The Orioles announced that they have re-signed right-hander Corbin Martin to a major league deal. The O’s already had vacancies on their 40-man and active rosters, so no corresponding moves were necessary.
Martin was on the Baltimore roster as of a few days ago. On Sunday, he was designated for assignment to open an active roster roster spot for left-hander Grant Wolfram.
Later that same day, just before gametime, Scott Blewett hit the IL with right elbow discomfort. Catcher David Bañuelos was recalled to take Blewett’s spot on the roster, presumably because he was with the club in a taxi squad capacity.
Bañuelos was outrighted to Triple-A during the All-Star break. Martin cleared waivers and elected free agency but has quickly been re-signed, effectively taking the bullpen spot of Blewett.
Though he spent over a week on Baltimore’s roster, he only got to make one appearance.
He tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings back on July 2nd but then wasn’t used between that game and his DFA. Since he’s out of options, his grip on a roster spot is likely tenuous.
However, the Orioles might sell some bullpen pieces prior to the deadline, with Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge seeming like good candidates to be on the move. A trade of Félix Bautista is less likely but the O’s are at least listening to offers.
For now, he gets a major league job and will try to build on his season.
Prior to getting called up at the start of July, he had tossed 32 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 5.29 earned run average.
That probably disguises his performance a bit as his .306 batting average on balls in play, 68.4% strand rate and 17.9% home run to fly ball rate were all a bit to the unfortunate side. Meanwhile, he struck out 23% of batters faced with a 10.4% walk rate and 44.9% ground ball rate.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s bumped off the roster again in the next few days but a greater path to innings could open up if the O’s pull the trigger on some trades.
Perhaps he could hang on the roster into August or re-sign another time if he is bumped off again.