The Orioles announced a flurry of roster moves in the aftermath of today’s trade deadline this evening. The club has selected the contract of second baseman Terrin Vavra and placed infielder Jorge Mateo on the 60-day injured list, while left-hander Matt Krook was designated for assignment. Perhaps most notable among this flurry of roster moves is a report from Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner that top prospect Jackson Holliday is set to join the team in Baltimore, although Kostka notes it’s not yet clear whether or not he’ll be formally added to the roster just yet.
Holliday, 20, was the first overall pick in the 2022 draft and entered the 2024 season as the consensus top prospect in baseball. He made his MLB debut back in April but looked overmatched in the majors at the time, slashing just .059/.111/.059 in 36 trips to the plate across ten games before returning to Triple-A. Holliday hit .252/.418/.429 over his next 40 games in his return to the minors, a solid overall slash line but a far cry from what Holliday had done in the past. His production in early June was especially troubling, as he hit just .212 with a 26.7% strikeout rate and a .394 slugging percentage in ten games before being placed on the minor league IL due to what the club referred to at the time as a “barking” shoulder.
Fortunately, the young phenom returned to action after just two weeks and has looked more like himself at the plate, slashing an excellent .273/.426/.507 in 101 trips to the plate since coming off the shelf. Holliday was initially restricted to DH-only duties upon his return but has gradually begun to mix in time on the infield dirt in recent days, with six of his past nine games coming at either second base or shortstop. Even if the Orioles don’t yet feel Holliday is ready for everyday reps in the field, a deep mix of infield talent that also includes Ramon Urias and Vavra should allow them to offer Holliday as much rest as he needs while still allowing him to be their regular second baseman.
Should Holliday prove to be ready for the show upon his return to the club’s roster, it will help to assuage concerns regarding how the Orioles will make up for the losses of Mateo and Connor Norby, the latter of whom was shipped alongside Kyle Stowers to Miami in exchange for lefty Trevor Rogers earlier today. Mateo has been a serviceable but unspectacular second baseman for Baltimore this year, slashing .229/.267/.401 with an 86 wRC+ and middling defensive numbers and 13 stolen bases in 68 games for the club this year. A useful utility player with the ability to backup every spot on the diamond except for first base and catcher, the Orioles are sure to miss Mateo even as he was likely to be pushed out of the regular lineup by Holliday regardless of the left elbow subluxation that figures to keep him sidelined until at least late September.
Also helping to fill the void up the middle is Vavra, who missed most of the 2024 season due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder and was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster back in November. He’s remained with the club in the minors since then and sports a respectable .269/.377/.423 slash line in 123 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level since returning from injury. Vavra struggled badly prior to his surgery last year but in 2022 posted a solid 99 wRC+ in 103 trips to the plate with the Orioles. Vavra offers the club an additional left-handed bat for their bench mix capable of playing both outfield corners as well as second and third base.
As for Krook, the lefty has pitched just one inning in the majors since the club acquired him from the Yankees back in February to act as optionable bullpen depth from the left side. That brief appearance did not go well, as he allowed three runs (two earned) on a walk and home run while striking out two in his lone appearance. Meanwhile, his results at Triple-A have been somewhat middling as he’s pitched to a 4.11 ERA in 35 innings at the level with a strong 27% strikeout rate that’s held back by his massive 16.4% walk rate. The Orioles will now have one week to attempt to pass Krook through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, the Orioles will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues to act as non-roster depth.
Have 3 drinks and try to recite the O’s current 26-man roster
They did A LOT of tinkering for a team already in such a good position
The roster reads like an AYSO team.
Jackson, Grayson, Colton, Coby, Heston, Gunnar, and Adley come get your orange slices.
Don’t forget Sammy he’s the kid that skipped a few grades
Orioles vs Dodgers looks like a good WS matchup
You mean Guardians
Totally not the Guardians”
Guarindians*
mpg;
Don’t sleep on the Guardians. Like the mid-2010’s Royals they work around a killer bullpen. They have over a 95% win rate if they’re up in a game after 6 innings….around 90% after 5 innings.
They have the best winning percentage in the AL. Just took 2 of 3 from the Phillies in Philadelphia (the only team in MLB with a winning percentage higher than theirs); then ran over the Tigers for 2 games. Starting a 4 game series with the O’s in Baltimore on Thursday. Will be infesting to watch.
Impossible, the Guardians are in the AL so the Orioles can’t play them in the world series
The orioles aren’t the unstoppable force they looked like through the first 60-70 games of the season but they’re definitely better than the guardians post-deadline.
The came up with the most ridiculous team name when there was nothing wrong with the old one.
The old one was in poor taste at best. Racist at worst. It was time for a change. Some cultural sensitivity hurts no one. A big red-faced stereotype caricature on the other hand… well that just perpetrates that kind of garbage. I generally find it’s only garbage humans who don’t recognize this.
You name teams after something strong you want to emulate. Tigers, Bears, Lions, Braves. No one is naming their team the pansies. You people that are so easily offended are weak. Long live the Indians.
Was totally going to watch Peter Pan and decided to cancel myself. If we keep erasing our history how will we learn from it? Redskins screams racism and bigotry, while Indians screams uneducated or tone deaf. I agree the name is “tasteless”, and I will leave it at that. Please dont call people garbage just because they don’t know any better.
Garbage like yourself. You don’t know anything about anything so you have to tell everyone what’s in your VERY tiny mind.
“Indians” wasn’t racist. You’re just hypersensitive to the P.C. police.
Last season’s WS featured 2 WC teams.
Won’t happen (and I’m an Orioles fan)
Would love to see some love for the Orioles or Padres, but MLB wants a Yankees vs Dodgers finals.
It will happen in 4 years or so, orioles are naturally superior and dominant compared to pigeons so pigeons are being systemically excluded
Baltimore pigeons
Neither will be there.
Well, if Holliday is added to the active roster, then egg on my face. I thought for sure the Norby subtraction would merit another righty in Mayo.
Elias wants to keep Mayo in Norfolk until the point when he will still qualify has a rookie in ‘25. Call it the Gunnar treatment from back in ‘22.
You won’t see him until late Aug/early Sep…whatever that date is where he cannot accrue more than 30 days on the active roster.
That’s fine, the more draft picks Elias gets, the happier most of the Mid-Atlantic will be long-term.
I can also understand not wanting to deal with yet another debut adjustment period with Kjerstad only hitting .111 since the Clay Holmes HBP and Holliday’s early struggles. Not a good time to break in another rookie.
This didn’t age well
Elias has take the oath of The Wall.
They’re holding the Mayo for now
Why do I think 4 moves ain’t all they need to make?
.273 is an excellent average?!
Perhaps you missed the .426 OBP and .507 slugging numbers that come together for a tidy little .933 OPS? The piece did reference an excellent slash which does include more than just the BA.
Having just watched him in Norfolk, the leg kick still looks too big to me and he seems to be behind on a lot of sub-MLB caliber fastballs even in AAA. We will see.
Thanks for your scouting report
Nobody missed the great OPS. He specifically asked about .273 being an excellent average. The correct answer is it’s a really good average but not excellent.
“He specifically asked about .273 being an excellent average.”
The article above says that the slash line is “excellent”. Nowhere in the article did it say that .273 was an excellent average. OP read it wrong, hyperventilated about it, and now you’re compounding the confusion. Scroll up and read, my friend.
No rct, no confusion. He asked a question and I answered the way it needed to be answered. Seems you’re more bent out of shape because I answered his question properly. Follow along. Thanks.
The league as a whole is hitting .243 so yes.
That’s a very crowded box.
Welcome back. LFG.
Where are the Orioles going to find at bats for Jimenez? First base and DH are already a crowded mess@
That’s a valid question. I think Kjerstad gets demoted, maybe Vavra goes right back where he came from too. Or they DFA Pache and try to slip him through waivers (which should work… who actually wants that guy).
Burch Smith is probably on the chopping block. Maybe Akin since he has an option left. It’s just hard to fathom how they squeeze two more position players on, plus G. Soto & Rogers, without moving Kjerstad down a level. Again. Which would be a nice reset for him and also give the RH new guys a try-out period, then keep the best one and cut the other loose. Not unlike what they did with that lefty 1B extravaganza the spring before last.
Kjerstad partially cost them a game the other day trying to play the LF in Camden Yards (along with Gunner running into Ramón Urías on a pop fly which was clearly Urias’ play to make). A ball Hays would have had easily had Kjerstad turn the wrong way once or twice going to the wall; then facing forward and stepping backwards where he threw his glove up and the ball bounced off it. Turned the game around.
The O’s defensive coaches can work with him. But he’s their only clunker on D (at least until Elroy suits up). He appears to be a impact hitter in the making, but he’s too tall, stiff, unathletic and slow to successfully play a major league OF – especially LF in Camden which is as big and deep as most CF’s. Have doubts he can even be made into a 1B, but he’s young, so we’ll see. Probably a full-time DH.
Hadn’t considered him being sent down this year, but I think you’re correct.
I feel bad for players like kjerstad, with normal teams once he’s called up he will probably stay in the big leagues with that prospect pedigree but since he’s on the stacked orioles, he gets sent to AAAA purgatory by constantly getting called up and sent down
Platoon DH against lefties
But – Rutschman crushes lefties and hits better when he DHs. Also Santander basically cannot be out of the lineup and slots in there some. Food for thought. It’s not a cut & dry answer. How to get him playing time is indeed a valid question.
Pretty flexible at dh because O’Hearn plays OF and 1b. He’s a righty bench bat. Start at dh here and there against lefties.
I don’t think they’re trying to play him very often. Maybe one start a week with some pinch hitting duty.
I agree, but they do have to give him some sort of leash for his bat to stay viable and/or make changes a la Ryan O’Hearn.
Figures – he played hurt during the start of season but didn’t tell the team he was hurt.
Not unexpected.
The Os played the trade market well. Needed pitching depth and got it. They had the chips to overpay, which suited for this 2024 market design. Kept the players they believe have a longer positive impact to the org, freed up some prospect logjams, and acquired proven guys for immediate pitching depth.
O’s did well. They’re in it for the long haul. Rays took a step back and O’s filled in for AL East competition.
And of the four pitchers they acquired, all of them are controllable through 2025 as well. Rogers for a year thereafter.
The O’s FO is extremely well organized, methodical, practical, and reasonable in what they do and what
they expect out of their coaches and players. They’re
patient to a point; but if the players don’t produce
they’ll move on.
They also showed the guys down at the farm. That they will find them places to play if not with big club then another club.
They could.have really upgraded the BP with this guy…..
BPs count for a lot in October.
You are just absolutely….no fun. No fun at all.
Good 4Jackson, figured he’d be back. Bet he sticks this time n rides w/O’s all the way through play-offs. Picked up cpl nice Ps too. Go Orioles !
Good for Terrin, figured he’d be back. When healthy, he played well for the parent club (2022). Super sub utility type that embraces that role.
Bust
Such a stupid comment
Why do young players hide injuries? There is something obviously off with Henderson. There was something off Hollidays first go around too.
I wouldn’t say that. There’s often drop-offs with second halves, with huge breakouts.
A lot of times it’s literally just pitchers have stopped pitching to them, and they haven’t yet found a way to adjust to that new scenario. If you think about it, that level of MVP-esque pitch-around is only given to just a handful of players around the league. Gunnar is definitely still adjusting. He’s not getting as much to hit lately, and his teammates during recent ruts haven’t been able to make them pay for it.