Baltimore Orioles Make First Move, Sign RHP Kohl Stewart

The Baltimore Orioles have signed RHP Kohl Stewart to a one-year major league deal.

The Baltimore Orioles have finally signed a major league free agent! Per an official team release, the Orioles have signed RHP Kohl Stewart to a free agent deal. Stewart had been with the Minnesota Twins organization since 2013 when he was the fourth overall pick of the draft out of St. Pius X High School in Houston Texas.

As first reported by MASN’s Roch Kubatko, the deal is a “split contract” meaning Stewart will make $800,000 if he makes the major leagues. He has options remaining, meaning he could see some time in Triple-A if the Orioles feel like he isn’t ready for a major league rotation spot and want to stash him in the organization.

It’s the kind of move we have been waiting for the Orioles to make all winter long, a low-cost pitching option who has an opportunity to fill a hole in the back end of the starting rotation for 2020. If he works out and can produce for the Orioles, fantastic. If he doesn’t work out, the move costs nothing except for less than $1 million in cash and RHP Marcos Diplan.

To make room for Stewart on the 40-man roster, Diplan was designated for assignment. He was the lone Winter Meetings addition for Mike Elias and the Orioles, a waiver claim from the Detroit Tigers. Despite have options remaining, Diplan is now available to be claimed by another franchise.

Stewart spent most of his 2019 season in Triple-A, going 8-6 with a 5.14 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and a .251 average against the International League. He struck out 19% of hitters while walking more than 10% of opponents he faced.

He has made 17 appearances at the major league level between 2018 and 2019 (six starts), going 4-3 with a 4.79 ERA, and a 1.44 WHIP. Walks have been an issue with Stewart both throughout his minor league journey and his brief time in the majors, striking out a total of 34 and walking 26 in 62 MLB innings.

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Per Baseball Savant, Kohl Stewart relied mainly on his sinker (91-92 mph) and slider (80% of his total pitches), with his slider producing some impressive numbers, including a .172 average against, a 33% whiff rate, and no home runs allowed. He also mixes in a changeup and curveball that ranked in the 79th percentile in spin rate.

After using a four-seam fastball nearly 22% of the time in his 2018 campaign, Stewart largely abandoned the pitch in 2019. Opponents hit .407 with a .442 wOBA against the four-seamer in 2018, but Baseball Savant’s expected numbers were a .276 average and .330 wOBA. With a bigger emphasis being placed on four-seam usage in today’s game, you have to assume he begins to use it more in 2020 as the Orioles try and find a path to success for the 25-year-old.

If Stewart can find the strike zone, he has a wide-open opportunity to join an Orioles rotation that currently consists of just John Means, Alex Cobb (maybe), and Asher Wojciechowski.

Welcome to Birdland, Kohl Stewart!