Orioles acquire four players from Twins for López and cash

The Baltimore Orioles today announced that they have acquired left-handed pitcher CADE POVICH, right-handed pitcher YENNIER CANO, left-handed pitcher JUAN ROJAS, and right-handed pitcher JUAN NUNEZ from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for right-handed pitcher JORGE LÓPEZ and cash considerations. Povich has been assigned to High-A Aberdeen, Cano has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, and Rojas and Nunez have been assigned to the Florida Complex League Orioles. Additionally, left-handed pitcher NICK VESPI has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 39 players.

Povich, 22, went 6-8 with a 4.46 ERA (39 ER/78.2 IP) with 107 strikeouts and 26 walks for High-A Cedar Rapids. He has struck out at least 10 batters in a game three times this season, including posting a career-high 11 strikeouts twice on June 18 vs. Dayton (5.0 IP) and July 6 vs. Quad Cities (5.0 IP). He is ranked as the No. 22 prospect in Minnesota’s system by MLB Pipeline and No. 21 by Baseball America. He was originally selected by Minnesota in the third round (No. 98 overall) of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Cano, 28, has gone 1-0 with a 9.22 ERA (14 ER/13.2 IP) and 14 strikeouts in 10 relief appearances for the Twins this season. He made his Major League debut on May 11 vs. Houston. He has pitched to a 1-1 record with a 1.90 ERA (5 ER/23.2 IP) and 25 strikeouts in 20 appearances for Triple-A St. Paul this year. He owns a career 6-4 record with a 3.07 ERA (37 ER/108.1 IP) and 126 strikeouts in 72 minor league games (one start). A native of Havana, Cuba, He was originally signed by the Twins as an international free agent on July 15, 2019. 

Rojas, 18, is 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA (12 ER/30.0 IP) with 38 strikeouts and four walks for the FCL Twins this season. He struck out a career-high 10 batters in 4.0 innings on July 12 at FCL Pirates and tied a career-high with 5.0 scoreless innings on July 4 at FCL Braves. A native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, he was originally signed by the Twins as an international free agent on March 5, 2021. 

Nunez, 21, has gone 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA (16 ER/29.2 IP) and 47 strikeouts in eight games (seven starts) for the FCL Twins this season. A native of Azua, Dominican Republic, he was originally signed by the Twins as an international free agent on November 14, 2019.

López, 29, went 4-6 with 19 saves, 54 strikeouts, and a 1.68 ERA (9 ER/48.1 IP) over 44 appearances with the Orioles this season. He was named to his first career All-Star Game. In parts of three seasons with Baltimore (2020-22), he went 9-22 with 19 saves, 194 strikeouts, and a 5.10 ERA (118 ER/208.1 IP) in 86 games (31 starts). He was claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals on August 9, 2020.