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Ryan McKenna

Phillies Sign Ryan McKenna To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have signed Ryan McKenna to a minor league contract, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The outfielder was recently released by the Giants, who claimed him off of waivers from the Orioles in May. He will report to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

McKenna, 27, made his MLB debut with the Orioles in 2021, six years after the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 draft. Across 284 games and 508 plate appearances with Baltimore from 2021-23, McKenna slashed .221/.299/.318 with a 75 wRC+. While his bat was underwhelming, he stole eight bases on nine attempts thanks to well-above-average sprint speed. He also provided 7 OAA with his glove while spending time at all three outfield positions. Ultimately, however, he could never secure a full-time position with the big league club, and the Orioles shuttled him back and forth between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk several times each year.

Out of options in 2024, McKenna was designated for assignment on Opening Day and sent outright back to the Norfolk Tides. The Orioles selected his contract less than a month later, but despite his impressive performance in a brief stint with the club (3-for-8 with two home runs), he was DFA’d again in mid-May. The Giants claimed him off of waivers, but his cup of coffee with San Francisco wasn’t nearly as productive; McKenna went o-for-6 over four games before the Giants, too, designated him for assignment. This time, however, he passed through waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A. Unfortunately, things continued to go downhill for McKenna after that. He missed some time with an injury, and when he was healthy, he hit just .227/.308/.348 with a 62 wRC+ for the Sacramento River Cats. He played his last game in the organization on August 1.

McKenna will provide the Phillies with a bit of additional outfield depth at Triple-A. His ability to play all three outfield positions could make him an asset on the bench in case of an injury.

Giants Release Ryan McKenna

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The Giants released outfielder Ryan McKenna, who’d been with their Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’s now a free agent.

McKenna joined San Francisco on a waiver claim earlier this season, coming over from the Orioles — the only organization he’d previously known. Baltimore selected McKenna with its fourth-round pick (No. 133 overall) back in 2015. He’s appeared in parts of four big league seasons, tallying 523 plate appearances with a disappointing .221/.298/.323 slash in that time. The Giants passed him through waivers late in May.

On the whole McKenna has better production in parts of four Triple-A seasons, but much of his production there came several years ago. The righty-swinging outfielder ripped Triple-A opposition apart in his first run there back in 2021, hitting .307/.423/.683 with 11 homers in only 123 plate appearances. He followed that with a strong 2022 showing in only 38 plate appearances there but spent most of the ’22 campaign as a bench player in the big leagues. He’s posted below-average numbers in Triple-A over the past two seasons as he’s frequently shuttled between the minors and the majors. Overall, McKenna is a career .253/.348/.510 hitter in 80 games at the top minor league level.

Now 27 years old, McKenna can play all three outfield spots. He’s drawn solid ratings across the board but graded out particularly well in left field. The elite speed he showed as a rookie has slipped a bit, but even though he’s no longer sitting near the top of the MLB scale, McKenna slots into the 74th percentile of runners in the big leagues, per Statcast, averaging 28.1 feet per second. He’s also displayed above-average arm strength in each of his big league seasons.

That profile should get McKenna a look elsewhere, albeit on a minor league deal. He’s out of minor league options, so if he’s added back to a new club’s 40-man roster at any point, he’d need to pass through waivers before he’d be eligible to be sent down.

Giants Outright Three Players

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The Giants made a few moves before tonight’s series opener against the Yankees. San Francisco placed rookie infielder Marco Luciano on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 30, with a right hamstring strain. Casey Schmitt was recalled to take his place on the active roster.

The team also informed reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic) that outfielder Ryan McKenna, catcher Jakson Reetz and lefty reliever Drew Pomeranz each cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment in recent days. Pomeranz has already elected free agency; McKenna and Reetz have that right as well, though it’s not clear if they’ll do so.

Luciano came up to the MLB roster two weeks ago. With Nick Ahmed shelved by a wrist sprain, Luciano got an opportunity as the starting shortstop. He hit well, picking up nine knocks (including two doubles and a triple) in 24 at-bats. The 22-year-old struggled on the defensive side, though. He committed five errors in 60 innings, most notably a booted grounder against the Pirates on May 21 that should have been a game-ending double play. Pittsburgh eventually tied the game and prevailed in extra innings.

Brett Wisely is starting at shortstop against Marcus Stroman tonight. Wisely isn’t a natural shortstop, but he probably offers a higher offensive ceiling than Schmitt provides. The 25-year-old Wisely has hit .311/.403/.487 in Triple-A this season; he has 10 hits in 25 big league at-bats in 2024. He has been a second baseman for the majority of his professional career. Bob Melvin has given him 48 1/3 innings at shortstop this year.

Beyond the infield shakeup, the Giants got DFA resolutions on Reetz, McKenna and Pomeranz. All three players had brief stints on the MLB roster. Reetz, a 28-year-old catcher, appeared in five games with three starts behind the dish. The Giants subsequently welcomed Patrick Bailey back from the concussion list and signed Curt Casali. Reetz is fourth on the catching depth chart behind that duo and Blake Sabol, to say nothing of the injured Tom Murphy.

That pushed him off the 40-man roster one week ago — ironically, to make room for Pomeranz. The Giants signed the former All-Star to a $1MM contract after he opted out of a minor league deal with the Dodgers. Pomeranz didn’t pitch over four days and was DFA on Tuesday. While San Francisco would presumably be interested in bringing him back on a non-roster deal, he’ll head to the open market for now.

McKenna was also DFA as part of Tuesday’s roster shuffle. The 27-year-old played in four games after the Giants claimed him from the Orioles two weeks ago. A career .221/.298/.328 hitter, McKenna is a glove-first depth outfielder. He has a .261/.359/.556 batting line over 274 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

The Giants also signed outfielder Allan Cerda to a minor league deal earlier this week (h/t to Matt Eddy of Baseball America). They assigned the 24-year-old to Double-A Richmond. Cerda was once a prospect of some regard in the Cincinnati farm system. The Reds carried him on their 40-man roster for the 2022 season, but his bat stalled at the Double-A level. He has a .188/.336/.370 line over 541 Double-A plate appearances. Cerda will hope for a breakthrough with the second organization of his career.

Giants Designate Ryan McKenna, Drew Pomeranz For Assignment

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The Giants made a series of transactions today, with Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area among those to relay them on X. Right-hander Spencer Howard and first baseman Trenton Brooks have been selected to the roster, while infielder/outfielder Tyler Fitzgerald has been recalled. In corresponding moves, first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain while outfielder Ryan McKenna and left-hander Drew Pomeranz have been designated for assignment.

Wade departed yesterday’s game, limping off the field with the club’s trainer. NBC Sports Bay Area provided video on X. The Giants later announced it as a hamstring strain and have now placed  him on the injured list. The club says it’s a Grade 2 strain and he’ll miss about a month, per Pavlovic on X.

While he’s out, it seems the club will get a look at Brooks, who makes it to the major leagues just before his 29th birthday. He spent most of his career with the Guardians, as that club drafted him in the 17th round back in 2016. He climbed as high as Triple-A in Cleveland’s system but didn’t get a roster spot by the end of 2022 and reached minor league free agency.

He then signed a minor league deal with the A’s and hit 16 home runs in 94 games while drawing walks in 13.8% of his plate appearances. Even in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League, his stout .299/.405/.529 batting line translated to a 127 wRC+.

At that point, the A’s flipped him to the Giants for left-hander Sean Newcomb and Brooks has produced in similar fashion since then. He’s appeared in 67 more Triple-A contests since that deal and has ten homers, an 18.1% walk rate and a 15.3% strikeout rate. His .279/.409/.463 batting line in that stretch translates to a 120 wRC+.

Debuts at this late age are especially rare but Brooks clearly has some perseverance that is paying off today. If he can continue hitting major league pitching the way he has done in the minors, he will make for an especially heartwarming late-bloomer story. He has played some outfield in the past but has been strictly at first base this year. He’s in the lineup tonight in place of Wade and could perhaps get a few weeks to test his abilities against big league hurlers.

Turning to the pitching, the Giants have been getting by lately with just four starters in Logan Webb, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison and Blake Snell. That group included Keaton Winn until he hit the injured list two weeks ago. Mason Black was recalled to cover for him but was hit hard in two starts and optioned back down.

Today’s plan appears to be a bullpen game with Howard expected to pitch bulk innings behind Erik Miller, who will serve as the opener. Howard, 27, has been in the Giants’ system since signing a minor league deal late last year. He’s made ten Triple-A starts this year, tossing 39 2/3 innings with a 5.90 earned run average.

That ERA may be misleading, both due to the fact that Howard has been pitching in the PCL and what may be some bad luck. His .406 batting average on balls in play and 66.1% strand rate this year are both on the unfortunate side of average. He’s actually struck out 32.2% of batters faced this year while keeping walks to a reasonable 9.6% rate, which is why his 4.19 FIP is kinder than his ERA.

The righty was considered one of the top pitching prospects in the sport a few years ago but has struggled in his limited looks at the big league level. He currently has 115 innings of major league work on his ledger with a 7.20 ERA. He exhausted his options as both the Phillies and the Rangers rostered him for a while and he will now need to keep his active roster spot or else be removed from the 40-man roster entirely. If this is the time where things click for him and he manages to hang onto that roster spot, he still has less than three years of service time and can be retained beyond this campaign via arbitration.

To get Brooks and Howard onto the roster, the Giants are cutting a couple of guys they only recently added. Pomeranz, 35, was signed on Friday but is now bumped off the roster without appearing in a game. That means he’s still looking to get back into official MLB action for the first time since 2021. The Giants will have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. The latter scenario would be a moot point since the lefty has more than enough service time to elect free agency.

The southpaw was once one of the better relievers in baseball but underwent flexor tendon surgery late in the 2021 campaign and struggled to get healthy in the two following years. Here in 2024, he was able to throw eight Spring Training innings with the Angels and nine frames in Triple-A in the Dodgers’ system, on minor league deals with both of those clubs. He allowed four earned runs in his first Triple-A game this year but has a 2.25 ERA in the eight innings since, striking out 48.3% of batters faced while walking just 3.4% of them.

That was apparently enough to get a roster spot, although briefly. The next week will shed some light on whether or not another club is equally interested. If so, perhaps the southpaw will indeed return to a major league mound for the first time in almost three years.

McKenna, 27, was just claimed off waivers from the Orioles ten days ago. He got into four games and stepped to the plate six times, striking out four times without getting a hit. He’s generally been a glove-first outfielder in his career, having hit .221/.298/.328 but with eight Defensive Runs Saved and six Outs Above Average in 1,287 2/3 outfield innings. He’s out of options but could appeal to other clubs as a bench outfielder.

The Giants will have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. Since he has a previous career outright, he has the right to reject another such assignment in favor of free agency. However, with less than five years of service time, doing so would mean forfeiting his remaining salary. He is making $800K this year, slightly more than the league minimum, and may not want to walk away from that if he clears.

Giants Claim Ryan McKenna

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2:32PM: Both teams have announced the transaction, and MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via X) reported that the Giants placed Lee on the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for McKenna.

1:57PM: The Giants have claimed outfielder Ryan McKenna off waivers from the Orioles, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (X link).  McKenna was designated for assignment earlier this week, and he’ll now change teams for the first time in his nine pro seasons.

It’s an obvious fit for a Giants team that is battling through a swath of injuries, particularly in the outfield ranks.  Jung Hoo Lee just underwent season-ending shoulder surgery, and both Michael Conforto and Austin Slater are also currently sidelined.  With shortstop Nick Ahmed and both catchers (starter Patrick Bailey and backup Tom Murphy) out, San Francisco has been forced to dig deep into its depth chart, and also pursue outside help like the recent signing of veteran catcher Curt Casali.

McKenna represents another external add, and he brings versatility in his ability to play all three outfield positions at at least an average level.  Luis Matos and Heliot Ramos have gotten a lot of the playing time in the outfield with so many of the regulars out, and both have played well alongside Mike Yastrzemski in the makeshift starting arrangement.  McKenna will bring some extra depth to that mix, since Blake Sabol has been limited to catcher and utilityman Tyler Fitzgerald could be deployed more strictly in the infield.

McKenna is also a right-handed hitter who can complement the lefty-swinging Yastrzemski, though McKenna has never brought much punch at the plate.  Over 517 career MLB plate appearances, McKenna has hit just .224/.302/.332 with eight home runs.  He also has a much more impressive .261/.359/.556 slash line over 274 PA at Triple-A, with much of that damage taking place during a big 2021 campaign.

Despite the lack of pop, it is possible the Orioles might not have felt compelled to part with McKenna if the team wasn’t so absurdly stacked with outfield talent.  In a sense, having a clear-cut bench player like McKenna was valuable for the O’s since it wasn’t a huge deal if McKenna only received sporadic playing time, whereas sitting a Heston Kjerstad or a Kyle Stowers for days at a time wasn’t helpful for their development.  Matos and Ramos are both playing well enough that this type of situation might not present itself in San Francisco, as there should be plenty of playing time available until some of the injured position players return.

Orioles Designate Ryan McKenna For Assignment

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The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve designated outfielder Ryan McKenna for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to veteran Austin Hays, who has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list after missing about three weeks with a strained calf. It’s the second bit of outfield shuffling by the O’s today. Baltimore previously optioned Heston Kjerstad to Triple-A Norfolk in favor of Kyle Stowers.

McKenna, 27, was only selected back to the 40-man roster for a second stint with the Orioles on April 26. He appeared in nine games and went 3-for-8 at the plate, popping a pair of home runs in his brief look with the club. Despite that productive cup of coffee, he won’t stick around on the big league roster. McKenna is out of minor league options, so the O’s had little choice but to designate him for assignment once things reached a point where they needed to open his roster spot back up. In all likelihood, McKenna knew it’d be a short stay on the active roster.

A fourth-round selection by the O’s in the 2015 draft, McKenna has now appeared in parts of four seasons with the MLB club. Despite the big showing in this year’s tiny sample, he struggled extensively from 2021-23, hitting just .222/.299/.318 in 508 plate appearances across that three-year span. He owns a productive .261/.359/.561 output in 274 Triple-A plate appearances but also a .234/.327/.357 slash in a much larger sample of 817 Double-A plate appearances.

Baltimore is stacked with outfield talent — and with position players in general — leaving little room for McKenna to wrest everyday at-bats from the team’s other outfield options. Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and the now-reinstated Hays are all in the mix for at-bats, as is the aforementioned Stowers, who’s joining the club for his 2024 debut after smacking 11 Triple-A homers in his first 165 plate appearances there this season. Mullins has been in a deep slump of late, and Hays struggled a good bit before landing on the injured list himself. However, both veterans have lengthy track records of production that date back several years. Neither was going to be displaced because of a brief hot streak from McKenna.

The Orioles have a week to trade McKenna or else place him on outright waivers or release waivers. He went unclaimed on outright waivers at the end of March, and in doing so gained the right to reject any additional outright assignments for the remainder of his career. As such, if he clears waivers, he’ll have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency. Given the glut of outfield talent on the Baltimore roster, it’s possible he’d prefer to latch on with another organization that has far less depth and thus a better opportunity for him to get an earnest look at the big league level.

Orioles Option Jackson Holliday

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The Orioles announced today that they have optioned infielder Jackson Holliday to Triple-A Norfolk. His roster spot will go to outfielder Ryan McKenna, whose contract has been selected. To open a spot on the 40-man for McKenna, catcher David Bañuelos has been designated for assignment.

Holliday, 20, came into this season as the consensus top prospect in baseball. The first overall pick of the 2022 draft, he mashed his way through four levels of the minor leagues last year. He went from Single-A to High-A to Double-A and Triple-A, hitting .323/.442/.499 along the way.

Coming into 2024, there seemed to be a legitimate chance of Holliday cracking the Opening Day roster, despite his young age. Back in December, general manager Mike Elias said as much, telling reporters that it was a “very strong possibility.”

During Spring Training, Holliday seemed to be ticking all the boxes when he hit .311/.354/.600 in official Grapefruit League action. Yet despite that huge stat line, the club decided to send him back to Triple-A to start the year. Elias stated that Holliday needed a bit more work against left-handed pitching and a bit more experience at second base, having only recently moved there from shortstop.

Some observers wondered if this was simple service time manipulation, but the O’s made another surprising move when they called Holliday up on April 9, less than two weeks into the season. He had only played 10 Triple-A games to start the year, hitting a huge .333/.482/.595 in that time, and he was still called up early enough that he could earn a full year of service time by staying up for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Unfortunately, his major league career has gotten out to an incredibly slow start. Through 10 games and 36 plate appearances, he has struck out 18 times, a massive 50% clip. He only has two hits, both singles, and two walks. That leads to a batting line of .059/.111/.059.

That’s a tiny sample size but the O’s have evidently decided that the best move is to send Holliday down to Norfolk and get back into a groove. It wouldn’t be a surprise if that doesn’t take very long. He’s still very young and clearly incredibly talented, while his struggles consist of a small sliver of time in the grand scheme of things. Plenty of star baseball players have struggled initially and still gone on to great success. To use just a couple of examples, Chandler Rome of The Athletic pointed out this afternoon that Alex Bregman had two hits in his first 38 at-bats while Kyle Tucker had just nine in his first 64.

While Holliday could realistically be back in short order and slugging in the big leagues, he’ll first have to catch his breath in Norfolk and string some good plate appearances together, which is likely going to push back his path to free agency and perhaps to arbitration.

A major league season is 187 days long but a player needs only 172 to reach a year of service time, meaning a player can be sent to the minors for 15 days and still get a full year. Holliday missed the first 12 days of this season and was still in position to get to the one-year mark here in 2024 but he’ll now be a pace behind that. A position player optioned to the minors has to stay down for ten days before being recalled. An exception is made if someone else is going on the injured list, but the likeliest scenario is that Holliday will be in Norfolk for at least a few weeks.

He could also earn a full year of service time in the less-traditional way. The latest collective bargaining agreement added measures to combat service time, one of which was the ability for a top prospect to earn a full year of service even if not called up early enough if they finish in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting in their league. Though for that scenario to play out now, Holliday would have to quickly produce better results in order to secure a fast recall and then thrive in the majors for several months. With rookies like Colton Cowser, Wilyer Abreu, Mason Miller and Evan Carter already racking up decent numbers, Holliday would be challenged to end up getting into the top two.

For the club, they will also be taking their prospect promotion incentive off the table for now. Another new measure of the CBA is that teams can earn an extra draft pick if they promote top prospects early enough to get a full service year, and that player goes on to earn a Rookie of the Year award or a top three finish in MVP or Cy Young voting in their pre-arbitration years. That was on the table for Holliday with his promotion a couple of weeks ago but won’t be a factor now. That could still come into play next year if Holliday retains his rookie status through the end of 2024.

As for arbitration, a player needs three years of service to automatically qualify. Each year, a subset of player get in early by what is known as “Super Two” status. That line moves from year to year since it goes to the 22% of players with the most service between two and three years. Holliday could qualify for Super Two status after the 2026 season, depending on how much time he spends in the majors between now and then, as well as where the cutoff is after that year.

In addition to Holliday’s struggles, the O’s are able to make this move because so many other players are performing so well. Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg have both been excellent and seem likely to take the bulk of the middle infield playing time. Westburg had been spending more time at third but could now move to the keystone on a regular basis with Holliday’s demotion, with Ramón Urías getting more time at the hot corner. Urías isn’t hitting well this year but has solid career numbers at the plate and he is considered an excellent defender at multiple positions. Jorge Mateo is available as a depth infielder off the bench.

McKenna, 27, gets back on the Baltimore roster just a few weeks after being removed. He spent the past three years serving as a glove-first bench outfielder for the club. From 2021 through 2023, he hit just .221/.299/.318 but racked up eight Defensive Runs Saved and seven Outs Above Average on the grass. He also stole eight bases in nine tries.

He exhausted his option years in that time and was nudged off the club’s Opening Day roster this year, but was passed through waivers and stuck in the organization. It was reported earlier this week that McKenna was taking some reps at second base to expand his versatility, but he didn’t get a chance to take the infield during actual game action for the Tides before getting added back to the big league roster.

For now, it seems like he will go back to his role as a depth outfielder, behind the regulars Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad. Once Austin Hays is ready to return from the injured list, McKenna may be in jeopardy of losing his roster spot again, though Kjerstad getting optioned back to the minors is another possibility.

Bañuelos, 27, has been bouncing on and off the roster in the past week-plus, mostly out of convenience. He has been traveling with the team on the taxi squad as an emergency third catcher behind Adley Rutschman and James McCann. Twice in the past ten days, he was added to the roster when someone else was hurt, seemingly because he was there and ready to suit up. In both cases, he was designated for assignment shortly thereafter.

The first DFA led to Bañuelos passing through waivers unclaimed and sticking with the O’s. If he were to pass through unclaimed again, he would have the right to elect free agency as a player with a previous career outright. He has one major league plate appearance, a flyout, and hit .270/.369/.526 in Double-A for the Twins last year.

Orioles Notes: Means, Suarez, Perez, McKenna

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The Orioles could soon welcome John Means back for his season debut. Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters yesterday the O’s were considering activating Means to start on Sunday against the A’s (X link via the Baltimore Sun’s Matt Weyrich). The left-hander has been on the injured list all year, as the team opted to build him up slowly this spring. While Means made four starts late last year in his return from Tommy John surgery, he experienced residual elbow soreness that kept him off the postseason roster.

Means would likely have found himself on some kind of innings limit after throwing 31 2/3 combined frames between 2022-23. With that in mind, the O’s opted against pushing him this spring. The 2019 All-Star has started five games at Triple-A Norfolk on a rehab stint. The results have not been good, as he’s allowed 18 runs over 11 2/3 innings. The O’s probably aren’t especially concerned, though, as the southpaw’s primary focus has been building his workload. He got to 79 pitches over 4 1/3 innings on Tuesday.

If Baltimore decides to give Means one more rehab appearance, righty Albert Suárez would likely take the ball on Sunday. The 34-year-old has twirled 11 1/3 scoreless innings in two starts since the O’s selected his contract last week. Suárez couldn’t have asked for much better in his return to the big leagues for the first time in seven years. Whether it’ll be enough to hold a roster spot once Means is ready isn’t clear, but Suárez has outpitched fellow back-end arms Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin in a very limited look.

Despite the long layoff between his big league appearances, Suárez is out of options. Baltimore can’t send him back to Norfolk without first exposing him to waivers. Irvin is also out of options, but the O’s could theoretically send Kremer down if they want to ensure all three pitchers stay in the organization.

They could also nudge one of those players to the bullpen. Baltimore’s roster flexibility is limited in that regard as well, though. Five of the eight current members of their bullpen — Craig Kimbrel, Danny Coulombe, Mike Baumann, Jacob Webb and recent trade pickup Yohan Ramírez — can’t be sent down. Neither Yennier Cano nor Keegan Akin are going to be optioned. Unless the O’s were to option grounder specialist Dillon Tate, they could soon need to DFA one of their out-of-options arms.

That might happen once lefty Cionel Pérez returns to the big league club. He landed on the 15-day IL with a moderate oblique strain shortly after Opening Day. The Orioles sent him to Norfolk on a rehab stint yesterday, suggesting he’ll be back in the next week or two. Pérez, who is also out of options, turned in a 3.54 ERA behind a massive 60.7% ground-ball percentage over 53 1/3 innings last season.

The news out of Norfolk isn’t all injury related. Ryan McKenna was assigned outright after clearing waivers at the start of the regular season. Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner tweets that the career-long outfielder has started taking reps at second base in an effort to expand his defensive flexibility. While McKenna has not appeared there in a game yet, successfully acclimating to the infield could give him a better chance of cracking a loaded Baltimore bench at some point during the season.

A’s Claim Tyler Nevin Off Waivers, Designate Adrian Martinez

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The Athletics have claimed Tyler Nevin off waivers, as per an announcement from both the A’s and Orioles.  Oakland has designated right-hander Adrian Martinez for assignment to create roster space.  Baltimore designated Nevin, Ryan McKenna and Nick Maton for assignment in the lead-up to Opening Day, and McKenna and Maton have both cleared waivers and have been outrighted to the Orioles’ Triple-A club.

Nevin will now head to a new organization after spending the last few seasons with the Orioles and Tigers.  Baltimore acquired Nevin from the Rockies in 2020, and he made his MLB debut in 2021 and appeared in 64 games for the Orioles in 2021-22.  Detroit picked up Nevin in a deal during the 2022-23 offseason, and the Orioles then brought him back in another trade last January.  Even with Baltimore’s wealth of young infielders and the presence of Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo, the O’s still looked to add some more experienced utility depth, though Tony Kemp ended up taking that role rather than Nevin, Maton, or minor league signing Kolten Wong.

Nevin has a modest .203/.310/.301 slash line over 313 plate appearances in the majors, as his ability to handle both corner infield and corner outfield positions has been more valuable than his bat in garnering more time on big-league rosters.  He has hit quite well at the Triple-A level of the last two seasons, and as a former first-round pick (38th overall by the Rockies in 2015), there might still be some hope that Nevin can unlock more at the plate as he approaches his 27th birthday.

Seth Brown, Lawrence Butler, and Ryan Noda are all left-handed regulars in the Athletics lineup, so Nevin might fit as a right-handed hitting complement at first base or as a corner outfielder.  The rebuilding A’s figure to prioritize playing time for most of their younger players, but Nevin can provide some experienced depth if the Athletics want to give any of their youngsters (perhaps Darell Hernaiz) more regular playing time at Triple-A.

Martinez has a 5.51 ERA in 112 2/3 career MLB innings, all with Oakland in 2022-23.  Martinez worked as a starter in 2022 but was used primarily in relief last year, though the role change didn’t lead to any uptick in his uninspiring strikeout or walk rates.  Acquired from the Padres as part of the Sean Manaea trade almost exactly two years ago, Martinez’s big league numbers are actually better than his 6.19 ERA in 173 innings of Triple-A ball, as Pacific Coast League batters mashed 39 homers off Martinez in the hitter-friendly environment.

Orioles Designate Tyler Nevin, Ryan McKenna For Assignment

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The Orioles set their Opening Day roster today and made a few roster moves, including designating outfielder Ryan McKenna and infielder Tyler Nevin for assignment. The 40-man roster count drops to 38.

Nevin, 27 in May, came to the O’s from the Tigers via a cash deal in January. He has been a solid multi-positional player in the minors but has struggled to hit against major league pitching. He has hit .315/.394/.522 at Triple-A over the past two years for a wRC+ of 134. But in 313 major league plate appearances in his career thus far, he has a lesser line of .203/.310/.301.

He came into spring and performed well, hitting .333 /.367/.474, but got squeezed out of a bench job when the O’s recently signed Tony Kemp. Since he’s out of options and there was no room for him on the active roster, he had to be removed from the 40-man entirely.

The O’s will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers, but it seems fair to expect some interest from other clubs. Despite being out of options, he has a strong minor league track record and was just hitting well in the spring. He’s capable of playing any of the four corner spots, which could help him find a landing spot somewhere. He also comes with five years of control remaining since he has just over a year of service time.

McKenna, 27, has been serving as a part-time outfielder for the Orioles over the past three years. He’s played in 284 games from 2021 to the present, having hit .221/.299/.318 in his 504 plate appearances, striking out in 33.3% of them. He’s considered a strong defender and has stolen eight bases in nine tries.

He’s also out of options and got squeezed off the roster, meaning the O’s will have a week to find a trading partner or pass him through waivers. He reached arbitration for the first time this winter as a Super Two player and agreed to a salary of $800K, slightly above the $740K league minimum.

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