The Orioles introduced that right-hander Thaddeus Ward has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. There was no earlier reporting that he had been faraway from the 40-man roster, so this transfer drops their depend to 37.
Ward, 28 in January, has by no means pitched for the Orioles. He was simply claimed off waivers from the Nationals in the beginning of November however has now been bumped from his roster spot simply over a month later.
As soon as upon a time, he was a notable prospect within the Purple Sox’ system however he was left unprotected within the 2022 Rule 5 draft. The Nats grabbed him and stored him on the roster for the whole 2023 season. He didn’t pitch particularly nicely, posting a 6.37 earned run common in his 26 reduction appearances, however the Nationals doubtless didn’t care a lot. They had been rebuilding that yr and had been presumably blissful to acquire Ward’s full rights, even when it meant struggling via that subpar efficiency.
Together with his Rule 5 restrictions gone in 2024, the Nats had been capable of ship him to the minors, however the numbers had been once more uninspiring. He made 28 Triple-A begins this yr with a 5.64 ERA. His 19.3% strikeout price and 17% stroll price had been each a number of ticks away from common. As talked about, they put him on waivers, which is when Baltimore grabbed him.
The O’s are absolutely hoping to get Ward again to the shape he confirmed previous to his Rule 5 choice. Means again in 2019, he threw 126 1/3 innings throughout 25 minor league begins, break up between Single-A and Excessive-A. He had a 2.14 ERA that yr, putting out 29.9% of batters whereas giving out walks at a ten.9% clip. The minor leagues had been canceled by the pandemic in 2020 after which Ward didn’t pitch a lot in 2021 whereas recovering from Tommy John surgical procedure. He was again on the mound in 2022 and capable of toss 51 1/3 innings with a 2.28 ERA, principally in Double-A.
That was sufficient for the Nats to take a shot on him however, as talked about, the previous two years with that membership didn’t go particularly nicely. The O’s clearly have some perception in him, as they’ve grabbed him off waivers and now bumped him right into a non-roster depth function. If he can get again on observe and earn his means again onto the roster, he nonetheless has two possibility years and precisely one yr of service time.
