The Orioles shuffled their bullpen and bench ahead of Tuesday’s game with the Tampa Bay Rays.
After suffering a left hamstring strain on a ninth-inning single during Monday’s loss, Ramón Urías was placed on the 10-day injured list. The club also optioned left-hander Keegan Akin and designated catcher Luis Torrens for assignment. To take their places, Baltimore brought back left-handed hitters Ryan O’Hearn and Terrin Vavra and promoted pitching prospect Drew Rom for the first time.
A 23-year-old left-hander who Baseball America ranked as Baltimore’s No. 24 prospect entering this season, Rom was the Orioles’ fourth-round pick in the 2018 draft. He had a 2.87 ERA in six starts for Triple-A Norfolk this year and is coming off striking out 11 over six shutout innings in his most recent outing for the Tides.
It figures Rom will take Akin’s role as a left-handed long reliever; Akin had a 5.91 ERA in 13 relief appearances for Baltimore. Urías was hitting .278 with a .756 OPS while serving as a regular in the Orioles’ infield. Torrens hadn’t appeared for Baltimore after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs after they had also designated him for assignment. The Orioles did not make a corresponding move on their 40-man roster, meaning it has one opening.
The Orioles added Torrens because they wanted to carry three catchers to have more comfort deploying Adley Rutschman and James McCann in the same lineups. It’s possible Vavra now fills that role in an emergency capacity, with the utility man appearing in two games at the position while with Norfolk after training as a catcher in the offseason. Between Triple-A and the majors, he has also played second base, third base and both corner outfield spots, and practiced at first base in the winter. After making Baltimore’s opening day roster, he hit .231 with no extra-base hits in limited playing time before being sent to Norfolk, where he slashed .286/.333/.381.
O’Hearn has thrived in Triple-A with a 1.133 OPS and managed a .634 OPS in a part-time role while with Baltimore.
This story will be updated.
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