The Orioles announced they’ve designated right-hander Shaun Anderson and infielder Domingo Leyba for assignment. The moves were needed to clear 40-man roster space for the previously reported selections of right-handers Marcos Diplán and Dusten Knight.
Anderson has bounced around the league on waivers over the past few months and is now slated to again find himself on the wire. Traded from the Giants to the Twins in a lopsided deal that sent LaMonte Wade Jr. to San Francisco, he’s been waived by Minnesota, Texas and now Baltimore in rather rapid succession. He never pitched in the big leagues with the Rangers, but he’s combined for 18 2/3 relief innings of 9.16 ERA/5.23 SIERA ball between the Twins and Orioles this season.
The 26-year-old has yet to find much success at the major league level over parts of three campaigns. Anderson broke in as a starting pitcher with the Giants in 2019 but has worked exclusively out of the bullpen over the past two seasons. Overall, he’s logged a 5.75 ERA across 130 frames, posting worse than average strikeout and walk rates (17.3% and 10.1%, respectively).
That said, Anderson has clearly piqued the interest of a number of teams around the league. He was once a fairly well-regarded prospect, and he’s pitched to a solid 3.61 ERA over parts of three Triple-A campaigns. Anderson can be optioned for the remainder of this season and next, so he’d be a flexible depth option for a pitching staff if another club is willing to give him a 40-man roster spot. The former third-round pick has been claimed by teams near the top of the waiver priority list both times he’s previously been designated, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him land elsewhere over the next few days.
Baltimore added Leyba off waivers from the Diamondbacks in early June. The 25-year-old has seen action at both second and third base but stumbled to a .115/.198/.161 line over 96 plate appearances between the two teams. Leyba is out of options, so any claiming team would need to keep him on the active roster or waive him themselves. Arizona passed him through outright waivers last November, so Leyba has the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency should he clear again.
The O’s will likely need to make another move in the coming days. Southpaw Ryan Hartman, claimed off waivers from the Astros over the weekend, was placed on the COVID-19 injured list while he goes through intake protocols. That temporarily opened space for Baltimore to reinstate infielder Richie Martin from the 60-day IL on Monday. Once Hartman is cleared to report to the team, the Orioles will have to create additional 40-man roster space.
lilpartialbaldo
For some reason Makes me think of that Danzig song Mother.
JohnJasoJingleHeimerSchmidt
The LaMonte Wade Jr trade looks better every single day.
geg42
He even got a hit against a left hander. Hope the back isn’t too big of an issue.
bobtillman
GMs all over MLB falling over themselves breathlessly waiting for them to go on waivers.
Can’t believe this wasn’t the headline on mlb.com.
DolphLundgren
Hell yeah, Knight and Diplan.
Gotta get excited about somethin’.
nyy17 2
Hopefully Domingo will be back in the big leagues before Leyba Day.
tstats
You win you win you win, this is an amazing comment
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
Anderson was pitching like Shaun of the Dead, ERA was over 9.00 after about 36 innings.
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
My bad, 18 innings. My eyesight. is about as good as Andersons.
Monkey’s Uncle
Pitching is a Leyba of love for Domingo.