The Orioles are deciding on the contract of right-hander Vinny Nittoli, as MASN’s Roch Kubatko reported this morning. The righty signed with the membership on a minor league deal earlier this month. The membership might want to make a corresponding 40-man transfer as a way to add Nittoli to the roster, although that may very well be completed by transferring lefty Danny Coulombe to the 60-day injured checklist.
Nittoli, 33, was a Twenty fifth-round choose by the Mariners again in 2014 and has spent his decade in skilled baseball largely as a minor league journeyman. After spending just a few years in Seattle’s minor league system, Nittoli departed affiliated ball in 2017 and spent two years pitching within the impartial American Affiliation earlier than catching again on within the minors. Over the course of his skilled profession, he’s suited up for the Mariners, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Phillies, Cubs, Mets, A’s, and now the Orioles on the Triple-A stage. In all that point, nonetheless, he’s acquired solely scattered taking part in time within the majors with 13 massive league appearances to his title.
Greater than half of these appearances got here with the A’s earlier this season. He pitched eight innings of labor in complete with Oakland, and carried out to a robust 2.25 ERA with 5 strikeouts in opposition to two walks. The righty has really acquired equally temporary cups of espresso within the main leagues in every of the final 4 seasons, having first made his massive league debut with the Mariners again in 2021. In all, Nittoli sports activities a 3.07 ERA regardless of a lackluster 5.02 FIP and a strikeout charge of simply 16.4% in 14 2/3 innings of labor on the massive league stage.
Regardless of these comparatively pedestrian numbers on the massive league stage, it isn’t arduous to see why the Orioles can be serious about giving Nittoli a have a look at the large league stage. He’s been nothing wanting dominant on the Triple-A stage this yr with a 2.73 ERA in 26 1/3 innings of labor cut up between the associates of Oakland and Baltimore. That already spectacular determine is made all of the extra intriguing by the truth that nearly all of these innings got here within the inflated offensive setting of the Pacific Coast League, the place the Athletics’ affiliate in Las Vegas performs. Nittoli has paired these robust run prevention numbers with an eye-popping 36% strikeout charge on the stage this yr, suggesting that there may very well be a significant enchancment in expertise to associate with the outcomes.
Altogether, Nittoli’s resume is attention-grabbing sufficient for the Orioles to offer him a shot of their bullpen combine. The membership’s reduction corps has been roughly league common this yr, rankings 14th in baseball with a 3.84 ERA, however there’s definitely room for enchancment forward of the membership’s back-end duo of Yennier Cano and Craig Kimbrel, significantly after Coulombe underwent surgical procedure final month. Proper-hander Bryan Baker, for instance, may be optioned to the minors and has struggled to a 5.14 ERA and 4.38 FIP in 14 innings of labor with the membership.
