- Ryan Mountcastle isn’t in the Orioles’ lineup today, and hasn’t played since leaving Wednesday’s game due to left shoulder discomfort. Manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters that Mountcastle was feeling “just okay” when trying to take some swings yesterday, and was hopeful Mountcastle might be available to pinch-hit in today’s game.
Orioles Rumors
Noah Denoyer Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
The Orioles informed reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, that right-hander Noah Denoyer underwent Tommy John surgery this week. Given the typical recovery timeline of that procedure, he will miss the remainder of this season and likely all of 2024 as well.
Denoyer, now 25, was added to the Orioles’ 40-man roster in November of last year to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He had tossed 71 2/3 innings in 2022, split between multiple levels, with an earned run average of 2.89. He also struck out 35.5% of batters faced while walking just 6.1%. Given those strong results, it was natural that the club was worried about some other team plucking him away.
But he wasn’t able to carry those results over in 2023. He has thrown 51 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level with an ERA of 5.61, almost double last year’s mark in that category. His 25.8% strikeout rate is still decent but a significant drop-off from last year, while his walk rate shot all the way up to 15.6%.
The righty was never called up to make his major league debut and was designated for assignment in June. He passed through waivers unclaimed and was outrighted, sticking in the organization. He’ll now be faced with a long road back to the roster, as he will almost certainly miss the entire 2024 season. He’ll be 27 years old when the 2025 season comes around.
Orioles Select Heston Kjerstad
The Orioles announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of outfielder Heston Kjerstad and recalling right-hander Bryan Baker from Triple-A Norfolk. To open active roster spots for those two, outfielder Ryan McKenna and left-hander Nick Vespi were optioned to Norfolk. To open a spot for Kjerstad on the 40-man, infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra was recalled from Norfolk and placed on the 60-day injured list with a strained right shoulder.
Of all the moves, the most significant is the promotion of Kjerstad, as it’s yet another instance of the O’s promoting a highly-touted prospect to their major league club. The past six years have seen the club endure a significant rebuild, finishing last in the American League East four times, losing 108 games or more in three of those. That’s allowed them to build a pipeline of young talent that has started to feed into for the big league team. Youngsters like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez and others have helped the club jump to a record of 91-54, the best such mark in the American League this year.
Kjerstad, 24, was taken with the second overall pick in 2020. His professional debut was delayed by myocarditis, which prevented him from taking part in any official game action in 2021. He split last year between Single-A and High-A, hitting a combined .309/.394/.457 between those two levels. This year, he’s gone through Double-A and Triple-A with a combined slash of .303/.376/.528, which translates to a wRC+ of 132.
The outfielder is currently considered the #44 prospect in the league by Baseball America, #24 by MLB Pipeline, #49 by ESPN and #56 by Keith Law of The Athletic. FanGraphs doesn’t currently provide specific rankings beyond the 50 Future Value guys on the 20-80 scouting scale, but Kjerstad is one of many unnumbered 45+ guys that are lumped together around the back half of the top 100. He’s considered a bat-first prospect, with his power his standout tool, but it’s expected he can be a fine corner outfielder from a defensive standpoint.
It was reported last night that a promotion of Kjerstad was possible, in conjunction with Ryan Mountcastle battling a shoulder injury. Mountcastle hasn’t landed on the injured list as of yet, but it seems Kjerstad will push into the mix regardless. Mountcastle has been the regular option at first base, but perhaps his injury means Ryan O’Hearn takes over that spot and spends less time in the outfield corners. That would perhaps leave Kjerstad, Anthony Santander, Aaron Hicks and Austin Hays splitting the duties of left field, right field and designated hitter. Kjerstad also played some first base in the minors and could be a factor there.
The O’s are about to begin what may be their most important series of the regular season. The Rays are just two games back in the East division and the two clubs are set to face off in a four-game series that starts tonight in Baltimore. Both teams are sure to make the postseason but the division winner will secure a bye through the first round, making the distinction significant. Kjerstad isn’t in the starting lineup tonight but should make his debut at some point in the next few weeks and might even secure himself a spot on the postseason roster.
With so little time left in the season, Kjerstad won’t be able to exhaust his rookie status and will therefore still be on prospect lists in the upcoming offseason. That means he will still be eligible for the “prospect promotion incentives” that are present in the current collective bargaining agreement. That could allow the O’s to recoup a bonus draft pick in the future, depending on how Kjerstad fares in awards voting going forward.
As for Vavra, he was with the big league club earlier this year but has been on optional assignment since early June. While in the minors, he missed over two months from mid-June to late August, when he began a rehab assignment. The club informed reporters last week, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, that Vavra’s rehab was being shut down for further testing. There’s not much detail on his injury or timeline but it seems his season is over, based on today’s transfer.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Ryan Mountcastle Being Evaluated For Shoulder Issue, Heston Kjerstad Promotion Possible
Ryan Mountcastle departed this evening’s loss to the Cardinals. He was injured during his first inning at-bat and removed from the game when his turn in the order came around two innings later. The O’s announced that he’d experienced left shoulder discomfort.
While Mountcastle is day-to-day at the moment, the O’s could turn to a top prospect to replace him. Danielle Allentuck and Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner report that Heston Kjerstad is en route to Baltimore. It isn’t yet clear if a promotion is contingent on a potential Mountcastle IL stint.
Speaking with the team’s beat postgame, Baltimore’s first baseman expressed concern about the injury. Mountcastle said he felt his shoulder pop on a swing (via Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun and Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball). After leaving the game, he tested the injury by attempting to swing in the batting cage but continued to feel soreness. He’ll go for more imaging tomorrow.
The team will surely provide more information when it becomes available, but it’s a suboptimal time for the O’s to potentially lose one of their hottest hitters. Tonight’s loss cut their lead in the AL East to two games over Tampa Bay. The Rays are headed to Baltimore for a four-game set that could have significant ramifications for the division. It’s quite arguably the biggest regular season series of the year for both clubs, since the eventual division champion will get a first-round bye and very likely have home field advantage in the postseason until the World Series.
Mountcastle has been one of the better hitters in the majors over the past two months. He’d opened the year with one of the worst offensive stretches of his career, hitting .227/.262/.421 over his first 60 contests. Baltimore placed him on the injured list with vertigo symptoms in mid-June, keeping him out of action for around a month. Since returning on July 9, Mountcastle has raked at a .327/.406/.497 clip over 197 plate appearances.
The silver lining is that Baltimore has a number of high-upside offensive players who could take on larger roles if necessary. Ryan O’Hearn has taken a significant step forward after struggling with the Royals. He’s hitting .301/.332/.500 while dividing his time between first base, the corner outfield and designated hitter. O’Hearn is already in the lineup on most days but could take on a more regular role at first base.
That’d leave some rotational at-bats for the 24-year-old Kjerstad should the O’s decide to promote him. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic wrote this morning that the Arkansas product had put himself on the radar for a possible MLB debut but that the O’s were concerned they might not have enough at-bats to spread around. Mountcastle’s injury might open up that opportunity just a few hours later.
The O’s tabbed Kjerstad with the second overall pick in the 2020 draft. It was a bit of a surprise, as most public pre-draft rankings felt he would land in the back half of the top 10. Kjerstad unfortunately didn’t have an opportunity to reward the O’s faith for a while. He contracted myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) in 2020 and was sidelined for the entire subsequent season.
It wasn’t until June 2022 — nearly two full years after his draft date — that Kjerstad was able to make his professional debut. He understandably struggled somewhat in High-A late last summer, but he has flashed the potential impact offensive tools the organization had envisioned this year.
Kjerstad has split the season between the top two minor league levels, mashing at a .303/.376/.529 clip over 121 contests. He has connected on 21 homers, 29 doubles and eight triples while striking out at a lower than average 18.5% clip. Baseball America slots him 44th on their most recent Top 100 prospects update.
Baltimore’s 40-man roster is capacity. If they decide to select Kjerstad’s contract (presumably in tandem with a 10-day IL stint for Mountcastle), they’d need to make an additional 40-man move.
Orioles Activate John Means
The Orioles announced Tuesday that they’ve activated left-hander John Means from the 60-day injured list and optioned right-hander Joey Krehbiel to Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, so optioning Krehbiel is the only move needed to reinstate Means. The 30-year-old Means is slated to start tonight’s game for the O’s — his first appearance on a big league mound since April 13, 2022. He’s spent the past 17 months rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
A great deal has changed for the O’s since Means last took the mound. He was caught by Anthony Bemboom during his most recent start, as then-prospect Adley Rutschman had yet to make his big league debut. Rougned Odor, Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo rounded out the infield after first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, as the Orioles awaited the rise of prospects like Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg. When Means’ last game with the O’s concluded, Baltimore sat at 1-5 on the young 2022 campaign and was hoping to avoid a seventh straight losing season.
Fast forward to present day, and the Orioles have become the class of the American League, boasting the junior circuit’s best record and leading the Rays by three games in the American League East. Rutschman and Henderson have not only debuted but broken out as star-caliber, cornerstone players. Top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez has shaken off a rough start to his big league career, pitching to a 2.95 ERA in 10 starts since being return to the big leagues in mid-July.
Means will step into the rotation alongside Rodriguez and fellow breakout righty Kyle Bradish, who’s pitched to a 3.03 ERA (3.40 FIP, 3.83 SIERA) in 145 2/3 innings. Right-hander Dean Kremer and veteran Kyle Gibson have both made 29 starts apiece as well, though Gibson has struggled of late.
A healthy Means would be a major boost to the Orioles’ rotation, particularly with Bradish, Rodriguez, Kremer and Tyler Wells — who’s been optioned to Triple-A and moved to the bullpen — all establishing new career-high workloads this season. The O’s will probably be somewhat cautious with Means as he continues to distance himself from that surgery, but he’s already built up to 86 pitches in a minor league rehab assignment that saw him post a 3.74 ERA over 21 2/3 innings.
Prior to his injury, Means was a 2019 All-Star and AL Rookie of the Year runner-up. The lefty posted a 3.60 ERA in 155 frames during that rookie campaign, and from 2019-22 he tallied 353 1/3 innings of 3.72 ERA ball. He struck out a slightly below-average 21.2% of his opponents but also posted a terrific 5.1% walk rate and excelled at limiting hard contact (87.8 mph average exit velocity, 34.5% hard-hit rate). Anything resembling that form would immediately make him one of the Orioles’ three best starters, though expectations should probably be tempered in the early stages of any pitcher’s return from a major surgery.
While mending from that April 2022 procedure, Means has continued to accrue Major League service time. He’s playing out the second season of a two-year, $5.95MM deal that covered the entirety of his rehab. He’ll be eligible for one final raise via arbitration this winter before reaching free agency in the 2024-25 offseason.
Orioles Keep Open Possibility Of Felix Bautista Returning In 2023
Orioles closer Félix Bautista has been out since August 26 after suffering an injury to the UCL in his throwing elbow. The O’s haven’t provided many specifics on the situation, but Bautista has continued to throw while on the injured list.
Baltimore general manager Mike Elias met with the beat this afternoon and provided a little more clarity. Elias noted the team isn’t closing the door on Bautista returning this year, saying that medical personnel believe the big right-hander won’t do further damage by throwing (via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post).
Asked whether it was fair to describe the injury as a UCL tear, Elias initially agreed before clarifying “it’s probably best characterized as an acute or chronic injury to his ligament” (relayed by Jake Rill of MLB.com). That’s an alarming description of the issue. Elias acknowledged that surgery was a possibility but said the specific treatment program won’t be decided upon until after the season (via Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball).
Bautista was stellar as a rookie a year ago and has cemented himself as one of the sport’s top late-game arms this season. Behind a triple-digit heater and a wipeout split, he has dominated opponents en route to a 1.48 ERA across 61 innings. Bautista has fanned a laughable 46.4% of batters faced while picking up whiffs on almost 21% of his pitches. Even if he doesn’t make it back this season, he’ll likely find himself on some Cy Young ballots.
Whether he can add to that breakout performance could have a major impact on the postseason race. The O’s are three games up on the Rays in the AL East. They’re trying to secure the division title and home field advantage through the American League playoff field. Even without Bautista, they’re in strong position to keep hold of the division with less than three weeks to go, but losing arguably the game’s best reliever would obviously deal some hit to their chances of making a deep postseason run.
The 28-year-old is a crucial player for Baltimore well beyond this season. He’ll only reach the two-year service threshold and is still controllable for four more years.
John Means Aiming To Return To Orioles' Staff This Week
John Means’ long recovery from Tommy John surgery is nearing an end, as the Orioles southpaw threw a bullpen session yesterday and is tentatively expected to start Tuesday’s game against the Cardinals, though the O’s haven’t yet announced most of their upcoming rotation alignment. “I’ve been waiting a while for this, so just looking forward to whenever that opportunity is, I take advantage of it,” Means told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters today.
The de facto ace of Baltimore’s pitching staff during the club’s rebuild, Means posted a 3.72 ERA over 353 1/3 innings for the O’s from 2019-2022, though TJ surgery ended his 2022 season after only two starts and eight innings. Between that procedure and then a back strain that delayed his rehab earlier this year, Means hasn’t much contributed to the Orioles resurgence that included a winning record in 2022 and now the American League’s best record in 2023. Naturally, Means is both “really excited to compete again” in general, and especially for a team that suddenly looks like a World Series contender. It remains to be seen how exactly he’ll fit into the Orioles’ pitching plans, and Means said that he hasn’t talked to the club yet about starting or relieving, though he is open to either.
Austin Voth Accepts Outright Assignment With Orioles
The Orioles announced that right-hander Austin Voth cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. He’ll stick in the organization as depth but without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster.
Voth, now 31, was designated for assignment over the weekend when the O’s claimed reliever Jorge López off waivers from the Marlins. Voth had spent the year working in the O’s bullpen, though he also spent over two months on the injured list due to right elbow discomfort. When healthy enough to take the mound, he posted a 5.19 earned run average over 34 2/3 innings, along with a 21.3% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 33.6% ground ball rate. Since he’s out of options, those tepid results got him nudged off both the active and 40-man rosters.
He originally came to the O’s via a waiver claim from the Nationals last year and showed encouraging results at first. He had a brutal 10.13 ERA for the Nats that year but then righted the ship with a 3.04 ERA with Baltimore after the claim. The Orioles were encouraged enough to tender him an arbitration contract for 2023, agreeing to a salary of $1.85MM and a $2.45MM club option for 2024.
Since Voth has over three years of major league service time, he had the right to reject this outright assignment and elect free agency. However, since he has less than five years of service, exercising that right would mean forfeiting the remainder of his salary. He has understandably decided to accept the assignment and keep that money coming over the next few weeks. He’ll be eligible for minor league free agency if not added back to the roster by season’s end.
Red Sox Claim Logan Gillaspie From Orioles
The Red Sox have claimed right-hander Logan Gillaspie off waivers from the Orioles, per Ian Browne of MLB.com, and optioned him to Triple-A. The O’s had designated the righty for assignment over the weekend. To open a spot on their 40-man, the Sox transferred outfielder Jarren Duran to the 60-day injured list.
Gillaspie, 26, tossed 26 1/3 innings for the Orioles between last year and this year. He had a 4.10 earned run average in that time, striking out just 15% of batters faced but limiting walks to a 6.7% rate. In Triple-A this year, he’s thrown 36 1/3 innings with a 4.71 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. His numbers at that level were stronger last year, despite a 5.09 ERA. He struck out 24.8% of Triple-A hitters he faced while walking just 5.9%.
The Sox essentially had a roster spot to burn, since it was announced last week that Duran would require season-ending surgery to deal with a turf toe injury. That made his transfer to the 60-day injured list inevitable and the club has now used his roster spot to add another depth arm to the system. Gillaspie will still have one more option year beyond this season and he has less than a year of service time.
AL East Notes: Means, Bautista, Verdugo, Bradley
The Orioles have had a wildly successful 2023 campaign, with an 84-51 record that places them 2.5 games ahead of the Rays in a highly competitive AL East division. Despite that success, the club’s clear Achilles heel throughout the season has been the starting rotation, which has produced just 8.3 fWAR this year, 19th in the majors and only better than San Francisco among clubs currently in playoff position. While the club added right-hander Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline to bolster their staff, he’s struggled to a 6.41 ERA in 19 2/3 innings of work with Baltimore.
Given this, it should be a major relief to Orioles fans that left-hander John Means may be nearing a return to the big league club. MLB.com’s Jake Rill relays that manager Brandon Hyde indicated to reporters that Means will make another rehab start with Triple-A Norfolk but could be available to join the club’s big league rotation following that. Means, of course, hasn’t pitched since April 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery but sports a 3.72 ERA and 4.59 FIP in 353 1/3 innings of work since the start of his rookie campaign back in 2019. If the 30-year-old lefty can recapture his steady, mid-rotation performance from prior to his surgery in time for the postseason, he’ll surely be an asset to a rotation that figures to include right-handers Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, and Kyle Gibson.
More from around the AL East…
- Sticking with the Orioles, closer Felix Bautista hit the injured list with “some degree of injury” to his UCL last week, though since then specifics regarding his situation have been sparse. Hyde provided an update regarding Bautista to reporters this afternoon, with Rill relaying that the club is waiting for inflammation in Bautista’s elbow to go down before deciding on next steps. While Bautista already underwent an MRI, Rill notes that more tests could be in the 28-year-old’s future as the club tries to determine the best course of action for their breakout relief ace.
- Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo exited today’s game against the Royals due to what the club termed as hamstring tightness. Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe caught up with Verdugo following the game and the 27-year-old downplayed the severity of the issue, suggesting that he “felt a little something” in his hamstring during the sixth inning and that it should be taken care of with a day or two of rest. Should Verdugo miss more time than that, the club has Wilyer Abreu, Cedanne Rafaela, and Rob Refsnyder as options to fill out the outfield alongside Adam Duvall and Masataka Yoshida.
- The Rays recalled rookie starter Taj Bradley today, with the 22-year-old hurler taking the place of the recently-injured Jason Adam on the active roster. Bradley’s first sixteen starts with Tampa were something of a mixed bag; while the youngster dazzled with a 30% strikeout rate against a 7.9% walk rate, his 5.67 ERA in 74 2/3 innings left a great deal to be desired in terms of both results and volume. Of course, it’s worth pointing out that Bradley’s BABIP allowed was the sixth-highest figure in the majors among pitchers with at least 70 innings of work this year, while his strand rate was tenth lowest. That combination indicates some degree of bad luck in Bradley’s results, though a whopping 17.3% of his fly balls leaving the yard for home runs serves as an indicator that not all of his struggles have been pure misfortune. Bradley will look to end his rookie campaign on a high note as a member of the rotation alongside Tyler Glasnow, Aaron Civale, Zach Eflin, and Zack Littell.
