The Orioles announced they have claimed right-hander Carson Ragsdale off waivers from the Braves and optioned him to the spring training complex. Ragsdale was recently designated for assignment when Atlanta signed Charlie Morton. Baltimore designated righty Dom Hamel for assignment in a corresponding move.
This is the second time in as many months that the O’s have claimed Ragsdale. The first came in early August, when the O’s grabbed the 27-year-old from the Giants. At that time, the O’s had just traded away a number of guys at the deadline and had roster spots available. He was later put back on the waiver wire when the O’s claimed lefty José Castillo. Atlanta put in a claim at that time but put him on the wire yet again a few days later.
The righty still has a very minimal big league track record. He just made his major league debut for the O’s less than two weeks ago, tossing three innings of relief in a September 14th game against the Blue Jays, allowing eight earned runs in the process.
Having an earned run average of 24.00 in the big leagues is obviously not impressive but he continues to garner interest from clubs based on his minor league track record. This year’s work on the farm hasn’t been amazing, as he has a 5.22 ERA, 19.5% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate in 89 2/3 innings. But last year, he logged 120 2/3 minor league innings with a 4.18 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate.
It’s possible the O’s would like to get him through waivers in order to keep him as non-roster depth, though their first such attempt failed. They could try again in the future but he retakes a spot on the 40-man for now.
Hamel, 26, was just claimed from the Mets a few days ago. He also has just one major league game on his track record, having tossed a scoreless inning against the Padres on September 17th. His minor league work isn’t overwhelming but he does strike guys out. Over 438 1/3 minor league innings, he has a 4.72 ERA, 10.6% walk rate and 26.8% strikeout rate.
With the trade deadline having passed, Baltimore’s only option with him now will be to put him on waivers. He still has a full slate of options. If any other club out there is intrigued by his minor league numbers, he could be claimed and wouldn’t need to be added to the major league active roster. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he wouldn’t have the right to reject an outright assignment, since he doesn’t have a previous career outright nor three years of big league service time.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images