The Cubs have traded infielder Luis Vazquez, whom they designated for assignment earlier in the week, to the Orioles in exchange for cash, the teams announced. Baltimore has designated fellow infielder Emmanuel Rivera for assignment to create space on the 40-man roster.
The 25-year-old Vazquez made his big league debut with the Cubs in 2024, though he only appeared in 11 games and went 1-for-12 in a small sample of 14 plate appearances. He hit .263/.347/.432 in Triple-A, about four percent better than average, by measure of wRC+. That marked his second season with the Cubs’ top affiliate in Iowa. He’s posted slightly better-than-average offense in both seasons there while walking at an 11.6% clip against a 22.5% strikeout rate. In 543 plate appearances in Des Moines, he’s popped 17 homers and gone 7-for-12 in stolen base attempts.
Primarily a shortstop, Vazquez ranked 16th among Cubs farmhands at Baseball America just one year ago. BA touted him as the best defensive infielder in the Cubs’ minor league ranks while praising some offensive strides he began to display after years of light hitting in the lower minors. Vazquez has multiple minor league option years remaining and gives the O’s a utility option who can back up at multiple positions or simply be stashed in Norfolk as a depth piece.
Rivera, 28, joined the O’s as an August waiver claim from the Marlins. He logged 73 plate appearances down the stretch with Baltimore and torched opponents with a .313/.370/.578 batting line and four homers. That type of production was largely out of line with Rivera’s career .244/.306/.369 output, however. He’s long been viewed as a glove-first third baseman with modest power and plodding speed. Defensive metrics soured on his glovework at the hot corner in 2024’s 611 innings, but he has above-average marks in overall in 2005 career innings.
Even with that torrid hot streak following his waiver claim, Rivera looked like a non-tender candidate entering the winter. The O’s instead opted to tender him a contract and sign him to a $1MM salary. That salary could now help him pass through waivers if the O’s don’t find a trade partner in the next five days. Rivera is out of options, so any team that acquires or claims him would need to be willing to carry him on the Opening Day roster or else try to pass him through waivers themselves. If Rivera goes unclaimed, he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, but doing so would mean forfeiting any guaranteed salary; he’d likely accept the assignment and stick with the O’s while hoping for a call to the majors at some point early in the season.
Luis Arraez jump scare
Not the orioles news we want
It’s coming, don’t worry.
In the form of…
A trade for a TOR SP and another bullpen signing.
SP from Toronto you think?
Top Of Rotation, sorry.
I doubt either of those things happen and that’s okay. The team is plenty solid enough already to get to the trade deadline in playoff position and make further upgrades for the playoffs then if it is still needed.
with our rotation will WILL need upgrades
It’s certainly possible, and it wouldn’t shock me at all, but I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion, especially with Bradish and Wells on track for second half returns.
King from San Diego??? Curious what it would cost…
Grayson Rodriguez is entering his second year, at age 25, with all of 200ish inning’s.
It’s not crazy to think he’ll take step forward like Bradish did, and become TOR like.
Every other Orioles prospect gets tons of attention while the Grayson slips peoples minds often. He was the #1 pitching prospect when Adley was the top position prospect.
Grayson gets Cy Young votes this year.
I’d rather have Rivera but it’s really unlikely either guy would see much time in Baltimore unless we get a freakish amount of injuries again this year.
Maybe he clears waivers, but his scorching finish to 2024 might convince somebody to take a look at him for a bench role.
Hey Vasquez you ever get mistaken for a man?
Just watched that again the other day.
What a classic, they don’t ’em like that anymore.
“Excuse me sir, what sort of chicken sh@t outfit is this anyway?!”
RIP Bill Paxton. Gone way too soon.
{{The Directors Cut…there’s like 45 minutes of Cut film, it’s insane; Newt’s parents; auto-turret sentry guns massacre. James Cameron at his finest of blowing budgets and making massive films…before he was ‘allowed’ to do those things, lol}}
For sure. Never realized how much the Ripley’s daughter cut subplot would have elevated the film as it shines new light on why she’s so protective of Newt. It works without it, but it would have really enriched the storytelling. Tough cut. But alas, Newt dies unceremoniously 5 mins later so whatever.
Sneaky move by the Oriole Braintrust
Nothing sneaky about more crappy “depth”
Cubs adding more cash for Ricketts.
I just hope we break even.
More dumpster diving!
It’s just a depth move, bro. Relax.
Every team makes tons of them every offseason because even minor league teams need bench players.
Options vs no options. Good move.
Young talent, I’m not mad at it but we already have a boatload of position players, many of whom will likely slot in front of him. As the article mentions, a depth signing but we really need impact players on the pitching side.
I believe they need to get involved with Alonso and if he can be had on a short term deal at a decent rate, they should be in on it and make an offer. MLB Network said that the Mets might be at 3 years/70 million. Orioles should be all over that and then trade Mountcastle and others for pitching – impact pitching/young controllable pitching – if they can sign Alonso. He would be the type of legitimate RH power bat the team needs.
Why lock up Alonso for 3 years @ $20m+ a year when we have Basallo and Mayo to give at bats to between 1B and DH and they cost a whole hell of a lot less? Seems to be a poor way to utilize our resources.
Even if we stay with Mountcastle at 1B, putting Alonso in his place is not an addition or subtraction. They each had 2.6 WAR last year. I understand that Alonso has the name attached and the pedigree but spending millions more so that we can say “We got Pete Alonso” means absolutely nothing.
I have zero interest in Alonso because he’s just not very good anymore and will also cost us a draft pick.
And he’s flat out miserable defensively
Yup, and overall, he’s been basically equal offensively to Ryan O’Hearn over the last 2 years.
I just don’t get all of the Orioles fans I see pining for him. Is it the name value? Because that’s the only clear “upgrade” I see there.
Luis Vázquez went 1-for-12 in the majors last year, which is also roughly my batting average when trying to guess which Orioles infielders will actually stick around for more than a few months.
I can’t decide which is more exciting, this or them dropping 3.55M on a guy who can’t hit and shouldn’t be more than the occasional relief for a guy who might need a day off.
I have seen you complain many times about the Orioles not spending and now you’re complaining about them spending $3.5 million on a very solid bench piece with elite speed and baserunning ability who hits lefties well and can back up both middle infield positions and CF?
Would you have preferred they non-tendered Mateo and just handed his bench spot to an unproven waiver claim making the league minimum instead?
If the Tigers had an open 40 man roster spot, I could see them claiming Rivera until Bregman stuff gets figured out, and then DFA him if they signed Bregman. But with no spot open, doubt they would want to cut someone else loose prematurely.