The Orioles introduced yesterday that right-hander Adrian Houser was signed to a minor league contract. Houser had been within the Cubs group on a minors deal however he was launched yesterday, paving the way in which for the righty to rapidly latch on with a brand new group.
As a result of Houser joined the O’s earlier than the September 1 cutoff date, he’s eligible to be added to a playoff roster. Nevertheless, the veteran hasn’t accomplished a lot this season that will seemingly advantage postseason motion, as Houser has a 5.84 ERA over 69 1/3 innings with the Mets in addition to a subpar 10.4% stroll charge and a 14.6% strikeout charge that’s among the many lowest in baseball.
Whereas Houser pitched higher after being moved out of New York’s rotation and into an extended aid function, the Mets opted to launch him on the finish of July, and the Cubs didn’t really feel compelled to name Houser up throughout his few weeks at Triple-A Iowa. Houser was used as a starter once more in Iowa and had a 3.86 ERA and 6.6% stroll charge in 18 2/3 frames, however nonetheless with a 15.8K%.
Strikeouts have by no means been Houser’s sport, as he has relied on grounders and delicate contact to seek out success over his eight MLB seasons. Batted-ball luck tended to weigh heavier on Houser’s bottom-line outcomes given the character of his strategy on the mound, however he had total respectable leads to seven seasons with the Brewers earlier than he was traded to the Mets final December.
The Orioles have been hammered by rotation accidents all season, and their makes an attempt to bolster the employees on the deadline went awry when Trevor Rogers struggled a lot that he was optioned to Triple-A. Zach Eflin was one other pre-deadline pickup who was sidelined by damage, however returned from the IL at this time to offer the O’s a rotation of Eflin, Corbin Burnes, Dean Kremer, Albert Suarez, and Cade Povich.
Houser provides some skilled rotation depth to that blend, and since Kremer left yesterday’s sport with a forearm contusion, Houser would possibly get a name to the majors sooner moderately than later. Baltimore may additionally look to make use of Houser within the bullpen, as a stable lengthy man may bolster the pitching employees in one other method, and maybe result in one thing of a piggyback scenario with Houser and one other starter.
Houser remains to be owed round $840K of his $5.05MM wage for 2024. The Orioles can be paying solely the prorated portion of a MLB minimal wage if he joins their lively roster, with the Mets overlaying the rest of the owed wage.
