fourth overall to Pittsburgh.
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4. Pirates: Termarr Johnson, 2B, Mays HS (GA)
Johnson would have been a defensible choice at No. 1. A veteran scout told CBS Sports during the spring that he threw an 80 — or the highest possible grade — on his hit tool. Factor in that he’s got average or better raw power, as well as one of the highest baseball IQs in the class, and he’s a very interesting prospect. Grade: A
5. Nationals: Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy (FL)
Green is one of the biggest risk-reward prospects in the class. He has incredibly loud tools, including his power potential and speed, but teams have reservations about his hit tool. If he can corral his swing-and-miss tendencies, he could develop into a star-level player. Some scouts warned that the floor is lower than you’d expect from a top-five player with this kind of explosiveness. Grade: B
6. Marlins: Jacob Berry, 1B/DH, LSU
This one is puzzling. Berry is a limited defender who was compared by one scout to Seth Beer, the 28th pick in the 2018 draft. He hit well in his one year at LSU, boosting his stock, but evaluators warned that his underlying exit-velocity data suggested there’s not as much power potential here as you’d think. Given some of the other players on the board, we have no choice but to give the Marlins a low grade. Grade: D
7. Cubs: Cade Horton, RHP, Oklahoma
Horton had a phenomenal June for the Sooners, causing his stock to shoot up after the publication of our top 30 rankings. Those are the breaks sometimes. He has a big-time power arm, though none of the scouts or evaluators who spoke to CBS Sports were sold on him sticking in a rotation. The Cubs taking him this early, then, is a steep gamble, albeit one that may end up looking brilliant. Grade: C
8. Twins: Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly
We have a simple rule of thumb. If you get the No. 2 ranked player at pick No. 8, then you get an A. Lee is a good hitter with strong instincts; he may have to move off shortstop as a professional, and there are some questions about the long-term health of his knee and back. Still, he seemed like a lock to go in the top five all summer, making this one of the better value picks in the draft. Grade: A
9. Royals: Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech
Cross is a perfectly fine corner-outfield prospect who trended in the right direction this season, improving his walk and strikeout rates and upping his power production. He played center field this spring, but he’s expected to wind up in a corner. Grade: B
10. Rockies: Gabriel Hughes, RHP, Gonzaga
The third of three surprise right-handers taken in the top 10. Hughes is a big, powerful righty who will need to work on his changeup in order to stick in a rotation. Scouts warned that there’s more relief risk here than is ideal for a top-10 pick. Grade: C
The Mets snagged Kevin Parada with their first of two first-round picks.
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11. Mets: Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech
The expectation throughout the summer was that Parada would be a top-five pick. The Mets should be happy to get him here. His ball-tracking data at Georgia Tech was excellent, and hinted at middle-of-the-order potential. Meanwhile, he improved his defense enough to envision him sticking behind the plate. That combination merits a starting projection. Grade: A
12. Tigers: Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech
Jung has an excellent feel for contact and the strike zone alike. The questions evaluators had about his game revolved around his power (he has plus raw strength, though he seldom taps into it) and his defense, which projects to be subpar even at the keystone. Still, he’s a fairly safe and proven collegiate hitter who can reasonably be expected to play a non-first-base position. That’s solid. Grade: B
13. Angels: Zach Neto, SS, Campbell
Had the draft played out a little differently, Neto could’ve found himself selected with a top-10 pick. He’s a well-rounded player who pummeled Big South competition all spring and summer, to the extent that he recorded nearly as many home runs as strikeouts. Neto is considered to be an instinctual player as well, an attribute that may help him stick at shortstop for the long haul. Grade: B
The Mets’ interest in Williams was a poorly kept secret running up to the draft. Nevertheless, they got their man with their second pick on the night. Williams is small but sturdily built; he’s also quite athletic and has what some scouts project as a 70-hit tool. That forecast might prove to be optimistic, but it’s worth the gamble. Grade: B
15. Padres: Dylan Lesko, RHP, Buford HS (GA)
Lesko had to undergo Tommy John surgery earlier this summer, otherwise he might’ve gone a few picks higher. He has the best changeup in the class and a fastball with good spin. Lesko’s breaking ball lights up the Trackman output, but scouts have questioned if it will play effectively given the shape out of his hand. The Padres will gladly find out. Grade: B
16. Guardians: Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison
DeLauter entered the spring ranked by CBS Sports as the No. 2 prospect in the class. He struggled out of the gate against the only high-quality competition he faced this season, then later broke his foot. He has a track record of hitting everywhere, including the Cape Cod League, yet some scouts were worried that he’s a product of a weak conference. It doesn’t help that he has unusual swing mechanics that see him kick out his back foot. The Guardians, a data-obsessed organization, will take the risk. Grade: B
The Phillies took Justin Crawford, Carl’s son, in the first round.
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Crawford was rumored to be a potential top-10 pick throughout the summer. He has a good feel for contact and top-notch speed. Ultimately, his ceiling will hinge on how much of his raw power he can tap into as he matures. Grade: B
18. Reds: Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola College (FL)
The absolute best value pick of the first round. Collier is a model team’s dream, as he performed well against junior-college competition as a 17-year-old third baseman. He would’ve been a defensible top-five pick, and a heck of a get in the back end of the top 10. To get him here, at pick 18, is a slam-dunk. Grade: A
19. Athletics: Andrew Susac, C, Arizona
Susac likes to swing the bat and he likes to lift the ball, with the latter allowing him to post good power marks. Unfortunately, he could stand to walk more often and strike out less often, as he had a strikeout-to-walk ratio north of 2.20. Susac has a big arm, but he would benefit from the implementation of the automated ball-strike system. Grade: B
Murphy is an intriguing two-way player whose helium landed him in CBS Sports’ top 30. The Braves announced him as a right-handed pitcher, but will give him a chance as a two-way player. He shows some Jack Leiter-like qualities on the bump, as well as a lively fastball. Murphy does need to improve his slurvy breaking ball and changeup if he’s going to stick in a rotation, but he has ample time to figure that out. Grade: B
21. Mariners: Cole Young, SS, North Allegheny HS (PA)
Young is a well-rounded prep shortstop who lacks both a carrying tool and an obvious flaw. One scout predicted to CBS Sports in the spring that he would become a top-10 pick if he went to college. The Mariners hope that trajectory is correct, just without the college part. Grade: B
22. Cardinals: Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State
The Cardinals have a well-earned reputation for taking polished collegiate arms in the middle to late stages of round one. Hjerpe, a funky lefty with a good vertical approach angle on his pitches, fits the bill. He could’ve easily gone higher than this, in part because he should be one of the first pitchers in this class to reach The Show. Grade: A
23. Blue Jays: Brandon Barriera, LHP, American Heritage HS (FL)
Barriera is a small left-hander whose fastball shape raised red flags for evaluators. The concern is that the shape plays into the zone, causing it to be less effective than it should be based on his velocity. Perhaps that worry will prove to be misplaced, or outdated. Someone was going to take a shot on Barriera in the 20s, so it’s hard to feel all too bad about the pick regardless. Grade: B
24. Red Sox: Mikey Romero, Orange Lutheran HS (CA)
Romero was not ranked by CBS Sports in the pre-draft top 30, but he did crack the preseason top 50 list. He’s a surefire shortstop with a sweet left-handed swing. It’s unclear how much power he’ll produce, which will limit his ceiling. There is a fairly high floor here, however, which makes it easier to forgive this being a slight reach. Grade: B
The Yankees took 6-foot-7 Spencer Jones with their first-round pick on Sunday.
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25. Yankees: Spencer Jones, OF, Vanderbilt
Jones is one of several large human beings taken late in the first round. He’s an exit-velocity darling who runs better than his 6-foot-7 frame would suggest he should, but there are questions about his hit tool. To wit, he struck out in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances last season at Vanderbilt. You can argue that the Yankees, who employ Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, are perhaps uniquely suited to help Jones navigate his size as it relates to making more steady contact. This might be a bit of a reach, but we’re forgiving because of that aspect. Grade: B
26. White Sox: Noah Schultz, LHP, Oswego East HS (IL)
Schultz is another large human being, listed at 6-foot-9. He has a promising three-pitch mix and he throws from a low-three-quarters slot, creating an unusual angle on hitters at the top of the zone. Again, this might be a slight reach, but we’re not going to penalize the White Sox given the upside here. Grade: B
27. Brewers: Eric Brown, SS, Coastal Carolina
Brown has a very unusual pre-swing setup. It hasn’t stopped him from clobbering pitchers throughout his collegiate career, including a stint last summer in the Cape Cod League. Brown’s fans see him sticking at shortstop, which could make him a heck of a get this late in the first. Grade: B
28. Astros: Drew Gilbert, OF, Tennessee
Gilbert is a high-motor player who should provide value in center field. The one knock against him is the big one: whether or not he’ll hit enough to justify starting him. This is about the range he was going all along, so if the Astros end up with a fourth outfielder, it won’t be because they committed a major reach. Grade: B
29. Rays: Xavier Isaac, 1B, East Forsyth HS (NC)
Isaac might be the most unexpected first-round pick of the bunch. He has big-time raw power and bat speed, but he doesn’t have a lengthy track record against top competition and he’s just a first baseman. The Rays are presumably looking to pay him underslot and spend later in the class, but we can only grade this pick in isolation for the time being. Grade: D
Crawford didn’t play this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He flashed some loud stuff from the left side in the past, and he was announced as a two-way player, upping the intrigue level. There were some other injured collegiate starters on the board who we might have preferred, and that’s why we’re docking this pick slightly. Grade: C
40. Dodgers: Dalton Rushing, C, Louisville
The Dodgers had their first pick docked 10 slots because of their Competitive Balance Tax payroll. Rushing, who succeeded last year’s No. 1 pick Henry Davis as the Cardinals’ most-days catcher, boosted his stock last summer with a strong showing in the Cape Cod League. He carried that momentum over this year, homering 23 times and nearly walking as often as he struck out. Factor in a promising defensive foundation, and Rushing is an interesting catching prospect. Grade: B
40. Dodgers: Dalton Rushing, C, Louisville The Dodgers had their first pick docked 10 slots because of their Competitive Balance Tax payroll. Rushing, who succeeded last year’s No. 1 pick Henry Davis as the Cardinals’ most-days catcher, boosted his stock last summer with a strong showing in the Cape Cod League. He carried that momentum over this year, homering 23 times and nearly walking as often as he struck out. Factor in a promising defensive foundation, and Rushing is an interesting catching prospect. Grade: B.
Wander Franco left today’s game after his first plate appearance, due to what the Rays described as discomfort in the shortstop’s right hand and wrist. Franco has already been ruled out of Sunday’s game, and he is set to visit a doctor on Monday when the Rays return home after a road trip.
The situation doesn’t sound promising, as even if Franco has avoided a serious injury, another trip to the injured list could be beckoning if the Rays want to be cautious with the young star. The All-Star break could play a role in Tampa Bay’s decision, as Franco’s 10-day minimum absence could be partially absorbed by the league-wide break in the schedule. Franco already missed four weeks due to a quad strain, and wasn’t particularly productive in the weeks leading up to that last IL placement as he was trying to play through the injury. Since returning from the injured list, Franco has registered a hit in 11 of 13 games, but with only a .634 OPS over 56 plate appearances. [UPDATE: Manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters that Franco seems to have suffered a hamate bone injury, which usually requires 4-6 weeks of recovery time.]
More from around the AL East…
Today’s victory over the Angels extended the Orioles’ winning streak to seven games, and Baltimore now has a 42-44 record. After years of rebuilding, the O’s may seem a little ahead of schedule, as they find themselves on the outskirts of the wild card hunt. However, GM Mike Elias didn’t give reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) any hint that the team would be planning to add rather than subtract at the trade deadline, just saying that “everything that I do or that we do has tradeoffs, and all I can say is, we do everything from a very global, a very thoughtful perspective about what is the right thing to do for the health of the Orioles’ franchise….I think that we’re in store for a lot of good stuff in the next few years, and I’m very happy that it’s kind of reflected right now during this stretch of play so plainly for our fans.”
Elias also noted that the front office has been more focused on the upcoming amateur draft than on trade possibilities, and that the Orioles are considering five players for the first overall pick.
At this point, the Red Sox are planning to be “cautious buyers” at the deadline, a source tells Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. The 45-39 Sox hold the second AL wild card spot, though a wild card is likely the best they’ll be able to do, given how the Yankees are running away with the division. However, Abraham notes that the Red Sox have an extremely difficult schedule for the rest of July, which could impact their status to the point that the Sox might even consider selling if they fall behind in the postseason race.
CHICAGO — There were thankfully no hits involved when benches and bullpens emptied during the top of the second inning in Baltimore’s 4-1 victory over the White Sox Friday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
That disruption came after White Sox starter Michael Kopech hit Baltimore shortstop Jorge Mateo on the back with a 99 mph fastball on a 1-2 count. Unfortunately for the White Sox offense, it had exactly one more hit than zero against Austin Voth and four Baltimore relievers in the team’s third straight loss after getting to .500.
Cleveland and Minnesota lost their respective games, keeping the White Sox at 4 1/2 games behind both in the American League Central. But having Jake Burger’s run-scoring double in the second hold up as the squad’s total offense, with the final 19 White Sox being retired in order, is not workable for a team with playoff aspirations, let alone championship hopes.
“You are not really sure what the answer is,” Burger said. “There was something missing obviously. We’ve had our fair share of injuries, not to make excuses. The talent is in this room. Something is missing and we’ll figure it out.”
“After the fifth inning on, we didn’t get a baserunner, did we?” said White Sox manager Tony La Russa, whose last baserunner was Andrew Vaughn’s two-out walk in the third. “We’re better than that. We have to figure out why that’s true. I’ve got some ideas, but they’re not for me to share. It’s not acceptable.”
La Russa understood the fans’ anger over his 33-36 squad scoring one run in total against a vastly improved squad from Baltimore (33-39) which is still far from a juggernaut. As the man in charge, he took the blame.
“Less entertaining for fans to see the guys go 1-2-3 and out. It always looks bad,” said La Russa when asked about his team’s energy. “We hit some balls hard.
“But in this league, you either do or you don’t, and when you don’t, whether you’re players or the manager, you just take the heat. Fans didn’t come out to watch us get beat that easily. I take the heat for not getting us ready to play. I don’t know what else to say.”
Kopech (2-4) produced a quality start even with what he termed as less than his best stuff or a feel for it. He struck out two and walked four over six-plus innings, allowing three runs.
It was his encounter with Mateo, though, drawing just as much attention as his gritty mound performance raising his ERA to 2.59 overall. Mateo had attempted to bunt on Kopech to open the two-out at-bat, just as Cedric Mullins did successfully on the first pitch of the game.
Mullins’ bunting annoyed Kopech because of the difficulty he has had getting off the mound while recovering from right knee discomfort stemming from a 13-pitch, three-batter effort in a home start on June 12 against the Rangers. But he was more frustrated by giving up a hit on the first pitch.
“Just part of the game,” Kopech said.
White Sox second baseman Josh Harrison was hit by a Dean Kremer pitch in the right triceps area in the the fifth inning of a 4-0 loss Thursday and stayed in the game before being replaced in the field by Lenyn Sosa in the top of the sixth. X-rays were negative on Harrison, who was working to get the swelling out of the area and get range of motion, jokingly referring to said swelling on Friday by saying his triceps had a biceps on it.
That hit by pitch wasn’t intentional. The same holds true for Kopech’s pitch to Mateo.
“They took offense to it, I guess, but I’m trying to rear back and do a little bit more,” Kopech said. “Fly open, the ball got away from me. Definitely not trying to hit a guy with two strikes and two outs. Especially a guy who’s not doing too much at the plate. Situation kind of escalated, but then it settled back in.”
“I don’t know what happened there,” Mateo said. “I really don’t think it was intentional.”
After the hit-by-pitch, Mateo slowly walked toward first base with a few steps in the direction of the mound. Kopech added a few Orioles hopped on the dugout rail and started talking and that’s when it escalated.
Both teams received a warning as players returned to their respective dugouts. Mateo swiped second and scored on Richie Martin’s single to right after being hit by Kopech, giving Baltimore a 2-0 advantage. They didn’t need anything more.
“This was a rough night on both sides of the ball, but we’re fighting hard every night,” Kopech said. “When things don’t go our way, we don’t hold on to that too much. We know who we are individually. We know who we are as a team. It’s going to come around.”
June 13: John Angelos released a statement this morning that wholly rejects the notion of ever relocating the Orioles and pushes back against many of the allegations levied by his brother (Twitter link):
“…My mother was born and raised in northeast Baltimore, attended city public schools at Eastern High School, and has worked with my father their entire lives to help the city, including by restoring the club to local ownership and preventing its relocation. For them, as for me, the Orioles will forever play at Oriole Park, and at no time ever have we contemplated anything different.
Since I was appointed Chairman and CEO according to my parents’ expressed wishes, and voted as the control person for the team by the 30 Major League Clubs, I have taken significant steps to ensure that our beloved franchise’s future remains in Charm City. Just two months ago we celebrated the Maryland General Assembly passing a bill promising to put $1.2 billion into reinvesting and reimagining the Camden Yards Sports Complex, which includes Oriole Park, ensuring the team will continue to play right here in downtown Baltimore for generations to come. Maryland is committed to keeping our team in this great state, and I am equally committed to keeping the Orioles at the heart of our state. …
I want to assure our Orioles players and coaches, our dedicated front office Senior Leadership Team and staff, and our devoted fans, trusted partners, elected, civic, and non-profit leaders, and our entire community, that the Orioles will never leave.”
June 12: The hands at the levers of the Baltimore Orioles are fighting each other, according to a report from Tim Prudente and Justin Fenton of The Baltimore Banner. The piece provides details of a lawsuit wherein Louis Angelos is suing his brother John Angelos. Both men are the sons of 92-year-old Peter Angelos, who was the principal investor of a group that purchased the franchise in 1993. The lawsuit from Louis alleges that Peter intended for his two sons and Georgia, wife of Peter and mother of John and Louis, to share control of the team, but that John has since taken steps to seize control of the club against his father’s wishes.
According to the lawsuit, Peter collapsed in 2017 due to the failure of his aortic valve. It seems that, in the subsequent years, plans for succession were developed, with Peter establishing a trust with his wife and two sons as co-trustees to manage the family’s assets. Lou Angelos alleges that John has since tried to take over the reins against his brother’s wishes. “John intends to maintain absolute control over the Orioles — to manage, to sell, or, if he chooses, to move to Tennessee (where he has a home and where his wife’s career is headquartered) — without having to answer to anyone,” the complaint states.
Among Lou Angelos’ allegations is that Georgia’s priority is to sell the team, with an advisor trying to put together a sale in 2020. According to the suit, John stepped in and nixed this deal. Lou also accuses John of firing, or demanding that others fire, key front office employees, including Brady Anderson. After his playing days, Anderson served in the Baltimore front office, eventually working his way up to vice president of baseball operations. However, he departed the organization in 2019.
By November 2020, Major League Baseball’s other owners had approved John Angelos to take over as the O’s “control person,” in light of Peter’s declining health. As noted at the end of the piece, this franchise is worth an estimated $1.375 billion, according to Forbes. Prudente and Fenton also point out that, earlier this year, the Maryland State legislature passed an initiative committing $1.2 billion for upgrades to Oriole Park as well as the Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium, hoping to prevent both franchises from leaving the state. The club’s lease at Camden Yards runs through 2023, and the team has an option to extend the lease by an additional five seasons next February.
Of course, none of Lou Angelos’ allegations have been substantiated in court. It’s possible the litigation winds up being settled or dismissed before ever getting in front of a jury. Nevertheless, it is still noteworthy that one of baseball’s 30 franchises seems to be mired in turmoil at the top level, and there figures to be plenty to follow over the coming months.
The Orioles have not commented on the matter. The piece contains many details not covered here, and interested readers are encouraged to give it a thorough read in order to get the full story.
The Mariners have rarely been a team that makes good things look like they come naturally. We all want good things to come naturally, of course. They look like they come so naturally for other people and other teams.
The feeling, which is not a particularly good feeling (as feelings go), comes most frequently while scrolling social media, or while listening to someone delineate their exploits. You’ll see someone who just bought a house, or hear someone who talks about the promotion they just scored, and the feeling comes. Call it envy, or resentment, or jealousy: it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, it’s a horrific twinge as your mind tries to convince you that something might be seriously and fundamentally wrong with you, which has caused you not to achieve those things.
Of course, that feeling doesn’t hold up after a few seconds of clear-eyed reasoning. You see the new house on social media, but not the 7% interest mortgage on a 30-year fixed term. The promotion sounds great, but those 70-hour work weeks don’t sound great.
The problem is that the analogy doesn’t exactly hold when you try to apply it to the Mariners. Trust me: I’ve tried every cognitive gymnastic in the book in order to try to justify how my Mariners fandom will ever start bringing me returns on my investment. Oh, those other teams had to spend $200 million to win the World Series. Not my money. Okay, well, they had to tank in order to get there. Sure, but they got there.
The coping has turned inward as the Mariners have inched further and further down in the standings. Their strength of schedule has been really hard! Their xwOBA has been much higher than their overall wOBA! The bullpen will turn it around! Et cetera, et cetera.
This month has been the initial litmus test of the first assertion: that the Mariners will look better when they start playing worse competition. Unfortunately, it didn’t go great against the Oakland A’s last week, as the Mariners dropped the series to their pitiful, tanking Bay-area rivals.
This series, then, was a must-win by any stretch of the imagination. Injuries be damned — if the team can’t win against the perennially cellar-dwelling Orioles, they’re probably not going places this season.
After a win in the first game, yesterday’s meltdown turned today into a rubber match that probably looked like a joke to most of Major League Baseball, but felt urgently important for its implications to Jerry Dipoto’s upcoming State of the Team address (if only).
It didn’t start great. A Jesse Winker TOOTBLAN cost the Mariners a run in the first inning, and Chris Flexen continued a worrying stretch of middling command as he gave up a string of singles that gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead.
Thankfully, the Mariners’ opponent was the Baltimore freakin’ Orioles, after all. Taylor Trammell continued his great start to his season with a double to lead off the third inning, and a Winker single brought him home. Later, with Luis Torrens on third base, Julio Rodríguez showed off his speed yet again as he stole second and forced a throwing error that allowed Torrens to score, tying the game at 2-2.
More icky singles and doubles in the bottom of the third made the game 3-2, Orioles. On that note, it’s been striking how different it feels to watch Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, or Marco Gonzales, versus watching… any other Mariners pitcher. The Logan/Kirby/Marco experience is fun. The any-other-pitcher experience ranges from milquetoast to actively harmful to an observer’s health.
Thankfully, the M’s finally put together a big inning in the sixth. Three straight singles from Julio, J.P. Crawford, and Eugenio Súarez ultimately set the stage for an Adam Frazier sacrifice fly and a Torrens two-RBI single to put the Mariners up 6-3.
The most frustrating thing about the 2022 Mariners, unfortunately, has been their propensity to blow leads. Tonight’s goat of the bullpen was Matt Festa, who recorded one (1) out, two (2) hit batters, and one (1) hard-hit double. Woof. Paul Sewald was summoned to limit the damage, but an unfortunate Cedric Mullens double allowed both of his inherited runners to score and tie the game.
Of course, with the game now tied, both bullpens began to look exemplary. Sewald threw another inning of pristine relief, and Andres Muñoz did the same. Two amorphous Orioles relievers kept the Mariners off the board through nine, and to extra innings we went. As has been the case with every game so far this season, the Mariners’ season was on the line.
Adam Frazier began the tenth by grounding out to the right side, allowing Súarez, who tonight played the part of the Manfred Runner, to advance to third base. Not that that mattered. Abraham Toro, who also had a couple of exemplary plays at third base tonight, cracked the first fastball he saw out to deep center.
A less dead ball might have carried more than the 411 feet that this one did. Eighteen other baseball fields would have allowed it to escape their walls. But though it didn’t quite make it over the fence, the ball did make it over the outstretched glove of Cedric Mullens. Ricocheting off the top of the wall, the ball careened into center field far enough for Toro to coast into third base with an RBI triple.
The Mariners, unfortunately, weren’t able to score Toro from third, so the Orioles got their shot in the bottom of the tenth with the game-tying Manfred Runner on second base.
It would have been game-tying, anyway, if Diego Castillo hadn’t pitched the game of his season so far.
Two sliders, a fastball, and a final slider to Austin Hays culminated in a swing-and-a-miss for strike three.
Five straight sliders to Ryan Mountcastle ended in the exact same way.
Adley Rutschman, to his credit, had enough discipline to work a 3-0 count against Castillo. Castillo fought back though, ultimately inducing a line drive into the shift to seal the game and strand the abomination that is the Manfred Runner at second base.
So it was that the Mariners scratched, hustled, and gave their all just to eke out a 7-6 game win and a 2-1 series win against one of the worst teams in the league.
As with any Mariners game, though, it didn’t matter. Gone was my angst over the implications the game had for the rest of the Mariners’ season, or what the way the game played out said about who the Mariners are as a team. Those are the thoughts that tend to fester over the course of the day, in the hours leading up to the actual game.
No, as Abraham Toro grinned in his postgame interview, I didn’t have the inclination nor the energy to care about the fancy new houses the Dodgers and the Mets are living in, nor the brilliance the Rays seem to be inherently gifted with.
The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of top prospect Adley Rutschman. Anthony Bemboom has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Of course, this is a day that baseball fans in Baltimore and elsewhere have been looking forward to for quite some time. Even before he was a member of the Orioles organization, Rutschman was tantalizing the baseball world with his performance at Oregon State, shooting up draft boards and considered by many to be the top player available in the 2019 draft. Baseball America, for instance, gave him the #1 slot that year, with their report noting that the switch-hitting catcher had essentially every skill necessary to succeed going forward. Hitting for average, hitting for power, taking walks, strong arm, good receiving and blocking, he had all the tools except speed, which is hardly surprising for a catcher. “He is the best catching prospect since Buster Posey in 2008 and Matt Wieters in 2007,” their report concluded.
Although there were reports that the O’s were considering other players with the first overall selection in the 2019 draft, such as Bobby Witt Jr., Andrew Vaughn and JJ Bleday, it never seemed like there was much chance of anyone usurping Rutschman. When the big day finally rolled around, Rutschman was indeed the first player off the board.
Due to the struggles of the big league club, Rutschman instantly became the light at the end of the tunnel for Baltimore fans. The Orioles finished last in the AL East in both 2017 and 2018, and were in the process of repeating that feat when Rutschman was drafted in 2019. They somehow slipped past the Red Sox and into fourth place in the shortened 2020 season, but were back down in the basement in 2021, and also posted the worst record in baseball again (tied with the Diamondbacks). That means they have the first overall selection in the draft yet again this summer. With nothing inspiring happening at the big league level, all hopes were pinned on the stars in the farm system that would make up the next great Orioles team, with Rutschman being front and center.
Baseball America ranked Rutschman the fifth-best prospect in all of baseball in 2021, then bumping him up to #2 last year and #1 this year. He’s also considered the best prospect in baseball by FanGraphs, Kiley McDaniels of ESPN and Keith Law of The Athletic.
It’s been an atypical rise through the minors for the 24-year-old. It started out normal enough, with Rutschman getting into 37 games in the lower levels of the Orioles’ system in the months after the draft. But the pandemic wiped out the minor leagues in 2020, meaning he wasn’t able to play in any official organized games. But that missed season didn’t slow him down any, as his 2021 proved the hype was for real. In 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 23 home runs and produced an overall batting line of .285/.397/.502, walking at a 14.5% rate and striking out only 16.6% of the time. That all adds up to a wRC+ of 144, or 44% better than league average.
The Orioles did little to block his path to the big leagues this offseason. The catchers who got playing time behind the plate in 2021 were all jettisoned from the roster. Pedro Severino, Austin Wynns and Nick Ciuffo were all outrighted at season’s end and Chance Sisco was claimed off waivers by the Mets. There was a time in the offseason that the club actually had no catchers on the 40-man roster, although they eventually signed Robinson Chirinos to be in the mix.
Once the new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to and the lockout ended in March, it seemed there was a chance Rutschman could crack the Opening Day roster. The new CBA featured incentives to try and discourage teams from holding their best prospects down in the minors at the beginning of a season in order to manipulate their service time and gain an extra year of control over their services. Unfortunately, Rutschman suffered a triceps strain in mid-March that put him on the shelf for a few weeks, ending any chance of him being ready for the season opener. After recuperating from that injury, he made his 2022 debut in the minors on April 26 and has spent the past four weeks getting back into game shape. In 19 games this year across three different levels, he’s hitting .309/.427/.515, 159 wRC+, walking in 13.4% of his plate appearances while striking out in just 8.5% of them.
There are about 137 days remaining in the season, meaning he will be unable to accrue the 172 days necessary to count as a full year. There is a provision in the new CBA that grants a full year of service time to the top two finishers in Rookie of the Year voting, though it will be difficult for Rutschman to take that path now, given that his competitors in that race have a six-week headstart on him. Jeremy Pena has already produced 1.8 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, with various other rookies sitting at 0.8, such as Bobby Witt Jr. and Julio Rodriguez. Assuming Rutschman isn’t able to catch up and finishes this season with less than a year of service time, the O’s will control his services through the 2028 season, though he does have a very good shot at qualifying for arbitration after the 2024 season as a Super Two player. (The Super Two cutoff moves from year to year but has only been above 2.137 three times since 2009, with the last instance coming back in 2012.) Now that he’s reached the big time, the club will be hoping that he and the other prospects that are still to come will help the Orioles start turning the page from rebuilding to competing over those coming years.
With Rutschman injured to start the year, the club selected Bemboom’s contract, pairing him with Chirinos as the club’s catching duo. In 22 games on the year, he’s hit a meager .115/.207/.212. Since he’s out of options, the club had little choice but to designate him for assignment in order to make room for their star prospect. Bemboom will likely hit the waiver wire in the coming days and see if there’s another club in the league that’s interested in his services.
