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Orioles To Promote Jordan Westburg

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The Orioles are poised to promote top infield prospect Jordan Westburg prior to tomorrow’s game against the Reds, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Baltimore will need to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate Westburg in addition to clearing space for him on the active roster, though those moves have not yet been announced. Passan adds that Westburg will be in the starting lineup tomorrow for his major league debut.

Westburg was selected 30th overall by Baltimore in the first round of the 2020 draft. He immediately impressed with the bat in his first professional season, slashing .285/.389/.479 in 506 trips to the plate while climbing from Single-A all the way to Double-A over the course of the 2021 campaign. While those numbers were certainly impressive, his roughly league average 104 wRC+ in 30 Double-A games did leave questions as to whether he would be able to dominant in the upper levels of the minors the way he had in A-ball.

The youngster answered those questions in a big way with his performance in 2023. After showing improvement across 47 games at the Double-A level with a .247/.344/.473 slash line, Westburg went on to take another step forward with a strong showing in Triple-A during his age-23 season. In 91 games at the level last season, Westburg slashed an impressive .274/.361/.508 with the lowest strikeout rate of his career and 46 extra base hits, including 18 home runs.

After an excellent 2022 campaign, Westburg entered the 2023 campaign rated as roughly a top-75 prospect in the sport by each of MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus. He’s since delivered on that promise by posting the best numbers of his career across 67 games in a return to Triple-A. In 301 plate appearances this season, Westburg has slashed .295/.372/.567 with a wRC+ of 131, a strikeout rate of just 21.3%, and .404 wOBA.

Given those impressive numbers, it’s no wonder why the Orioles have made the decision to pull the trigger on Westburg’s promotion despite the club’s crowded infield picture. Gunnar Henderson, of course, is entrenched on the left side of the infield with appearances in 67 of the club’s 76 games this season. That leaves Westburg likely to mix in alongside the likes of Jorge Mateo, Ramon Urias, and Adam Frazier up the middle, though Frazier has also seen time in the outfield this season while Urias has occasionally stepped in at first base with Ryan Mountcastle on the injured list.

Of the aforementioned trio, only Urias has hit above league average this season with a wRC+ of 101. That being said, Mateo’s glove at shortstop ranks in the 89th percentile of qualified fielders per Statcast, meaning he’ll likely draw starts even as his bat has cooled off significantly after a hot start to the season. That leaves the likes of Frazier and Joey Ortiz most likely to lose out on playing time in favor of Westburg. Ortiz, in particular, stands out as a potential candidate to be optioned in favor of Westburg, as the 24-year-old youngster has gotten into just 15 games with the club this season, slashing .212/.206/.242 in 35 plate appearances.

Westburg’s promotion is the latest in a line of recent top prospect promotions that began with the debut of catcher Adley Rutschman last year. Since then, Henderson, Ortiz, and Grayson Rodriguez are among the youngster to make their debut for the Orioles, though Ortiz and Rodriguez have yet to establish themselves fully at the major league level. The youth movement in Baltimore has paid dividends, as the club has followed up a surprisingly competitive 2022 campaign with a 47-29 record that leaves them both in second place in an extremely competitive AL East division and in the driver’s seat of the AL Wild Card race.

Mets Claim Reed Garrett From Orioles

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The Orioles announced that the Mets have claimed right-hander Reed Garrett off waivers.  Garrett was designated for assignment by the O’s last weekend.

Garrett signed a minor league deal with Baltimore in the offseason, and his contract was selected to the MLB roster 11 days ago.  The righty lasted only four days in the Show before being DFA’ed, with Garrett posting a 10.13 ERA over two appearances and 2 2/3 innings pitched.  In the longer sample size of 22 2/3 innings thrown by Garrett at Triple-A Norfolk, he has a 1.59 ERA and a 28.4% strikeout rate, albeit with a 10.4% walk rate.

Originally a 16th-round draft pick for the Rangers in 2014, Garrett’s big league career began in 2019 when the Tigers selected him in the Rule 5 Draft but later returned him to the Texas organization.  Garrett pitched in Japan with the Seibu Lions in 2020-21 with good results, before returning to North America on a minor league contract with the Nationals and getting into seven games (9 1/3 IP) with Washington in 2022.

In claiming Garrett, the Mets add a bit more bullpen depth to a pitching staff that has had more than its share of injuries.  Garrett would be a bit of a late bloomer at 30 years old, but his numbers in Triple-A and in Nippon Professional Baseball are intriguing enough that the Mets might think the righty has some untapped potential.

Mychal Givens Scratched From Rehab Appearance

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  • Orioles right-hander Mychal Givens was scratched from his planned rehab appearance at Triple-A tomorrow, as noted by Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun. Instead, Givens is set to return to Baltimore for an evaluation. Further details about the evaluation are limited, though it certainly seems to be an ominous sign for the right-hander, who’s been on the shelf with shoulder inflammation since the beginning of the month and had the start to his 2023 campaign delayed by knee inflammation. While Givens has been limited to just four innings of work by those injuries, the Orioles bullpen has nonetheless excelled thanks to the emergence of Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano as perhaps the best relief duo in baseball this season. [UPDATE: Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters that Givens has some soreness in his throwing shoulder but there is a relatively “low level” of concern about a serious setback.]

Orioles Reinstate Cedric Mullins From 10-Day IL

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The Orioles have reinstated outfielder Cedric Mullins from the 10-day injured list.  Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann was also called up from Triple-A, while righty Logan Gillaspie and utilityman Josh Lester were optioned to Triple-A in corresponding moves.

Mullins missed just short of four weeks recovering from a right groin strain suffered when he was trying to beat out a grounder to first base.  Fortunately, Mullins had a pretty straightforward recovery process that included three minor league rehab games, and he’ll now get back into action with an impressive 45-29 Orioles team.

The outfielder has been a big part of that success, hitting .263/.356/.479 with eight homers over 224 plate appearances this season.  A .319 xwOBA (well under his .362 wOBA) does hint at regression, especially since Mullins’ hard-contact rate is below average, but Mullins has traditionally outperformed his xwOBA over the last few seasons.  His 12.5% walk rate is also a career best, adding a new dimension to Mullins’ work at the plate.

Despite losing Mullins for four weeks and Ryan Mountcastle for the last two weeks, the Orioles have kept winning even without these two regulars in the lineup.  In replacing Mullins, the O’s signed veteran Aaron Hicks, who has experienced a resurgence since his arrival in Baltimore.  The Yankees released Hicks in late May to end his eight-season run in the Bronx, marked mostly in recent years by injuries and a severe lack of production.  However, Hicks has rebounded to the change of scenery, hitting .310/.412/.552 over his 68 PA in an Orioles uniform.

While Mullins isn’t in danger of being Wally Pipp’ed out of the center field job, Hicks’ production will certainly merit more playing time, giving the O’s a nice problem to have in figuring out how to juggle their several quality position players.  Hicks could take some at-bats away from Anthony Santander in right field and the DH spot is somewhat available, though the Orioles like to give Adley Rutschman plenty of DH time in order to keep him fresh and to keep his bat in the lineup.

Astros Acquire Spenser Watkins From Orioles

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The Astros announced this afternoon they’ve acquired righty Spenser Watkins from the Orioles and optioned him to Triple-A Sugar Land. Baltimore receives cash in return. Houston also selected outfielder Bligh Madris onto the big league roster, as previously reported. In order to create 40-man roster space, they transferred Michael Brantley and José Urquidy to the 60-day injured list.

Watkins has had a tough year in Triple-A. He’s started six of eight games and worked to a 7.27 ERA through 26 innings. The former 30th-round pick has a modest 15.7% strikeout percentage and has walked a lofty 13.4% of opponents. Watkins has kept the ball on the ground at a massive 55.3% clip, but the strikeout and walk numbers and overall ERA pushed him off Baltimore’s 40-man roster on Tuesday.

The Astros will take a change of scenery flier to add some experienced rotation depth to the upper minors. Injuries to Lance McCullers Jr., Luis Garcia and Urquidy have pushed depth arms J.P. France and Ronel Blanco into the rotation. Brandon Bielak and Bryan Garcia are the most experienced Triple-A starters, so Watkins is a sensible acquisition.

Now 30, Watkins has appeared in two big league seasons with the O’s. He’s made 30 starts in 39 outings, posting a 5.85 ERA across 160 frames. Watkins hasn’t missed many bats, but he’d walked just under 7% of opponents at the MLB level. He had a quality 6.1% walk percentage in Triple-A last season.

His control has been erratic this season, but his broader track record is that of a strike-throwing depth arm. This is Watkins’ final minor league option year; the Astros can keep him in Triple-A for the rest of the season but would have to carry him on next year’s Opening Day roster if he holds his 40-man spot until then.

Brantley’s and Urquidy’s IL moves are procedural transactions. Brantley has already been on the IL for well past 60 days as he works back from last summer’s shoulder surgery. Urquidy landed on the shelf on May 1 with discomfort in his throwing shoulder. He’s not expected to return until next month.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Astros’ acquisition of Watkins.

Nationals, Orioles Reach Settlement On 2012-16 MASN Rights Fees

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The Nationals and Orioles have settled their dispute regarding MASN rights fees between 2012-16, as first reported by Chelsea Janes and Ben Strauss of the Washington Post. The agreement comes two months after a New York appellate court ruled in favor of the Nationals and MLB as part of a longstanding legal battle with the O’s.

According to the Washington Post, the network is paying out a little less than $100MM to each franchise. (Andy Kostka and Dylan Segelbaum of the Baltimore Banner specify the payment around $99.2MM.) As Janes and Strauss note, the deal requires the network to pay equal rights fees to each organization. The payment still represents a win for Washington since the O’s have a much greater ownership stake in MASN.

The Nationals and Orioles jointly own the network, which carries local broadcasting rights for both clubs. The Baltimore organization has a majority share (presently around 76%, dropping to 67% by 2032). That came as part of the agreement between the Orioles and MLB to facilitate the relocation of the Expos from Montreal to Washington — into the Orioles’ territorial range — nearly two decades ago.

As part of that deal, the sides agreed to share telecasting money owed by MASN to the clubs for broadcasting rights. An arbitration panel was created to resolve possible disputes between the franchises in calculating those fees. After the sides failed to come to an agreement for the period covering 2012-16, the issue went to arbitration. The panel — a committee made up of representatives from three other MLB teams — ruled closer to the Nationals’ desired number than the Orioles had found appropriate (albeit nearer to the O’s proposed figure than Washington’s). Baltimore and MASN appealed, questioning the league’s impartiality.

A court found in the Nationals’ and league’s favor on that issue back in 2019. The court ruled the network owed the Nationals roughly $105MM in unpaid rights fees. The Orioles appealed that decision, but the appellate court agreed there were no grounds for contesting the arbitration panel’s findings.

However, the appellate court found the lower court had overstepped its authority in awarding the $105MM in past damages. That put the onus back on the franchises to calculate damages. They have apparently found the approximate $99.2MM figure mutually agreeable.

To be clear, this does not permanently resolve the dispute between the organizations. They’re still divided on fees for the 2017-21 period. Janes and Strauss report that MLB is preparing to put that issue before its revenue sharing committee. The sides negotiate rights fees every half-decade, so they’ll also have to figure out the 2022-26 numbers in due time.

Finding a long-term solution could be especially welcome for the Washington franchise. The Lerner family announced in April 2022 they were looking into selling the team. Negotiations with a group led by Ted Leonsis were put on pause over the winter, in large part on account of the TV rights uncertainty.

Orioles Outright Noah Denoyer

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The Orioles announced this afternoon that minor league righty Noah Denoyer went unclaimed on waivers. He has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk.

Denoyer was designated for assignment a week ago. That ended what proved a fairly brief initial stay on the 40-man roster. Baltimore selected his contract over the offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. The 25-year-old has spent the entire season on optional assignment to Norfolk, working mostly as a multi-inning reliever. He has pitched to a 5.04 ERA across 30 1/3 innings, striking out an average 23.3% of batters faced against a huge 15.1% walk rate.

He’d been much more effective at throwing strikes last season. Denoyer walked only 5.6% of opponents with a massive 35.4% strikeout rate in Double-A a year ago. He hasn’t managed to find that form so far in 2023.

Denoyer had never previously cleared waivers and has yet to make his MLB debut. He doesn’t have the ability to decline an outright assignment in favor of free agency. He’ll stick in Norfolk and look to recapture last season’s level to put himself back on the radar for an MLB bullpen job.

Orioles Select Anthony Bemboom

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The Orioles on Tuesday announced that they’ve selected the contract of catcher Anthony Bemboom from Triple-A Norfolk. As was previously reported, the team designated righty Spenser Watkins for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster. Baltimore also announced that catcher Jose Godoy has been optioned to Norfolk, while righty Logan Gillaspie has been recalled in his place. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com first reported that Bemboom’s contract was being selected back to the 40-man roster.

The 33-year-old Bemboom appeared in two games with the O’s earlier this season received just three plate appearances. He’s a career .158/.233/.268 hitter in 206 Major League plate appearances split between the Rays, Angels and Orioles, though he’s had quite a bit more success than that in Triple-A. That includes so far in 2023, when the journeyman backstop has delivered a .278/.366/.389 slash with a home run and as many walks (nine) as strikeouts in 82 trips to the plate.

Bemboom has typically served as a backup, both in the big leagues and in the upper minors. He’s generally lacking in power but carries a strong 33% caught-stealing rate (22% so far in 2023). Bemboom regularly delivers average or better marks in terms of pitch-framing and in Defensive Runs Saved. Backup catcher James McCann was recently placed on the injured list due to an ankle sprain, and Bemboom will head to the big leagues to back up Adley Rutschman.

The Orioles could have designated Godoy for assignment and kept Watkins as pitching depth, though they perhaps feel Watkins has the better chance at passing through waivers and thus remaining with the organization. They could also have kept Godoy as the backup to Rutschman, though Bemboom has more familiarity with the staff dating back to his time with the O’s last season.

Orioles To Designate Spenser Watkins For Assignment

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The Orioles have designated right-hander Spenser Watkins for assignment, Robert Murray of FanSided reports (via Twitter). Watkins has been pitching with their Triple-A Norfolk affiliate this season and has not yet pitched at the MLB level this season, though he was recalled to the big leagues over the weekend. The O’s have not yet formally announced the move, nor the corresponding 40-man and 26-man transactions that figure to accompany it.

The 30-year-old Watkins spent parts of the 2021-22 seasons on Baltimore’s big league staff, getting hit hard in his debut campaign before stepping in as a solid rotation member for much of the 2022 season. While a rough patch at the end of last season weighed down Watkins’ numbers and left him with a 4.70 ERA in 105 1/3 frames, he pitched to a 3.96 ERA through his first 17 big league starts of the 2022 campaign.

Even at his best, Watkins doesn’t miss bats or produce grounders in droves. His 13.7% strikeout rate was tied for the lowest among the 156 pitchers who tossed at least 150 innings from 2021-22. Watkins has above-average command, evidenced by a 6.9% walk rate in that stretch, and his career 38.7% grounder rate clocks in several percentage points south of league average.

It’s been an even tougher season for Watkins in Norfolk so far, where he’s pitched to a 7.27 ERA in 26 frames with nearly as many walks (17) as strikeouts (20). Murray notes that Watkins has been tinkering with a new splitter, which perhaps helps to explain the huge uptick in grounders he’s seen (55.3%), but Watkins’ 13.4% walk rate is a career-worst and his strikeout rate hasn’t seen any gains over his prior Triple-A levels.

The Orioles will have a week to trade Watkins, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or simply release him. He’s been outrighted once in the past, so even if the O’s succeed at passing him through waivers, he’d have the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.

Dick Hall Passes Away

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The Orioles have announced that former major leaguer Dick Hall has passed away. He was 92 years old.

Hall underwent many transitions in his career, which began as an outfielder and third baseman for the Pirates in 1952. But in 1955, he moved to the mound, tossing 94 1/3 innings over 13 starts and two relief appearances, registering a 3.91 ERA that year. He continued serving as a pitcher for the Bucs and also for the Kansas City Athletics in 1960.

In April of 1961, he was acquired by the Orioles. He would go on to spend most of his career with Baltimore, including his best seasons, gradually shifting into the relief role that he thrived in. From 1961 to 1966, he made 244 appearances for the O’s with a 2.82 ERA over 599 2/3 innings.

That final season of that stretch was the beginning of a golden age of Orioles’ baseball, as the 1966 Orioles went 97-63, led by future Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson. They won the American League pennant and then swept the Dodgers to win the first World Series in franchise history, though Hall didn’t appear in that series.

Hall was with the Phillies in 1967 and 1968 as the O’s missed the playoffs in those two seasons. But he returned in 1969 and so did the success of the club. They made it back to the World Series in three straight years beginning in 1969, winning a second title in 1970. He made one appearance in that second title-winning series, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless frames as the O’s topped the Reds. 1971 proved to be his final season in the big leagues.

Hall ultimately pitched 1259 2/3 regular season innings in his career with a 3.32 ERA. He went 93-75 while racking up 68 saves, striking out 741 opponents in the process. He helped the club win four pennants, earned two World Series rings and was elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife, four children, nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. MLBTR joins those in the baseball world in sending condolences to all those mourning him today.

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