Ex-O’s Report: A final statistical look at the 2016 Orioles who played elsewhere in 2017

Periodically this season, we’ve checked the progress of 2016 Orioles’ players who landed with other major league teams this year.

With the 2017 regular season in the books, let’s take one final look at the ex-Orioles who flew the nest after last year.

Parker Bridwell, Los Angeles Angels

Losing Bridwell on waivers in April could prove to be one of the biggest blunders in recent Orioles history. He capped off a stellar rookie season for the Angels by throwing seven shutout innings on the last day of the season Sunday, winning his 10th game in 13 decisions and finishing with a 3.64 ERA. The Angels had an 18-3 record in games Bridwell started, and he’s a major reason they were able to stay afloat in the wild card race until the final week of the season.

Odrisamer Despaigne and Vance Worley, Miami Marlins

Two long relievers from the 2016 Orioles ended up as teammates on the Marlins this year, with very different results. Despaigne, who had a forgettable 5.60 ERA for the Orioles last season, improved his fortunes by going 2-3 with a 4.01 ERA for the Marlins in 18 games, including eight starts.

But Worley, who was a solid contributor in Baltimore with a 3.53 ERA in 35 games, went the opposite direction this year. He struggled to a 2-6 record and 6.91 ERA in 24 games, 12 of them starts. Their Marlins finished with a 77-85 record, just two games better than the Orioles, but they finished in second place in their division while the O’s were last in theirs. That tells you all you need to know about the NL East.

Oliver Drake, Milwaukee Brewers

Drake, whom the Orioles traded to the Brewers after three appearances this season, became a mainstay in the Milwaukee bullpen. He struck out plenty of batters — 59 in 52 2/3 innings — but those whiffs didn’t translate to great results. Drake was 3-5 with a 4.44 ERA in 61 games. He settled mainly into mop-up duty; the Brewers were 5-13 in the last 18 games he pitched.

Brian Duensing, Chicago Cubs

Duensing got a guaranteed $2 million contract from the Cubs even after an injury-shortened and unremarkable 2016 season with the Orioles. To the Cubs’ credit, the signing paid off. Duensing made 68 appearances and posted a 2.74 ERA, striking out 61 batters in 62 1/3 innings. For the second straight year, Duensing is on a club headed to the playoffs.

Yovani Gallardo and Ariel Miranda, Seattle Mariners

The Mariners extended their MLB-worst postseason drought to 16 consecutive seasons, partly because their rotation was decimated by injuries. And partly because two of their healthiest starters, Gallardo (5-10, 5.72 ERA) and Miranda (8-7, 5.12 ERA), were so ineffective.

The pair of ex-Orioles combined for 59 appearances, including 51 starts, and posted a cumulative ERA of 5.39. Between them, they gave up 61 homers, even while pitching their home games at spacious Safeco Field. The Mariners are certain to decline Gallardo’s $13 million option for 2018, while Miranda remains under contract, but might not stay in the rotation next year.

Tommy Hunter, Tampa Bay Rays

Hunter stayed with a single team all season for the first time since 2014, and he rewarded the Rays with a resurgent year in 61 relief appearances. His 2.61 ERA and 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings were the best marks of his career, and all at the relatively cheap price of $1.4 million. The team Hunter struck out most often was — you guessed it — the Orioles, as he fanned nine of the 27 Baltimore batters he faced in 2017.

Hyun Soo Kim, Philadelphia Phillies

A late addition to this list, Kim didn’t become an ex-Oriole until July 28, when he was packaged as part of the Jeremy Hellickson trade with the Phillies. Kim’s season, unfortunately, didn’t improve after he left Baltimore. In fact, his numbers were almost identical. Kim had a .230 average, .309 OBP and .299 slugging percentage for the Phillies after posting a .232/.305/.288 line for the Orioles before the trade.

Kim’s playing time was squeezed by a young Phillies outfield, and the pending free agent seems unlikely to return to Philadelphia. His future in MLB is up in the air after his forgettable 2017 season.

T.J. McFarland, Arizona Diamondbacks

McFarland got off to a hot start in the desert, posting a 1.78 ERA through his first 20 relief outings for Arizona. But McFarland melted in the second half. He posted an 11.09 ERA in 17 games from Aug. 1 through the end of the year, including two appearances in which he allowed seven runs apiece, and finished the season with a 5.33 mark overall. Those struggles have likely eliminated McFarland from consideration for the Diamondbacks’ playoff roster.

Steve Pearce, Toronto Blue Jays

Pearce’s final season stats weren’t eye-popping — a .252 average, .757 OPS, 13 homers and 37 RBIs in 92 games — but he did a good job of turning his season around after a dreadful start. Pearce was batting .167 with a .377 OPS and no homers at the end of April before stepping on the gas pedal. He became the Blue Jays’ regular left fielder by midseason, but suffered a back injury that ended his year Sept. 8. Pearce remains under contract with the Blue Jays for 2018.

Chaz Roe, Atlanta Braves/Tampa Bay Rays

Roe started this season with the Braves, who claimed him off waivers from the Orioles in August 2016, but pitched just three games for them before suffering a right lat strain that cost him nearly five months. By the time Roe got back on a big league mound in September, he’d been traded to the Rays. He did solid work in his brief stint with Tampa Bay, allowing one run and collecting 12 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings. And Roe saved the best for last: he struck out the side against the Orioles in the ninth inning of Sunday’s season finale.

Drew Stubbs, San Francisco Giants

Stubbs appeared in 10 games in the majors this year with the Giants, going 2-for-22, and then spent the rest of the season at Triple-A Round Rock in the Texas Rangers’ organization. Stubbs has become a frequent passenger on the Triple-A/MLB shuttle for various clubs the past three years. Since the start of 2015, Stubbs has played for Colorado, Albuquerque, Round Rock, Texas, Atlanta, Round Rock again, Texas again, Baltimore, Sacramento, San Francisco and then Round Rock once more.

Ashur Tolliver, Houston Astros

Tolliver, a 29-year-old lefty, spent the first eight years of his professional career in the Orioles’ system — making his major league debut in 2016 — but has now bounced to four organizations in the last two years. This year, he spent most of the season at Triple-A for the Astros, making it to the majors for three games. After the Astros released him in August, the Seattle Mariners picked him up and stashed him at Double-A Arkansas, where posted a 3.38 ERA in five games.

Matt Wieters, Washington Nationals

I wrote about Wieters’ 2017 offensive freefall a couple of weeks ago, and his numbers have slipped even more since. In 123 games, Wieters finished the season with career worsts in batting average (.225), on-base percentage (.288) and slugging (.344). His .632 OPS was the second-worst in the NL among players with 300 or more plate appearances, better only than Cincinnati Reds infielder Jose Peraza (.622). Wieters also threw out just 25% of attempted base stealers, his lowest mark since his rookie season of 2009 (not including his injury-shortened 2014). Still, Wieters doesn’t have much to complain about; his Nationals are headed to the postseason while the Orioles are going home for October.

The non-MLBers

There are six players from the 2016 Orioles who didn’t play in MLB at all in 2017. One is still in the organization — outfielder-turned-pitcher Dariel Alvarez, who underwent Tommy John surgery before he could officially start his conversion to the mound — but the five others find their careers at an end or at a crossroads.

Righty reliever Logan Ondrusek and outfielder Michael Bourn were both in spring training with the Orioles after signing new deals last winter, but neither made it into a game with the big league club after suffering injuries at camp. Ondrusek suffered elbow soreness and was released, while Bourn broke his right ring finger catching a football and started the year on the DL. He put up uninspiring numbers for Triple-A Norfolk after his return (.220 average, .690 OPS, no homers or RBIs) and the Orioles let him opt out of his contract May 24. He later latched on with the Los Angeles Angels for a month-long stint at Triple-A Salt Lake, but was released July 2.

Outfielder Julio Borbon spent 2017 in the Mexican League, where he batted .365 with an .895 OPS in 90 games split between the Acereros de Monclova and Pericos de Puebla. Another outfielder, Nolan Reimold, tried his hand in independent ball with the Long Island Ducks, but retired after 19 games.

Then there’s Brian Matusz, the one-time ace in the making for the Orioles whose career has gone into a tailspin. He lasted just 11 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate in Reno, going 0-1 with a 6.11 ERA and surrendering 31 baserunners in 17 2/3 innings. Matusz (pictured above) was released May 12 and didn’t find a new home.