Ex-Orioles Report: Revisiting the 2016 O’s who are playing elsewhere this season

Back in April, we checked in on all the members of the 2016 Orioles who have landed with new clubs this season, and how they’ve fared.

With the All-Star break upon us, now’s a good time to take another look at that group. Which of last year’s Orioles have found success since leaving the team, and which are floundering?

I’ve made a few updates to the list. As mentioned last month, Brian Matusz and Nolan Reimold are no longer employed by any baseball organization. Those two, along with fellow unemployed 2016 Oriole Logan Ondrusek, have been removed from the list.

In their place, two players who started this season in the Orioles organization, but have since gone elsewhere, have been added. Coincidentally, they both landed in the same organization, as you’ll see shortly.

Julio Borbon, Pericos de Puebla

Borbon, who has spent the entire 2017 season in the Mexican League, started the season with the Acereros de Monclova and batted .350 with an .857 OPS in 55 games. On July 1, he was dealt to the Pericos (Parakeets).

Among Borbon’s new teammates with Puebla are several other former Orioles, including Endy Chavez, Dan Johnson and Jason Pridie. (Hey, I didn’t say they were memorable former Orioles.)

Michael Bourn and Parker Bridwell, Los Angeles Angels

And here are the two newcomers to the 2016 ex-Orioles list.

Back in April, Bourn was in the Orioles’ organization, rehabbing from a broken ring finger that he suffered catching a football at spring training in Sarasota. Bourn made his season debut at Triple-A Norfolk May 8, but he batted just .220 in 11 games and didn’t make a strong case for the Orioles to add him to their crowded major league outfield. Bourn exercised an opt-out in his contract May 23 and the Orioles released him the next day.

Bourn latched on with the Angels, but couldn’t find a fit there, either. He hit .260 in 23 games at Triple-A Salt Lake before the Angels, too, gave him his release July 2. Bourn hasn’t found a new employer yet.

Bridwell, meanwhile, spent his first seven seasons in the Orioles’ organization. The ninth-round draft pick in 2010 made two forgettable major league appearances last year. But the club cut him loose after he gave up eight runs in his first two games for Norfolk this season, trading him to the Angels in a cash deal.

In what seems to be a recurring theme for the Orioles, the young pitcher they gave up on is finding some success elsewhere. Bridwell has made six appearances (five starts) for the Angels and is 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA, making three quality starts.

It’s a very small sample size, and there are reasons to believe Bridwell might be getting a bit lucky (such as his low strikeout rate), but if the Orioles could do it over again, they might choose to keep Bridwell around as possible depth for their struggling rotation.

Odrisamer Despaigne and Vance Worley, Miami Marlins

Two of last year’s Oriole long relievers have bounced between the majors and minors for the Marlins this year. Despaigne has appeared in just two games for Miami — registering a 7.94 ERA — but has spent most of the year at Triple-A New Orleans, where he’s 1-4 with a 3.51 ERA in a swingman role.

Worley has been with the big club since late May, but washed out of a starting role, getting chased before the fifth inning in three of his four starts. He’s been working in relief since then. All told, Worley is 0-2 with a 6.31 ERA in 10 games (four starts).

Here’s a completely random Worley factoid: In his first six games with the Marlins, he gave up a different number of runs each time (zero, one, two, three, four and five — but not in that order).

Oliver Drake, Milwaukee Brewers

The Orioles didn’t seem to have a role for Drake despite his presence on the Opening Day roster this year, but he’s found a home in the Brewers’ bullpen. Drake has already made 36 appearances for Milwaukee, more than he made in his parts of three seasons with the Orioles.

Drake has been flashing strikeout stuff, racking up 40 whiffs in 32 2/3 innings, but, so far, it’s translated to only a so-so 4.13 ERA for the Brewers.

Brian Duensing, Chicago Cubs

Duensing had a 10.12 ERA after his first five games with the Cubs, but he’s turned his season around since, lowering that mark to 2.79 in 35 appearances. At 34, Duensing is striking out more batters than ever before; his strikeout rate this season is 10.9 compared to 6.2 for his career. He seems to be the king of low-leverage situations, though — he has only two holds, no saves and no decisions.

Yovani Gallardo and Ariel Miranda, Seattle Mariners

Whatever renaissance the Mariners were hoping for when they took Gallardo off the Orioles’ hands this past winter, it hasn’t panned out. Gallardo pitched so poorly in his 14 starts — a 3-7 record and 6.30 ERA — that Seattle shifted him to the bullpen at the end of June.

On the plus side, long relief has been more to Gallardo’s liking so far. He’s made three solid appearances of three or more innings, has posted a 0.87 relief in those, and even picked up his first major league save.

Miranda, meanwhile, has been a great find for Seattle. In his rookie season, he’s 7-4 with a 4.15 ERA and has held together an injury-plagued Mariners rotation by making 18 starts. Yes, as Dan Connolly noted, Miranda’s numbers have been boosted by his spacious home ballpark of Safeco Field, and his minor league track record didn’t give much reason to believe he’d have this kind of success in the bigs.

Still, the Mariners appear to be the clear winners in the Miranda/Wade Miley swap with the Orioles last August. They’ve got a cheap lefty under their control for six years, while potential free agent Miley has struggled with Baltimore.

Tommy Hunter, Tampa Bay Rays

Hunter missed a month of the season with a right calf strain, but when healthy, he’s been a useful piece in the Rays’ bullpen. He has 29 strikeouts in 29 games and boasts a 2.13 ERA, which would be the best mark of his career if the season ended today. It’s been a nice bounceback performance for the 10-year veteran, who turned 31 on July 3.

T.J. McFarland, Arizona Diamondbacks

While fellow lefty Matusz flamed out with the Diamondbacks before his release, McFarland has thrived. In 21 games of relief, he has vultured four wins and posted a 2.39 ERA.

McFarland is getting no help whatsoever from his defense, though. He’s allowed more unearned runs (eight) than earned runs (seven). In fact, he’s only been scored upon in seven games — and five of them featured at least one unearned run. We may never know why the Diamondbacks fielders are trying to sabotage McFarland at every turn.

Steve Pearce, Toronto Blue Jays

Pearce got off to a brutal start for the Blue Jays, batting .167 with a .377 OPS, no home runs and one RBI in April. His season got even worse when he landed on the disabled list in May with a calf strain.

Since returning from the DL in June, though, Pearce has looked more like the solid role player he once was for the Orioles. He’s hitting .346 with a .936 OPS in those 17 games, homering twice and driving in nine runs.

Chaz Roe, Atlanta Braves (DL)

I could just copy and paste the Roe entry from my April story, because he hasn’t thrown a pitch in the majors since then. He’s been on the disabled list since April 12 with a right lat strain and has pitched just three times this year.

However, his return might finally be on the horizon. The Braves sent Roe on a rehab assignment July 2 to the delightfully named Florida Fire Frogs, their High-A affiliate.

Drew Stubbs, Texas Rangers (minors)

Stubbs spent a couple weeks with the San Francisco Giants earlier this season, but went just 2-for-22 (marginally worse than his 3-for-22 performance for the Orioles last year). The Giants let him go on May 10, and Stubbs signed a minor league deal with the Rangers six days later, his third stint in as many years with Texas.

In 44 games with Triple-A Round Rock, Stubbs is batting .314 with six homers, 24 RBIs and an .891 OPS. By the way, he’s not the only ex-Oriole hitting well for Round Rock — teammate Travis Snider has a .316 average and .841 OPS in 74 games.

Ashur Tolliver, Houston Astros

Last year with the Orioles, Tolliver faced 22 batters and allowed eight of them to reach base. This year with the Astros, Tolliver has faced 22 batters and allowed nine of them to reach base. He’s nothing if not consistent.

Tolliver has made just three big league appearances (3.60 ERA) for the Astros this year, which isn’t surprising considering that his ERA at Triple-A Fresno is 8.59 in 21 games.

Matt Wieters, Washington Nationals

I’ll save the biggest name for last — partially for suspense, but mainly because I’m going in alphabetical order.

Many Orioles fans have lamented the loss of Wieters this season, claiming that his absence behind the plate has been a factor in the implosion of Baltimore hurlers. And while it’s hard to determine whether there’s any truth to that, one thing is clear: The Orioles don’t miss Wieters’ bat.

After finishing April with a .301 average and .934 OPS, Wieters’ production has plummeted. He slumped throughout May and June — posting a sub-.600 OPS both months — and by July 7 he dipped to a season-worst .238 average and .661 OPS. And after hitting four home runs in the opening month, he’s knocked just three since. He’s currently batting .244 with a .294 on-base percentage in 70 games.

While he was with the Orioles, Wieters had a tendency to start the year strong at the plate and then fade as the season went on. He seems to have carried over that custom to D.C.