The Orioles announced that they have claimed right-hander Liam Hendriks of waivers from the Cubs. The Cubs claimed Hendriks just days prior after he was designated for assignment by the Twins to make room for Phil Hughes on the 40-man roster.
The soon-to-be 25-year-old ranked sixth and seventh on the Baseball America's Top 10 Twins prospects lists from 2010-11 and has a solid minor league history. The Australian righty has a 3.61 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 254 career innings at Triple-A and a career 2.99 ERA in the minors as a whole.
Hendriks has been unable to put it together in three Major League stints, however, as evidenced by his bloated 6.06 ERA in 156 innings. He's averaged 5.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in those 156 frames to go along with a below-average 40.4 percent ground-ball rate. Hendriks barely averages better than 90 mph on his fastball, leading to too much hard contact when it's in the zone, as evidenced by a 23.3 percent line-drive rate from his opponents that has helped bloat his career BABIP to .330.
After claiming Hendriks, the Orioles now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.
I had no idea he was even on waivers again. I don’t know the Cubs situation, but kind of surprised that they would give up on a guy who is young, when they are rebuilding too. The NL switch may have helped him.
Obviously they needed/wanted that roster spot badly since Hendriks still has an option left.
It’s not surprising at all. It happens every year. Teams pick up guys off waivers as teams are dropping players off the 40-man in the run up to the Winter Meetings and Rule 5 draft. After the draft and a slew of pre-Christmas free agent signings, most teams approach the 40-man limit. This allows for the opportunity, in some cases, to slip a guy through waivers in order to outright him to Triple-A without using up a roster spot. Some guys slip through, others guys get swiped. It’s quite possible that Baltimore isn’t his final destination, either, but they happened to be sitting on a pair of openings on their 40-man.
This doesn’t mean, as some people seem to suggest, that the Orioles intend to use Hendriks in the big league rotation or that they intend to even keep him. It just means they had an available roster spot and so they placed the claim with no cost to them. It’s not that big of a deal. These 4A guys get flipped around all winter.
It’s surprising to me in the fact that they can send him to AAA on his last option year. The Cubs rotation is likely full, unless there is a battle for the number 5 spot. Hendriks is almost never going to slip through. I think any team with an open spot would take a chance on him, as we are seeing so far. He may be terrible in MLB, but he has a good/great minor league track record and is still young.
He was never going to clear waivers for the Cubs. Never. Just like he was never going to clear it for the Twins. Seems it was more of a “we don’t want this guy at all” move, which again is still surprising for the Cubs to do. I would think they’d want to take a chance on a fairly young guy and add depth.
Sending him to Triple A doesn’t clear him from the 40-man roster. He was the last man on and therefore the first man off when the Cubs needed that spot to make another waiver claim on a pitcher they liked a little bit better. He’s going to be in the same situation with the Orioles. This waiver wire dance in December happens every year with pitchers exactly like Hendricks. It’s typically zero sum, although occasionally one of those guys develops into a major league contributor down the road. It’s rare enough, though, that no one should scratch their head. It’s simple accounting. Nothing gained and nothing lost for the Cubs.
I know how waivers work. Still surprising for a young guy with upside.
I guess this is how the Orioles are going to address their starting rotation.
Fun…
Are we really going to complain about every minor move the O’s make?
You used to seem so much more informed on the Sun boards, nb.
Frustration appears to have gotten the best of me, friend.
The O’s didn’t make any major additions after 2012, and they haven’t yet made a major addition this winter.
Angelos said he would open the checkbook when the time was right. If the time isn’t right now, it’s never going to be.
In short, I’ll stop complaining about the minor moves when they actually make a major move.
There’s still time left but this is a horrendous offseason thus far. Last year’s was bad too. I think a lot of people in Baltimore are wondering if DD is just riding MacPhail’s coat-tails. Time will tell.
Lots of claims today. Must be the last chance to get your waiver claims in before Christmas!
Is “Duquette” French for “recycle”, because the O’s are sure picking up a lot of recycled players from the recycle bin.
Good thing Camden Yards is a pitchers ballpark
Destined for the bullpen at best.
O’s are gonna get their Aussie pitcher no matter what it takes.
The orioles should be chasing the Yankees and Red Sox. Instead, they’re trying to become the marlins.
What do you mean trying to become? =P
Proves the Orioles aren’t against Aussies! (Balfour is an Aussie, right?)
Yes. The O’s also love former Twins, though Balfour isn’t going there.