Baltimore Orioles: Kevin Gausman Claimed Off Waivers By Reds

The former Baltimore Orioles pitcher now has a new home after he struggled with the Braves.

One of the many trades the Baltimore Orioles made during their 2018 fire sale was shipping starting pitcher Kevin Gausman and reliever Darren O’Day to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for four prospects.

Gausman showed flashes of great potential while with the Orioles. He pitched to a 3.57 ERA in 20 starts in 2014 and in 2016 pitched to a 3.61 ERA In 30 starts. However, he was never able to stay consistent, forcing the Orioles hand to trade him and allow him the chance to reinvent himself elsewhere.

In his first half-season as a Brave, it seemed a change of scenery was exactly what Gausman needed. In 10 starts for Atlanta in 2018 Gausman posted a 2.87 ERA and went 5-3.

However, 2019 was a different story. In his first 11 starts, Gausman posted a 6.21 ERA and batters hit .285 against him. After missing a month and a half due to an injury, Gausman returned to the Braves rotation and had an outstanding outing against the Washington Nationals on July 21st as he tossed seven innings of one-run ball. Then it went south again as Gausman allowed a combined 11 runs in his following two starts which led the Braves to place him on waivers.

It did not take long for a team to give him a chance however as Monday Gausman was claimed by the team he gave up five runs to just three nights ago in the Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds are a bit of an odd fit for Gausman. Cincinnati has one of baseballs best starting rotations with Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Sony Gray, Anthony DeSclafani and Alex Wood. Thus Gausman may be in a bullpen role for the Reds which may just help him find what helped him be an important member of two Baltimore Orioles starting rotations that reached the postseason.

Hopefully, the former Oriole finds a home in Cincinnati and can find the great potential that the baseball world knows he has.