Mar 1, 2021; Sarasota, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles Adley Rutschman (96) poses during media day at Ed Smith Stadium. Mandatory Credit: MLB Photos via USA Today Sports
The Orioles announced the signing of catcher Jacob Nottingham to a minor league contract on Wednesday (the MLB.com transactions page reported he signed on December 1st). Nottingham gives the Orioles at least one catcher with major league experience as they await the highly anticipated debut of top prospect Adley Rutschman in 2022.
The four catchers who played for the Orioles in 2021 — Nick Ciuffo, Pedro Severino, Chance Sisco and Austin Wynns — are no longer in the organization.
Severino signed a $1.9 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, and the others are free agents. Sisco was claimed on waivers by the New York Mets on June 25th and let go by the end of the season.
Nottingham was Houston’s sixth-round pick in 2013. In the last four seasons, he played 53 games for Milwaukee and Seattle, hitting .184 with eight home runs and 23 RBIs. Eleven of the 14 runners who have tried to steal against him have been successful.
As the Orioles looking to add at least one more catcher in free agency, there aren’t many with experience looking for work. According to MLBTradeRumors.com, there are five free-agent catchers besides Sisco and Wynns: Robinson Chirinos, Greyson Grenier, Wilson Ramos, Kevan Smith and Kurt Suzuki.
Ramos had surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in September, so he’s not a consideration.
Smith, 33, could make sense for the Orioles. In the last six seasons, Smith has hit .259 for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay and Atlanta. He’d be comfortable in a backup role. Smith has thrown out just 16 percent of basestealers.
Taylor Davis, who was in the Orioles’ organization in 2021 until he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in June, was released by Pittsburgh last month. Manager Brandon Hyde is familiar with Davis when they were both with the Chicago Cubs in 2018.
The Orioles do have Brett Cumberland, who was obtained from Atlanta in the July 2018 trade for Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day. Cumberland, who has never played in the major leagues, hit .187 with 10 home runs and 23 RBIs in 84 games for Triple-A Norfolk. He struck out 110 times and had 40 walks. Cumberland was hit by pitches 28 times, boosting his on-base percentage to .352.
In 55 games behind the plate for the Tides, Cumberland threw out 30 percent of the runners attempting to steal (13 of 44).
The Orioles also have Chris Hudgins, who was selected in the 2020 Rule 5 minor league draft. Hudgins hit .198 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 60 games for Double-A Bowie. He threw out 37 percent (16 of 43) runners attempting to steal. Hudgins was 1-for-9 (.111) in three games for Norfolk.
The only other catcher in the Orioles’ organization who has caught in the higher minor leagues in 25-year-old Cody Roberts, who was their 11th-round draft pick in 2018. Roberts played 51 games at High-A Aberdeen, Bowie and Norfolk, hitting a combined .253 with five home runs and 23 RBIs. He also walked 23 times for a .359 on-base percentage and had a .768 OPS.
Roberts threw out 26 percent of runners attempting to steal (12 of 46) and was on the taxi squad for one road trip.
Another former Orioles farmhand, Stuart Levy, who was the team’s 27th-round pick in 2015, left the organization after playing with Bowie and Frederick in 2019. He played for High Point of the independent Atlantic League in 2021 and would like to return to the Orioles.
Minor league pitcher added: The Orioles acquired minor league pitcher Tommy Wilson from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for cash considerations. Wilson, a 25-year-old right-hander, was selected by Seattle in Wednesday’s Triple-A Rule 5 draft from the New York Mets’ organization.
Wilson was the 19th-round pick of New York in the 2018 draft and was 1-0 with a save and a 2.35 ERA in 10 games for Double-A Binghamton.
No minor business: On Wednesday, Diamond Baseball Holdings, a division of Endeavor, a sports and entertainment company, agreed to purchase nine minor league baseball teams.
Endeavor, which owns the UFC and the large talent agents WME and IMG, will operate some of the most well-known minor league teams.
Including in the deal are the Iowa Cubs, Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate; the Memphis Redbirds, St. Louis’ Triple-A team; the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees; and New York’s High-A affiliate, the Hudson Valley Renegades. The group also purchased the San Jose Giants, the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
Endeavor also will purchase the four affiliates of the Atlanta Braves: Triple-A Gwinnett, Double-A Mississippi, High-A Rome, and Low-A Augusta.
The Augusta GreenJackets were once owned by Cal Ripken Jr.
Endeavor would reportedly like to add 40 more minor league teams to its portfolio.
It’s an interesting trend and one that bears watching in the coming months.
Call for questions: I’ll be answering questions in the coming days. Please leave them in the comments below or email them to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.
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View Comments
Tommy Wilson could end up being the O’s “Steal of the Draft”.
A very interesting player.
Is he still doing "Ziggy" comic?!
Os had a good day. Picked up three interesting arms and lost no one.
I believe this 2022 season will be my last season for Season tickets at both Sarasota and Camden Yards under the current OWNERSHIP, General Manager and Dugout Manager. All the ownership wants to do is sell off the quality players and Line their pockets with the $$$. They won’t spend any money for quality players.
The arms they picked up seem legit. Nottingham has a positive defensive run saved so that’s a positive.
The Grinchelos clan needs to go!
The Endeavor endeavor seems in line with two tendencies. First, MLB's downsizing of its minor league interests. Second, the stampede to free agency in almost all sports. Even college "amateurs" and "students" have a "transfer portal" as a marketplace to advertise their availability and sort out the compensation offers. If private entities gain control and leverage of the minors, all our discussions about player control and options may become moot, even quaint. And, frankly, I don't see MLB fighting to hold on to minor league franchises. Someday, we may see the drafting of minor league players as the only draft.
Socialism making inroads at the minor league level?
It’s more monopolistic than socialistic.
Perhaps Rich ...but considerng the top man in MLB recently supported the current democratic party's agenda when he "punished" the City of Atlanta and the state of Georgia, I'll keep my eyes open for more signs of socialistic inroads being made in our most American of games.
Boog ... whether MLB acted appropriately in moving the All Star Game from Atlanta is a fair topic for debate, but trying to somehow link the issue to "socialism" is really off the wall.
Yeah .... mebbe.
Or is it?!
Technically, it's an oligopoly (at least for now). But more importantly, where is the outrage that an entertainment company has taken over so many minor league teams? How is this good for baseball? Since Endeavor apparently owns the UFC, will they encourage their teams to engage in savage fistfights with fellow teammates, the opposing team, and fans in the stands? And where is the sarcasm that might well be aimed at the O's latest pursuit of mediocrity: a catcher with a .184 MLB BA? And what does it say about the current state of the team when the other commenters are excited with the new, unproven Rule 5 draftees and Tommy W. Bah, Humbug...It's the evolution of declining expectations.
I share, WV, some of your feelings, if not your precise focus. Entertainment entities --notably Disney-- already control all major sports, defining both content and comment. With such control of information and emotion, they teach the audience what they are permitted to be outraged about (one side of narrowly defined social and political issues). They also create expectations, and lowering them both expands their audiences and makes their jobs easier. As for the political nomenclature, I think socialism is monopoly by the state and that the easiest way to a socialist/communist regime is taking over, nationalizing, existing monopolies. They seem to work at first because of a legacy of competence in the monopoly industries, but then the rejecting of the laws of cause and effect, especially regarding motivation, leads to collapse.
Perhaps more plutocratic than monopolistic
Where's that dictionary again?
Just stay away from dem tamales…
Believe me WV, I’m not real excited about much regarding O’s baseball, maybe bringing on the youngens, but they’ll screw that up trying to get more time outta them, they are what they are…go O’s…
So yeh, I’m officially a Tommy Wilson fan. Upon being traded to the O’s he sent out the following tweet:
Would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the @Mariners organization for everything they’ve done for me!! It’s been a fantastic few hours with you all and I’m thankful for the opportunity
Let’s do this thing @Orioles
Agree.
Is his jersey available yet? That’s a well played barb!
"Don't con me Biff!"
For as long as the Anderson jersey was this past summer!
What about Suzuki? Does he have anything left?
He turned out much better than those junky cars!
Great dirt bikes though…go O’s…
Plutko going to the Orient, going to become a STAR!!!