The Baltimore Orioles are embracing the Moneyball method
What if I told you, at the start of the season, that the Baltimore Orioles would be fighting for a Wild Card spot in mid-July?
You probably would have laughed at me and pointed out the fact that the Orioles lost 110 games last season. With a total payroll of $45 Million dollars, the Orioles have truly embraced the Moneyball method.
In this article, we’re taking a look at three players with remarkable stories that have gone from the waiver wire to becoming impact players that have helped the Baltimore Orioles fight for a wild card spot so far this season.
Jorge Lopez
The All-Star! After being traded to the Royals along with Brett Phillips in 2018, the former second-round pick was never able to find his stride with the organization. In August 2020, Lopez was designated for assignment. Two days later, the Orioles claimed him off the waiver wire.
However, it still wasn’t all smooth sailing for the righty. As I documented in articles past, I remember watching Lopez in the 2021 season. I was surprisingly impressed with his pitch repertoire for a guy that had a 5.80 ERA at the time. I watch Lopez carve up the Red Sox with a sinker that reached 100mph paired with a nasty slider. It made me question why he finished with an ERA over six to finish the season.
The Orioles refused to let this nasty repertoire go to waste and moved him to the bullpen, a spot where he has truly found his home. This season, Lopez has lowered his ERA to 1.62 and has increased his K% from 8.28 to 10.35. His 17 saves this year earned him a trip to the All-Star game. Although it took a few years, the Orioles have turned a struggling journeyman starting pitcher into an All-Star closer.
Jorge Mateo
Once a highly regarded top prospect for the Oakland A’s and New York Yankees, Mateo has finally found his home in Baltimore. Mateo was originally acquired by the A’s in 2017 as one of the main prospects in the Sonny Gray trade.
Though highly regarded, Mateo never showed consistency in the majors and was then shipped to the San Diego Padres in 2020. Once again, Mateo slashed another lackluster stat line with the Padres, hitting .202 with 2 homers.
This season, Mateo has already had 22 extra-base hits, more than doubling last year’s total of nine. However, Mateo’s defense is his most notable improvement. According to FanGraphs, Mateo has improved his DRS (defensive runs saved) from -1 in 2021 to 12 in 2022. With these drastic improvements on both sides of the diamond, Mateo has surely found a home in Baltimore.
Rougned Odor
Odor used to be one of the best power-hitting second basemen in the MLB. For the Texas Rangers, he posted three seasons with 30 plus homers. In 2020, Odor found his bat going cold and was released.
The Yankees took a chance on Odor, and it actually somewhat panned out. Odor hit 15 home runs, but still hovered around .200 and was cut. With no one calling, Odor signed with the Orioles for a league minimum contract ($700,000). In 2022, Odor has truly become a fan favorite in Birdland, with two walk-off hits coming both at Camden Yards. Odor already has nine home runs this season and seems to be channeling some of that 2016 power that we saw with Texas years back.
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The incredible transformation of these once unwanted players speaks to the elite player development system general manager Mike Elias has established with the Baltimore Orioles. Under Elias, the franchise has developed a great eye for untapped talent within the waiver wire.
Yet one could argue the best is still yet to come. The Orioles have five top 100 prospects (and two in the top ten according to MLB Pipeline) and selected Jackson Holliday with the first overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. The once painful years of rebuilding are almost over in Birdland.