Taking a closer look at some minor league free agents (updated)

No matter if baseball's Winter Meetings proceed as planned next month in Orlando, Fla., or are shelved while a new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated, Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias will be keeping both eyes on the major and minor league free agent markets.

Large sums of cash won't be spent, but there are ways to upgrade the roster and depth at the highest levels of the farm system.

Venturing to the minor league side allows the Orioles to increase camp competition by promising opportunities that don't exist with every team. They signed starters Matt Harvey, Félix Hernández and Wade LeBlanc last winter, but hit on only one, and the Dark Knight finished with a 6.27 ERA and 1.543 WHIP in 28 games before a knee injury shut him down.

At least he stuck around that long. Hernández didn't pitch this year due to an elbow injury.

The Orioles also gave minor league contracts to pitchers Fernando Abad, Thomas Eshelman, Konner Wade, Spenser Watkins, Dusten Knight and Manny Barreda, and catcher Nick Ciuffo, and they were counted among a team-record 62 players used this season.

Baseball America released a full list of minor league free agents this week and it included the following Orioles: Barreda, Ciuffo, Knight, Watkins, Ty Blach, Claudio Custodio, Gray Fenter, Mickey Jannis, Steven Klimek and Ryan Ripken. Jannis was one of the 16 players who made their major league debuts, including 14 pitchers, but he lasted only one start.

Harvey and Abad are major league free agents.

Ciuffo and Watkins elected free agency after their outrights, and after the Orioles removed the last catcher from their 40-man roster. It's hard to know exactly which doors remain open, but the club might be inclined to re-sign Ciuffo to a minor league deal if he doubles back to them.

Blach was re-signed after the Orioles designated him for assignment in August 2020, one month following his Tommy John surgery. He made 10 starts at low Single-A Delmarva, totaling only 15 innings, and allowed three runs with one walk and 14 strikeouts.

Ripken, the son of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., completed his first Triple-A season at 28. Selecting his contract in September would have made for a sweet story, but he batted .167/.222/.233 with five doubles, one triple and one home run in 164 plate appearances.

The Orioles signed Ripken for the first time on March 31, 2017. He may have run out of opportunities with his hometown team.

Fenter, 25, is an interesting case because the Orioles lost him to the Cubs in the Rule 5 draft and got him back in March. He made 21 appearances with Double-A Bowie, including 13 starts, and compiled a 5.47 ERA and 1.539 WHIP in 77 1/3 innings, walking 48 batters and striking out 86.

Custodio, 31, had a 3.50 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 25 games with Norfolk. Klimek, 27, struck out 70 batters in 52 2/3 innings with Bowie.

The Baseball America list, which may require a subscription to access, includes former Orioles Maikel Franco, Yolmer Sánchez and Jay Flaa with the Braves. Sánchez didn't make it out of spring training before being released.

Also carrying ties to Baltimore, whether in the majors, minors or via offseason acquisitions and disappearances, are Red Sox shortstop José Iglesias; White Sox infielder Rubén Tejada and shortstop Tim Beckham; Rockies pitcher Brian Gonzalez; Tigers infielder Aderlin Rodriguez; Astros pitcher Michael Kelly; Dodgers pitchers Vidal Nuño and Yefry Ramirez; Marlins pitchers Cody Carroll, Jose Mesa Jr. and Rob Zastryzny; Brewers outfielder Keon Broxton; Twins pitchers Jason García, Sean Gilmartin and Chandler Shepherd; Mets catcher Martin Cervenka, infielder Drew Jackson, outfielder Mason Williams and pitcher Vance Worley; Athletics catchers Francisco Peña and Carlos Pérez; Pirates catcher Andrew Susac; Padres outfielder John Andreoli, pitcher Aaron Brooks, shortstop Pedro Florimon and catcher Wynston Sawyer; Giants pitcher Logan Ondrusek; Mariners catcher Caleb Joseph, infielders Jack Reinheimer and Zach Vincej, and pitchers Logan Verrett and Asher Wojciechowski; Rays catcher David Freitas; Rangers infielder Domingo Leyba and pitcher Luis Ortiz; and Blue Jays infielder Richard Ureña.

The Orioles drafted Gonzalez in the third round in 2014 after surrendering their first two picks to sign free agents Ubaldo Jiménez and Nelson Cruz.

Beckham garnered some interest from the Orioles last winter before concerns arose regarding his health. Kelly was acquired from the Red Sox on the final day of the 2017 Winter Meetings, with executive Dan Duquette revealing the news to the local media after the Rule 5 draft, but they designated him for assignment in late March and outrighted him, and he left as a free agent in November.

Ortiz came to the Orioles in the Jonathan Schoop trade. García was a Rule 5 pick whose only major league experience is the 21 relief appearances in 2015. Mesa, Jackson and Verrett were Rule 5 selections who didn't stay with the club.

Worley became a media favorite in 2016 with a fun personality that included his suggestion that we address him by his nickname "Vanimal." He hasn't pitched in the majors since 2017 with the Marlins.

With the Orioles needing to find multiple catchers, the minor league free agents include veterans Joseph, Peña, Pérez, Jamie Ritchie, Stephen Vogt, Drew Butera, Tony Wolters, Christian Bethancourt, Bruce Maxwell, John Hicks, Nick Dini, Christian Kelley and Edgar Cabral - the last two drafted in 2015 and still waiting to make their debuts.

The Astros drafted Ritchie in 2014, giving him ties to Elias. He spent 2021 with the Diamondbacks' Triple-A affiliate in Reno and hit .317/.417/.430 in 79 games, and he has a career .404 on-base percentage in seven minor league seasons. No major league experience, though he turns 29 in April, and not a veteran mentor for Adley Rutschman, but an intriguing name on the list.

Update: According to multiple sources, Watkins has re-signed with the Orioles on a minor league deal.