Baltimore Orioles Part Ways With Five Minor Leaguers

For the minor league fans, the Baltimore Orioles have released five players from down on the farm.

The long and slow offseason continues to creep along, with very little news coming out of Baltimore Orioles camp, other than FanFest updates and the announcement that the Orioles will report to spring training one day earlier than originally reported. Brandon Hyde and his team will begin workouts on February 12th now, instead of the 13th. Woohoo!

The Orioles did make a few minor league roster moves on Wednesday, releasing five minor league players from the organization. For those of you who closely follow the Orioles’ farm system, a few of these names may be familiar to you.

Chris Shaw, Frank Crinella, Tyler Coolbaugh, Carlos Mendez, and Welbin Bautista have all reportedly been released.

Shaw, a 24-year-old catcher, last played for the Delmarva Shorebirds (full-season A-ball), appearing in just 19 games after multiple injuries severely derailed his 2018 campaign. Since he was drafted in the 15th round of the 2015 draft, Shaw hit .172 with a .229 OBP across 113 career games in four seasons.

Also drafted in 2015 (39th round), outfielder Frank Crinella batted .170 in just 15 games last season. His best season with the organization came in 2017 in which he hit .210 with a .554 OPS, seven doubles, seven triples, and one home run.

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The most notable name on this list may be Tyler Coolbaugh, not for his play on the field, but for his last name. The son of former Baltimore Orioles’ hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh, Tyler played in 19 games in two seasons, recording just six hits in 56 career at-bats. A courtesy draft pick in 2017, Coolbaugh appeared at second base, third base, and shortstop during his brief tenure as an Oriole. Now 25 years old and yet to show he can hit rookie-ball pitching, it’s unlikely Coolbaugh catches on anywhere else.

The final two players released, Mendez and Bautista, were both international free agents who were playing the Dominican Summer League. Bautista had been in the Orioles organization for the past two years, yet his MiLB.com player profile still featured a Miami Marlins logo, so that pretty much sums up these two players.

Hey, at least we will have actual baseball to talk about in 37 days!