Baltimore Orioles rumors: Eyes are on Austin Wynns as #2 catcher

The Baltimore Orioles are in need of a second catcher, and it looks like they’ve got one in mind.

And, Baltimore Orioles fans, it’s not the one that many of us were thinking it would be.

No, the Orioles front office is rumored to be considering Austin Wynns ahead of top prospect Chance Sisco for a spot on the 25-man roster.

Where this info originated

According to a report from MASNSports Roch Kubatko, the Orioles are planning on Caleb Joseph returning to his spot behind the dish. And, when he is given the day off, Wynns is rumored to be his back-up. Unless the O’s manage to sign a veteran. The veteran that they are looking at isn’t a free agent who would be relatively easy to sign. No, the guy they’re targeting, according to Kubatko, is J.T. Realmuto

The details on Wynns

Wynns is on his way to minicamp to work with the pitchers who are vying for a spot in the rotation and a seat in the pen. He’s also there to show what he can do behind the dish.

Wynns is 27 years old and was drafted by the Orioles in 2013 in the 10th round. He attended Fresno State where his batting average hovered around .280 his junior and senior year. He earned several awards in college, including a spot on the WAC All-Tournament Team and the Mountain West Academic All-Conference Team. He also was named an Academic All-WAC.

Even though he has not yet played a lick of time with the Orioles, he is the perfect age to start. He’s had more than 400 games in the minors, playing at all levels with the Orioles organization. Although he has not had many games at the Triple-A level. He’s also quite consistent at the plate. In the last few years, he’s managed to keep his batting average around .280.

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No matter how much experience and consistency he has shown, moving him to the Orioles would be a big gamble.

What about a veteran

It also seems rather odd that the Orioles would be looking for a catcher to acquire via trade. The Marlins (Realmuto’s current team) is in the market for pitchers. Yes, the Orioles have a bunch of minor league pitchers, but why trade them for a catcher when there are so many free agents who are available? It doesn’t make sense.

Instead, the Orioles could sign a free agent and not have to mess around with trades. Alex Avila would be a good choice, especially with his left-handed bat. Avila would have a heyday hitting home runs in Camden Yards. He hit 14 in 2017, most with the Detroit Tigers in the massive Comerica Park.

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If Duquette doesn’t want to spend much, he could sign Chris Gimenez to a one-year contract just for a little padding as Wynns and Sisco get ready for 2019. Avila or Gimenez would be affordable and they could mentor these younger guys on the way up. There are catcher options out there and they would not be expensive.