When the Orioles add minor league players to the 40-man roster later this month, some players will have to be removed.
In 2019, the Orioles added four players from their minor league system to the 40-man roster. Last year, there were six additions. There are 35 players on the 40-man roster, and reliever Fernando Abad is about to come off when free agency begins.
While there will be roster adjustments between now and the time of the December 8th Rule 5 draft, the Orioles probably will want two open roster spots in advance of the draft.
One of the difficulties in deciding which players to drop is that many of the players who could be considered have limited experience with the Orioles. Let’s look at some of them:
Nick Ciuffo: The Orioles have two catchers on the 40-man roster, veteran Pedro Severino and Ciuffo. The Orioles are likely to cut ties with Severino before the December 2nd deadline for offering contracts. According to MajorLeagueTradeRumors.com, Severino could draw a $3.1 million salary as an arbitration-eligible player, and the Orioles are expected to bring up top prospect Adley Rutschman to be their primary catcher.
Last year, the Orioles let designated hitter Reñato Nuñez go ahead of the contract deadline because they knew they couldn’t trade him.
Ciuffo could be the only catcher on the 40-man roster heading into the draft, but he played only two games for the Orioles in the final days of the season.
Austin Wynns, who was the backup to Severino for most of the season, declared for free agency last month after he cleared outright waivers.
Marcos Diplán: Diplán had a strong start after his debut on August 6th. He didn’t allow a hit in his first four appearances, and the only batter to reach base against him in his first 6 1/3 innings was on a walk.
The opposition caught up with the 25-year-old right-hander, but he ended up pitching in 23 games with a 2-0 record and a 4.50 ERA.
Conner Greene: Greene made his Orioles debut on July 27th, was lost on waivers to the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 9th and, after two scoreless appearances with the Dodgers, was reclaimed by the Orioles two weeks later.
In 22 games, Greene was 1-3 with a 7.71 ERA, but manager Brandon Hyde liked his fastball. Greene struck out 24 batters in 23 1/3 innings, and allowed just one home run.
Eric Hanhold: Hyde was impressed by the 28-year-old right-hander during spring training 2020 but, even though he was invited to the alternate site, he never made it to Baltimore until this past September.
Hanhold pitched in 10 games, allowing nine runs, one unearned, on 13 hits in 10 1/3 innings. He never appeared in a game the Orioles won.
Joey Krehbiel: Krehbiel was claimed on waivers by the Orioles from the Tampa Bay Rays on September 18th and appeared in five games, allowing four runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings.
Krehbiel gave up just one hit in 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his first three outings, then allowed four runs on four hits in his final three innings. Hyde tried Krehbiel in some tight spots at first, and he delivered.
Brooks Kriske: Kriske, who was claimed on waivers from the New York Yankees on September 16th, was 1-0 with a 12.27 ERA in four appearances.
The right-hander attracted interest initially because he was named after Orioles great Brooks Robinson. Kriske allowed four runs in 1 1/3 innings at Toronto on October 1st.
Isaac Mattson: The 26-year-old right-hander was one of four pitchers acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in the trade for Dylan Bundy in December 2019.
Mattson is the first of the four to make the majors and had four widely spaced appearances: May 7th, July 3rd, August 7th and October 1st. He allowed three runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings for a 6.23 ERA.
Note: Orioles vice president/assistant general manager Sig Mejdal, who heads up the team’s analytics operation, could be a candidate for the vacant New York Mets general manager position, according to a tweet by The Athletic. The Orioles would need to allow Mejdal, who accompanied executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias to Baltimore from Houston in November 2018, to interview for the position.
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I would say I’d keep the Tampa Bay reliever and Mattson cut everybody else . There is a time to rid the organization of the mediocre attitude .
Sorry for going off topic here Rich but BALL DON’T LIE!!!
Braves stick in Manfred’s ear!
That my friends is what we call Karma!
Agree, just would’ve like to see them win in 5 so Manfred had to present awards to them on Atlanta, can you imagine the response the Braves fans would’ve had for him…lol…go O’s…
I think this whole Atlanta fiasco was more a sign of today's over-kill,political theater. Manfed just got sucked into the vacuum of peer pressure. Last night's elections made more of a statement than Manfred vs Atlanta ever could. Agree fellas--time to stop this "theater" and let "Boys be Boys".
Kinda like Greene's fastball too. Terrible when he first got here but solid since being reclaimed from LA. Krebiehl simply because of his Tampa ties and Diplan,who looked solid early on,should get second looks. Wondering if having Rutschman,who supposedly has all the tools,can actuallty make a difference in the staff's performance.
Boog and calspals when people talk politics they don’t agree with… I’m leaving this site, can’t we just focus on baseball.
Boog and calpals when said politics is more to their liking… suck it manfred!
I see what you’re saying, but the timing of it being election night couldn’t have been more perfect IMO.
Great night Tuesday for the Red Team
Re the World Series. The AL East didn't win it. The AL East didn't win the American League pennant. Can we stop talking about it as if it were a super division. It has four winning franchises that get fat on the one losing franchise. If the O's were in another division, perhaps that division would have all but one team with winning records.
11/2 may go down as one of the best US episodes of Karmapalooza in history! Surely if Ciattarelli eked out a W, it would have been the best!
Karmapalooza! Catch it!
I’d like for Elias to deny Sig the chance to interview for the Mets. I doubt he wants to go there anyway because there dysfunctional as hell. As far as the forty man roster keep the guy that Elias claimed from the rays. Keep Mattson because he wasn’t really given a chance to show what he can do. Kriske can go he. He was terrible for us. And with all the injuries the Yankees had it can’t be good that they dfa him.
Keep Mattson, dump the rest.
Plenty of "fat" available to be trimmed from the 40- man roster.
Sig to the Mets? I won't lose any sleep.
I want Sig to go to the Mets if for no other reason than to watch the reactions of Mets fans when they see they’ve brought in as their next GM a guy from the O’s. I know, I know, “the O’s have the top rated minor league system now.” Yeh, yeh, yeh, I’m sure that’s what the Mets fans are looking for, a top rated minor league system. Who wants a winner at the major league level? And NY fans and media will be SO patient with him I’m sure. In all seriousness, my advice to Sig, stay put, see it through in Baltimore, and if major league success follows for the O’s you can know you were a big part of it. Stay as far away from NYC as you can.
Sig to the Mets is more intriguing to me than the other moves we're speculating about. Will ME give the Mets permission? How much does the GM rely on Sig? Will the Angeloses step in? Is Sig interested? If he goes, who's ready to jump into the Analytics' seat? Will the O's and Mets arrange a trade of managerial talent? I'm staying tuned, for sure!
FAT!
skinny?
Okay in my role as hot-air GM blow hard, I am cutting
Hanhold, Kriske, Mattson, Watkins (great story though), and, yes, A. Wells (love that he's an Aussie, but the O's have too many soft tossers).
I am keeping either Severino (surprise right?) or Cuiffo unless I can land a decent FA catcher to mentor my guy Rutschmann
I am also giving Guti the boot-tee, sorry I like rhymes. Bannon, Martin, and Nevin are candidates for cuts too though I need to see how things sift out with the other teams.
Yeah Atlanta Braves! Sock it too 'em - Karmapalooza 2021! Drink water and drive, don't fly!
Rich probably underestimates the number of players that will need to be cut from the current roster to make room for new blood. If history repeats, management will be enthusiastically claiming waiver wire castoffs and signing low-cost free agents. Shouldn't be a problem adding them given the number of expendables currently under contract. The 'mediocrity merry-go-round' of low wage, marginal players is unlikely to stop spinning in the new year. Fans should not expect reductions in ticket prices for each three hour ride.
Steve, Rich does not underestimate the number of players that will need to be cut from the current roster to make room for new blood. I am just listing some candidates that could be in danger to make room solely for the minor league players from the system that need to be added. I think many more could be in play when you add some of the waiver wire pickups that could be coming along.
Steve, Rich, Steve, Rich, Steve, Steve, Rich, Rich, Dave!
Joe.
Rich, dlg, et al: the larger issue is not the arithmetic of roster purging. It is the likelihood of replacing existing so-so players with new so-so players that are unlikely to help generate a "meaningful" number of wins in the coming season.
I’d have to agree with Rich. Rich doesn’t underestimate anything relating to the O’s. Rich has seen too much and I’m sure heard much more than he’s able to say.
I just heard the wonderful news about the engagement of Trey and Sara. Now more than ever it’s imperative the O’s extend Trey. I’d be as sorry to see Sara go as I would Trey. They are two VERY classy people. All the best to them, wherever they go.
About time…Congrats…go O’s…
Breaking news!!! Someone from the Orioles scrap pile was CLAIMED!!!! Can you believe it???
I don't believe it. Hanhold's record arguably placed him at the bottom of the scrap pile. The Pirates must really be desperate.
Did anyone else notice that Severino was outrighted to Norfolk. I guess it's possible that he could be resigned at a lower salary if he doesn't sign elsewhere.