The Orioles announced Tuesday that catcher Jesus Sucre accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk after clearing outright waivers. He’ll remain in the organization but will no longer require a 40-man spot for the time being.
Sucre, who was designated for assignment over the weekend as part of a series of roster moves, inked a minor league pact with the O’s back in February but broke camp as the team’s primary backstop. In 67 plate appearances prior to that DFA, he hit .210/.269/.242 with a pair of doubles.
He’s never been much with the bat, as evidenced by a lifetime .222/.260/.302 slash line in 721 Major League plate appearances, but the defensive-minded Sucre went 4-for-8 in thwarting stolen-base attempts in his short time with the Orioles. Framing metrics weren’t particularly bullish on Sucre in his tiny sample of work this season, but he’s received quality marks in that regard in the past.
With Sucre joining Chance Sisco in Triple-A, the Orioles are relying on Austin Wynns and Pedro Severino behind the plate, though that duo’s grip on their respective 25-man roster spots is hardly ironclad. Severino, a waiver claim who is out of minor league options, has hit well in 47 PAs but had a career .560 OPS prior to being claimed by Baltimore. Wynns, meanwhile, is already 28 and has never hit much above the Double-A level. That said, with Sisco struggling in Norfolk, it doesn’t seem that there’s any current impetus for a change behind the plate at the big league level.
LongTimeFan1
The orioles could conceivably consider Travis d’Arnaud.
jbigz12
I doubt that. Severino’s been good and they like Wynns. I don’t think they’re giving up on sisco yet either.
scarfish
Wonder how long it is before they call up Mountcastle. Also I got to catch a Shorebirds game earlier this year and saw Grayson Rodriguez pitch-O’s fans should get excited for that dude.
mstrchef13
Not any time soon. He has no position, and the O’s have people they like at the DH/1B spots (Mancini, Davis, Nunez). I’d be shocked if he were with the big club any sooner than August 1.
jbigz12
If elias/Hyde won’t play Nunez at 3rd there’s no way Mountcastle is playing. I’d like him to develop some patience at the plate in the minor leagues before he gets called up also. To be honest with you I think he’s a tad overhyped considering he has no defensive position.
jbigz12
And when I say overhyped that doesn’t mean he won’t be a quality player. It’s just that I believe he got a lot of prospect steam behind him early on because he was a young SS that could hit. He’s now a young ?? At all defensive positions. He can hit but he hasn’t really raked. Where as you had a guy like Mancini who was a stronger offensive player in the minors but never received nearly as much hype. As far as skills go the two are very similar and that would obviously be a very solid outcome for Mountcastle. It’s just that he’s been a consensus top 100 guy for a long time and I think without a position that’s a bit high for a guy whose bat has to carry him.
dimitrios in la
Yes every report on Grayson I’m getting these days is quite glowing. I’m excited to actually see him pitch.
BravesCanada
Sugar Jesus
andrewf
How many losses will the Orioles have?
Ironman_4life
99
carlote
199
dimitrios in la
Sounds about right. But good things can and are still happening.
jbigz12
We’re on pace to lose more than 99. I don’t see any reason to believe this team will improve once we start selling off our productive veterans. I’ll say 104.
TreyMancini
Who’s actually going to trade for them though? The team should in fact improve as the year goes on, as prospects crack the big league team.
At best, we trade Givens, Mancini, and Fry. That’s not really a huge sell-off. We’ll be adding Hays for sure, likely Mountcastle, Akin, and Diaz too.
scarfish
Also in regards to the orioles’ catcher woes, it makes it all the more plausible that they peg Adley Rutschman 1/1 in the draft
Michael Chaney
Adley might be the first pick anyway because he’s just that good, but teams should never draft for need in baseball (especially since you’re looking a few years down the road anyway).
That’s how you get picks like Jeff Clement and Tony Sanchez that don’t work out.
lookouts
But when the arguably best player in the draft happens to fill a need, then you take him.
jbigz12
Yeah I agree with you completely, Michael. And the orioles have just about every position as a need at this point. We’re strongest in the OF as far as prospect depth goes but it isn’t like we couldn’t take another one there. Rutschman is the guy but the position should have little to do with it. We really need everything. It is a ground up rebuild.
lookouts
Yup, lots of needs. no doubt. If Sisco was tearing it up in the minors, would there even be a question of taking Rutchsman? I mean, I understand there happens to be a shortstop out there who’s pretty good.
TreyMancini
If the scouting department thinks Rutchsman is the best player, then they should take him period, regardless of how Sisco is doing. Worst case scenario, you trade sisco for another player of equivalent status.
scarfish
Plus as a college guy they can get him for further under slot than a prep player to boot giving them more coins to play with on high ceiling picks later on
lookouts
You think Rutchsman is going to sign for under slot?
TreyMancini
Probably. He doesn’t have much leverage in this. A high school guy can threaten to go to college, what’s Rutschman going to do, threaten to go back to college? Unlikely.
jbigz12
He’s not going to sign for over slot. That’s pretty much a lock. Whether he gets the full slot or less is up in the air. Either way he won’t be going over which may not be true for Witt who obviously has more flexibility at 18.
Michael Chaney
I appreciate it, jbigz12. I’m a firm believer in drafting by BPA (especially in baseball), and I think Adley is probably the best guy in the draft at this point, but they should pick him *because* he’s the best player and not because he’s a catcher.
The Indians, for instance, seem to hoard guys who can play center every year in the draft. I like that rationale; get the best player available, and worry about where to play them later. Some guys outgrow a position, some don’t pan out, and if there’s really a surplus in the end then you can make a trade.
scarfish
also as a follow up, I haven’t seen much of adley play but I’ve watched Bleday hit in person and guy can absolutely mash. he’d be a lock to launch moonshots in Camden Yards and come at a huge discount too
lookouts
I’ve heard of him, but not terribly familiar. Please tell us more.
mstrchef13
I’m not going to consider a guy who whiffs in roughly 25% of his at bats in college as a candidate for the first overall pick, I don’t care how many homers he hits.
scarfish
Wasn’t familiar with the K peripherals. And to continue playing devils advocate he’s also not gonna steal you (m)any bases and plays corner OF. I’m in SEC territory so I’ve just gotten a lot of looks at the guy this year and the bat does play. But yeah at the end of the day he’s not a 1/1 just speculating
bobcavic
You gotta love a player whose name loosely translates to “Sweet Jesus”.