The Orioles introduced this morning that left-hander Tucker Davidson, whom they designated for task on the ultimate day of the common season, elected free company reasonably than accepting an outright task to Triple-A Norfolk.
A former prime prospect with the Braves, Davidson bounced to the Angels and Royals earlier than touchdown with the O’s for the 2024 season. He posted 4 2/3 scoreless frames within the majors this 12 months, albeit with two walks towards only one strikeout. The majority of his season was spent in Norfolk, the place he logged 115 2/3 innings with a 3.89 ERA, 20.7% strikeout fee, a 9.1% stroll fee and a forty five.7% ground-ball fee.
The 28-year-old Davidson cut up his time in Norfolk between the rotation and the bullpen, faring much better within the former. Whereas his numbers as a starter have been satisfactory — 4.48 ERA, 18.5% strikeout fee, 9.1% stroll fee — he was rather more profitable popping out of the ’pen. In 44 reduction innings, he notched a 2.45 ERA, 23% strikeout fee and 9.2% stroll fee. As a starter, opponents batted .266/.336/.431 towards Davidson this season. They flailed away at a .195/.263/.335 tempo when he was pitching in reduction.
Davidson will flip 29 in March. Thus far in his large league profession, he’s posted a 5.76 ERA in 129 2/3 innings. Definitely, that’s not an thrilling profile, however there’s cause for cautious optimism transferring ahead. His work in reduction this 12 months was robust, and the temporary MLB look he had with the Orioles featured a differ totally different pitch combine than he’s had in seasons previous. Davidson has historically targeted on a four-seam/slider mixture, mixing in an occasional curveball as a change of tempo. The Orioles had him cut back the utilization of each his four-seamer and slider whereas including a sinker and splitter that he used about 12% of the time every.
In all probability, Davidson will nonetheless be searching for a minor league deal this winter, however a former prime prospect on the fitting aspect of 30 with strong Triple-A numbers and a tweaked pitch combine creates extra intrigue than many different minor league free brokers. He’ll be an choice for golf equipment looking for rotation and bullpen depth alike.