The Orioles announced that outfielder Daz Cameron, whom they designated for assignment last week, has passed through outright waivers unclaimed. He had the right to elect free agency but has accepted the outright assignment and will be in camp as a non-roster invitee.
Cameron, 28, has never played in a game for the Orioles. He was with the Athletics in 2024 but was flipped to Baltimore for cash considerations at the end of October. For a while, Cameron projected as a bench outfielder but the O’s bolstered the group this offseason by signing Tyler O’Neill, Ramón Laureano and Dylan Carlson. Those moves nudged Cameron off the roster and onto the waiver wire.
Players have the right to reject an outright assignment and head to free agency if they have a previous career outright or three years of service time. Cameron was outrighted by the Orioles in the 2022-23 offseason after Baltimore claimed him off waivers from the Tigers. He went on to spend the 2023 season in the minors with the Orioles, becoming a free agent afterwards and signing a minor league deal with the A’s. That gave him the right to elect free agency with this outright but it seems he’ll stick with the O’s and try to earn his way back onto the roster.
Between the Tigers and A’s, Cameron has taken 430 trips to the plate at the major league level with a tepid .201/.263/.330 line. However, he has strong sprint speed and has stolen 14 bases without being caught. Over the past four years, he has hit .265/.347/.449 for a 105 wRC+ in 1,236 minor league plate appearances, so he’s perhaps capable of more than he has shown in his big league career so far.
The Orioles project to have an outfield alignment of Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser and O’Neill most of the time, with Heston Kjerstad, Ryan O’Hearn and Laureano also in the mix. Jorge Mateo will also factor in eventually though he seems likely to start the season on the injured list. Cameron will join players like Nick Gordon and Franklin Barreto in the non-roster depth group. If he gets back to the big leagues at any point, he is out of options but has less than two years of service time.
Daz should be looking for a job in Korea or Japan, his career is absolutely dead here.
The Orioles hate Kjerstad for some reason. Give the kid some playing time, sheesh.
He’s going to get plenty of playing time this year and would have last year if a 97 mph Clay Holmes fastball to the dome didn’t derail his season in July.
Kind of hard to give someone playing time when they suffered a concussion in July after being hit in the head with a97mph fastball. The Orioles drafted him 2nd overall in 2020. I think they like him. He’s had some health issues ( heart) which delayed his professional debut. If healthy he will get a chance
Is this really Daz’s ceiling?
The key player traded by Houston for JV…Turns out Jake Rogers was the guy that made it for an extended run
Sounds like a Star Wars character
I didn’t know Daz Cameron was still in the league. Didn’t he go to Detroit in the Verlander deal in 2017?
Sweet, I was hoping he’d stick around as a depth option since none of O’Neill, Kjerstad, Laureano, and Carlson should get anytime in CF if Mullins and Cowser both go down at the same time.
Nobody wants me! Now you know how Wilkerson felt!
Disco. Jazz.