The Orioles introduced that they’ve chosen the contract of infielder/outfielder Nick Maton. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Tyler Wells was transferred to the 60-day injured record. Outfielder Kyle Stowers was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to get Maton onto the energetic roster.
The transfer is seemingly associated to the harm of Jordan Westburg. Whereas fielding a grounder final night time, Westburg collided with Juan Soto of the Yankees, who was making an attempt to run from second to 3rd base. Supervisor Brandon Hyde mentioned after the sport that Westburg is day-to-day with a left hip contusion, per the MLB.com harm tracker.
The Orioles have been splitting the enjoying time at second and third base between Westburg, Jorge Mateo and Ramón Urías. If Westburg is out of motion for just a few days, which means Mateo and Urías must be within the lineup.
That state of affairs would have left them with no backup infielder whereas Westburg is damage, so that they have chosen Maton. The 27-year-old was acquired from the Tigers in a money deal within the offseason however didn’t make the membership’s roster out of Spring Coaching. Since he’s out of choices, the O’s put him on waivers and have been capable of go him by way of unclaimed, outrighting him to Norfolk.
He has performed 41 video games for the Tides this 12 months with good outcomes. He has seven dwelling runs and has drawn a stroll in 12.5% of his 168 plate appearances. He’s hitting .294/.387/.483 total for a 126 wRC+. He has achieved that whereas spending time in any respect 4 infield positions and a short displaying in proper area as effectively.
That strong efficiency will get Maton again to the majors, at the least for now. Because the O’s haven’t put Westburg on the IL and didn’t name up a notable prospect like Connor Norby or Coby Mayo, maybe they solely envision needing protection for just a few days. If that’s certainly the case, Maton is out of choices and must be designated for project once more in the event that they wish to take away him from the roster. But when he manages to carry his spot, he has lower than two years of service time and might be cheaply retained in future seasons.
As for Wells, it was reported about three weeks in the past that he would require season-ending surgical procedure of some form on the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. The O’s introduced two days in the past that the process had been accomplished, describing it as “proper elbow revision ulnar collateral ligament surgical procedure with UCL restore and inner brace augmentation.” He’ll be out for the remainder of this 12 months and certain a part of the 2025 season as effectively.
