Baltimore Orioles: Orioles non-tender Vance Worley

Major League Baseball’s tender deadline was Friday evening. And the Baltimore Orioles have decided to non-tender pitcher Vance Worley.

Major League Baseball’s tender deadline was on Friday evening, just a few days before the Winter Meetings. And in somewhat of a surprise, the Baltimore Orioles decided to non-tender Vance Worley, making him a free agent.

The other nine players, stemming from Manny Machado to Ryan Flaherty, were all tendered contracts by the Orioles. That means the other nine will exchange figures with the Orioles in an effort to avoid arbitration.

Players that are usually non-tendered are ones that either don’t have a set role on the team, or who can easily replaced by players who are younger and cheaper.

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However, the head scratcher is Worley was neither. He was a player who could have been in the Orioles bullpen. And there surely wasn’t anyone who was younger and good that could take his spot. Worley was a pitcher who was given spot starts or relief work, and for the most part he was decent. Worley had a 3.53 ERA in 87.2 innings.

The Orioles feel they can replace Worley with Logan Verrett, who they recently acquired from the New York Mets. Verrett had a cup of coffee with the Mets this season, and wasn’t exactly dominant. If the Orioles find themselves needing Worley during the 2017 season, they might come to regret non-tendering him.

So what did Dan Duquette say about non-tendering Worley?

It doesn’t sound like Worley is going to be particularly missed, does it?

Worley will come off the 40-man roster, meaning there will be 36 players remaining on the rosters. That leaves the Orioles four spots for the Rule 5 Draft coming up after the Winter Meetings.

Next: Major League Baseball finishes CBA

Of course, plenty could happen between Monday, when the Winter Meetings begin, and Thursday. So it’s entirely possible the Orioles keep everyone guessing.