Orioles acquire Kelvin Gutierrez from Royals

The Orioles made another roster move this morning, West Coast time, to create room on their 40-man roster and improve the infield depth at the upper level of the farm system.

Infielder Kelvin Gutierrez has been acquired from the Royals for cash considerations and optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

To accommodate him on the 40-man, reliever Travis Lakins Sr. has been transferred to the 60-day injured list with right elbow pain.

The Orioles haven't offered a specific diagnosis for Lakins, but manager Brandon Hyde said yesterday that it's a significant injury, which suggests that surgery is pending.

Lakins left Tuesday night's game in Houston during the second inning and underwent tests on the elbow. The Orioles placed him on the 10-day injured list within a flurry of moves, including the promotions of relievers Isaac Mattson and Spenser Watkins from Norfolk.

Watkins made his major league debut last night and retired retired all three batters he faced in an 8-7 walk-off loss to the Angels.

The 60-day IL also holds first baseman Chris Davis and infielder Richie Martin. The 10-day IL is heavy with pitchers John Means, Bruce Zimmermann, César Valdez and Hunter Harvey, and shortstop Freddy Galvis.

Gutierrez, 26, has hit .226/.275/.309 in 62 games with Kansas City over the last three seasons. Most of his infield experience is at third base, but he's also played first base and shortstop as a professional.

The Royals dealt Gutierrez after he slashed .215/.254/.296 this year in 142 plate appearances. He had four doubles, two triples and a home run.

Gutierrez was batting .306/.342/.444 (11-for-36) with three doubles and a triple with Omaha. He's a career .284/.347/.396 hitter in 565 games in the minors and .289/.364/.429 in 84 Triple-A games.

The Nationals signed Gutierrez out of the Dominican Republic as an international free agent in 2013 and moved him from shortstop to third base. Baseball America ranked him as having the best infield arm in Washington's system in 2017. MLBPipeline.com rated him as the No. 12 prospect in the organization that year.

The Royals acquired Gutierrez and two other players from the Nationals on June 18, 2018 for reliever Kelvin Herrera. He was designated for assignment last week.

The plus defender reputation at third base has taking a hit, with Gutierrez posting below-average marks in Defensive Runs Saved, Ultimate Zone Rating and Outs Above Average, as noted on Monday by MLBTradeRumors.com. However, having a minor league option increased his value to the Orioles and he can work into the infield mix with Norfolk while Ramón Urías, Domingo Leyba and Pat Valaika are on the major league roster and Stevie Wilkerson has been designated for assignment.

Leyba hit his first major league home run last night and extended his hitting streak to a career-high four games.