Rich Dubroff

Orioles place 6 players on 40-man roster, add infielder Lucius Fox on waiver claim

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The Orioles added six players to their 40-man roster on Friday. Four were expected and two weren’t. By selecting the contracts of the six, the Orioles have protected them from the Rule 5 draft.

The ones who were expected were left-handed pitchers DL Hall and Kevin Smith, right-handed pitcher Kyle Bradish and infielder Terrin Vavra. The two who weren’t were right-handers Félix Bautista and Logan Gillaspie.

They also acquired infielder Lucius Fox on waivers from Kansas City. He’s a 24-year-old native of the Bahamas and hit .245 with five home runs and 24 RBIs in 62 games, 57 with Triple-A Omaha. He stole 19 bases in 21 attempts.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster is at 39.


Hall, a 23-year-old left-hander, was the Orioles’ No. 1 draft choice in 2017. He began the season at Double-A Bowie but was limited to seven starts because of an injury to his left elbow. Hall was 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA. He struck out 56 and walked 16 in 31 2/3 innings.

Bradish, a 25-year-old right-hander, was one of four pitchers acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in December 2019 for starting pitcher Dylan Bundy. In 24 games, 22 starts at Triple-A Norfolk and Bowie, Bradish was 6-5 with a 3.68 ERA. He struck out 131  and walked 44 in 100 1/3 innings.

Smith, a 24-year-old left-hander, was picked up from the New York Mets in the August 2020 deal for relief pitcher Miguel Castro. In 22 games, 20 starts at Norfolk and Bowie, he was 3-7 with 4.59 ERA. Smith struck out 105 and walked 59 in 82 1/3 innings.

Vavra, a 24-year-old infielder, was acquired from the Colorado Rockies in an August 2020 trade for reliever Mychal Givens. He missed much of the season because of a back injury and hit .275 with five home runs and 21 RBIs in 48 games, 40 with Bowie.

Bautista, a 26-year-old right-hander, was 1-6 with 11 saves and a 1.54 ERA in 40 games for High-A Aberdeen, Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He struck out 77 and walked 30 while allowing just two home runs in 46 2/3 innings.

Gillaspie, a 24-year-old right-hander, was signed this spring after pitching in the Milwaukee Brewers organization in 2019. He was 1-3 with four saves and a 4.97 ERA in 26 games with Aberdeen and Bowie. He struck out 52 and walked 11 in 41 2/3 innings. He’s 0-1 with a 9.00 earned-run average in five games in the Arizona Fall League.

Among those who were left unprotected were right-handed pitcher Cody Sedlock, the Orioles’ top pick in 2016, left-handed reliever Nick Vespi, infielders Patrick Dorrian, Cadyn Grenier and Adam Hall, and outfielder Robert Neustrom.

 

 

Rich Dubroff

Rich Dubroff grew up in Brooklyn as a fan of New York teams, but after he moved to Baltimore, quickly adopted the Orioles and Colts. After nearly two decades as a freelancer assisting on Orioles coverage for several outlets, principally The Capital in Annapolis and The Carroll County Times, Dubroff began covering the team fulltime in 2011. He spent five years at Comcast SportsNet’s website and for the last two seasons, wrote for PressBoxonline.com, Dubroff lives in Baltimore with his wife of more than 30 years, Susan.

View Comments

  • I guess with our cadre of middle infielders on thier way, Adam Hall wasn't worth protecting.

    I guess I just don't understand why it's taken him so many years to progress, spending all 3 of his years at various A ball teams. I know his hitting digressed a bit, but he's still only 22, and I'd hate to give him away. Here's to hoping he's one to slide by. hic°°

  • Huh Bautista put on the 40 man roster? Surprise! Surprise! Not possessing a good formula or recipe for MLB. Succes eh Rich?

  • I am totally fine with the guys we left off. I might personally have put Vespi on there as well, but I can see why they didn't. Gillespie though?????

    Rich is right, outfielders almost never stick as Rule V picks these days. Pitchers are easy to hide, you just have them mop up games, like Wells started out as. Utility players as well. Neustrom is a corner outfielder, so you really have to believe that he will be good enough off the bat to get a decent share of at-bats. So for a guy with probably a lower ceiling as well, he's just not worth a spot yet. Although probably worth more than Stewart, ha.

    I'm not surprised at all that Bautista was added. Relievers of his size that throw 100 mph are hard to come by. If he reduces the walks, that's an elite arm. If not, he could still be passable. Certainly moreso than Smith.

    Vavra, Hall, and Bradish were obvious choices. Looking forward to seeing all three this year. I think Bradish will be extremely good once he adjusts to the level (he seems to need a month or two to adjust at each level).

  • I would have passed on Fox, who is another 1st round bust, to add Neustrom to the 40 man. Or even another 1 of a handful of other Oriole prospects; Vespi or A. Hall to name a couple.

    Last year the powers that be thought Sceroler was a better option than Pop. And we know how that turned out.

    • John, Sedlock has been unprotected twice before, and not drafted. His ERA wasn’t great at either Bowie or Norfolk, and he walked four batters per nine innings this year, fairly high. They’re guessing he first get taken, and if not, he’ll probably get to go to major league spring training and try to show he belongs.

    • Grenier hasn’t hit much and like Hall, has been passed by Westburg and Henderson. Like Hall, I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the majors, but it might not be here. His glove is strong, but others in the system have far better bats.

  • I’d have protected Sedlock before Stewart. The O’s seemingly have depth at the outfield positions. Can’t say the same for pitching.

  • MLB TradeRumors does a roster round up after all the teams set their 40 man roster. Currently 13 teams have no openings. 8 have 1 opening. So 21 out of 30 teams have a full or practically full roster. Now this will change in a few weeks when players get non tendered. But in an average year, half the league doesn’t even bother to make a pick. The Orioles are the obvious exception. The Nationals for instance haven’t taken anyone in over a decade. Tampa Bay has taken only 1 player in the last 10 years which is surprising considering they are a small market team. Bottom line is most teams have enough trouble protecting their own players. I would be surprised if the Orioles lose anybody

    • John, last year’s Rule 5 selections, Tyler Wells, Akil Baddoo, Garrett Whitlock were very strong, and there were 18 players taken, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were that many taken against. The Nationals’ farm system isn’t as strong as it was. As for the Rays, they’ve had a strong farm system and like to be able to option players, which you can’t do with a Rule 5.

  • The A's have 5 open slots, NL Central teams have 12. Could be these slots will be for non rendered players. The O's will likely lose at least one and probably two, just like last year.

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