Former Orioles Players on Playoff Teams this October

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With the regular season over, the Baltimore Orioles also saw their season come to an end, falling just short of a playoff spot after what was a miracle run of a season. Just because the team isn’t in the playoffs doesn’t mean you have to stop watching though. Here are all the former Orioles on the rosters of postseason teams this season.

Houston Astros

The Astros enter the postseason as the AL’s number one seed, crushing any semblance of competition this season. They don’t have any Orioles connections on their roster, with the exception of one pretty important face in Baltimore. That man is Trey Mancini. After a memorable tenure as the franchise face of the Orioles, he was dealt to the Astros at the trade deadline as part of a three-team deal with the Rays. He’s hitting .186 with a mere .271 on base percentage to go with eight homers since arriving in Houston, but he’s very easy to root for, and that should continue this postseason.

New York Yankees

One of the Orioles division rivals and the AL’s number two seed has more traces of Baltimore than the Astros. Easily the most prominent one is Zack Britton, an Orioles reliever and eventual closer from 2011 to his trade to the Bronx at the 2018 Trade Deadline. He’s on the 60-Day IL currently and won’t appear in the playoffs but has had his share of success in the pinstripes.

Another Yankees reliever with Baltimore connections is Miguel Castro, donning the orange and black from 2017 until a trade to the Mets in the middle of the 2020 season. He has a 4.00 ERA in 32 games this season, but like Britton, is also on the 60-Day IL, so he likely won’t appear in any playoff action.

However, there is one former Oriole who will appear in the playoffs for the Yankees. Lefty Nestor Cortes Jr, one of the Yankees best pitchers, toed the rubber for the Orioles in the 2018 season, appearing in four games for a 7.71 ERA out of the bullpen. He’s a shoe in for at least one postseason start in every series the Yankees appear in.

The last Yankee with Oriole connections is lefty reliever Lucas Luetge. He never appeared in a big league game for Baltimore, pitching in four games for Triple-A Norfolk in the 2017 season, notching a 4.50 ERA. Luetge has been in the Yankees bullpen all season, so it’s likely that Luetge will appear this postseason.

Cleveland Guardians

The AL Central Champion Cleveland Guardians are next up on the list. Kirk McCarty was never an Oriole in the big leagues. He was claimed by Baltimore off waivers in July, made one start for Norfolk, and was DFA’d and claimed again by the Guardians after that. McCarty probably won’t be on the playoff roster as he is a fringe player at best, but he’s a former Oriole anyway.

The Guardians also had Logan Allen on their roster for a bit. He appeared in three games for the Orioles this season, if you can believe it, pitching to a 10.80 ERA. He’s in the minors with the Colorado Rockies currently, so he won’t be playing postseason ball, but it’s an interesting connection to make.

Toronto Blue Jays

The next target for the search of former Orioles leads to the Toronto Blue Jays. Staff ace Kevin Gausman jumps off the page. After 5 1/2 seasons of ups and downs in Baltimore, Gausman has since turned a corner into an elite pitcher, anchoring the Jays staff into October with a 3.35 ERA in 174 2/3 innings this season.

Kevin Gausman is among a bevy of former Orioles appearing in the 2022 Postseason.

Shaun Anderson is also a member of the Blue Jays this season. We won’t see him in the playoffs as he’s only appeared once in the majors this year, allowing two runs in one inning pitched. Anderson was on the Orioles in 2021, throwing 10 innings in seven appearances out of the bullpen, a brief stint in Charm City.

Wrapping up the Toronto trek is Zach Pop. He never appeared in a major league game for the Orioles, similar to Luetge and McCarty. Part of the return for Manny Machado, Pop spent part of 2018 and the entire 2019 season with Double-A Bowie, but only made eight appearances in that 2019 season. He has a 2.77 ERA in 35 games this season, split between Toronto and the Miami Marlins. Pop has a shot at being on Toronto’s playoff roster.

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners are the next team on the list, having clinched a playoff spot for the first time since they won 116 games in 2001 before losing to the Yankees in the ALCS. We won’t see Tommy Milone on their playoff roster, but he appeared in seven games for the Mariners this season to the tune of a 5.40 ERA. Milone was a small part of the 2020 Orioles, authoring a 3.99 ERA in six games.

Tampa Bay Rays

We now get to the last AL team, and it’s another Orioles rival, the Tampa Bay Rays. They have a handful of Baltimore connections. First off is Jimmy Yacabonis, a member of the Orioles from 2017-2019, making 55 appearances over all three years, including 11 starts. He’s made only four appearances for the Rays this year, but he’s a possible addition to the playoff roster, so he’s worth keeping an eye on.

Shawn Armstrong is another former Oriole on the Rays, being a part of the Charm City bullpen from 2019 through 2020, and a part of 2021 as well. Armstrong didn’t have the best tenure in Baltimore but has been used out of the Rays bullpen 39 times this season, making three starts in addition to that, posting a 3.62 ERA in 54 2/3 innings in a Rays uniform. Keep an eye out for him to make some wild card round appearances this weekend.

A lesser-known Baltimore pitcher on the Rays roster is Garrett Cleavinger. He never made the majors with the Orioles, instead spending a few years in the Orioles minor league system. He had a 2.16 ERA in 19 games with Aberdeen in 2015, 1.38 ERA with Delmarva in 2016, and a 6.28 ERA in 27 games with Bowie in 2017. In 13 appearances with the Rays, Cleavinger has a 2.41 ERA out of the bullpen, throwing 18 2/3 innings.

Also playing for the Rays this season was Dusten Knight. He’s not on the 40-man as he was previously DFA’d, so he is with Triple-A and unlikely to appear in the playoffs. He appeared in seven games for the 2021 Orioles, recording a 9.35 ERA and starkly different 3.86 FIP in 8 2/3 innings.

With the six AL playoff teams out of the way, it’s time to head to the other league in MLB and address former Orioles playing for NL playoff teams.

These former Baltimore Orioles will be featuring in the MLB Playoffs.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The almighty Dodgers have had another fantastic season in 2022, and they’re doing it with the help of some former Orioles. The biggest name on this list wasn’t a big name in Baltimore. Justin Turner played 12 games for the Orioles in 2009, hitting just .167 with no home runs and three RBI’s. He failed to record a hit in five games in Baltimore in 2010. We all know what happened after that, he became a stalwart of the Dodgers lineup and a two-time All-Star in the City of Angels.

A more recent Oriole with a roster spot for the Dodgers this season is utility infielder Hanser Alberto. He played 139 games for the Orioles in 2019, and 54 in 2020. He combined to hit .299 with 15 home runs and 73 RBI’s to go with a .735 OPS in that time. He has a .239 average with two home runs and 15 RBI’s in 72 games, because he’s not particularly strong with the bat. He’ll serve as a bench player in the playoffs but should still see action at some point this postseason.

Wrapping up with the Dodgers, the last player that has to be mentioned is none other than Evan Phillips. He played for the Orioles for 2019 and 2020, and a small part of the 2018 season, recording a 7.36 ERA in 44 appearances. As what tends to happen when you go to the Dodgers, Phillips is a key member of the bullpen, with a sterling 1.14 ERA and 1.94 FIP in 64 games, totaling 63 innings.

Atlanta Braves

Moving on to the champs of the NL East, the Braves have themselves a pair of Orioles connections, but we won’t be seeing them in the postseason. To start things off, they have none other than Rylan Bannon. I mean, what a wild ride. Four games this season, two hits, .200 on base percentage, truly a legend of our times.

Ok, my bad jokes aside, they also have Darren O’Day. You should be quite familiar with O’Day from his seven-year tenure in Baltimore, including an All-Star game selection in 2015. He had a 2.40 ERA and 19 saves out of the bullpen as a dependable arm for Buck Showalter to deploy. He’s on the 60-Day IL with a toe issue, so he’ll most definitely be off any postseason roster Atlanta has, but it’s fun to talk about O’Day again.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals won the NL Central with a Cinderella story of Pujols, Molina, and Wainwright riding into the sunset together. But who wants to hear about them when we have some former Orioles to talk about? I mean, they have TJ McFarland and Aaron Brooks! Who doesn’t love them?

So we won’t be seeing any of them this postseason for a few different reasons. McFarland pitched to a 6.28 ERA before the Cardinals had enough and DFA’d him, so he’s in Triple-A Memphis and off the 40-man roster. He was a four-year member of the Orioles bullpen, recording a 4.27 ERA and 4.03 FIP in 121 appearances.

Brooks, on the other hand, was DFA’d earlier in the season by the Cardinals, but he’s on the suspended list in Memphis right now, for an unclear reason. Brooks was a member of the Orioles for a stint during the 2019 season, posting a 6.18 ERA over 59 2/3 innings, making 12 starts and two relief outings.

New York Mets

Moving to the NL East and the other side of the Big Apple, what former Orioles are on the New York Mets? First up is Mychal Givens, who spent the first 5 1/2 seasons of his career in the Orioles bullpen, with a 3.32 ERA in 336 innings. He’s spent time with the Mets and Chicago Cubs this year, having made 19 appearances with the Mets since coming over at the trade deadline. Keep an eye out for him when watching Mets playoff games.

Also on the Mets roster is Tommy Hunter. Much like a decent number of other players mentioned, he’s on the 15-Day IL and likely not appearing on a playoff roster. Hunter recorded a 2.42 ERA in 18 appearances in his second season with the Mets this year, throwing 22 1/3 innings. He spent six years with the Orioles, making 31 starts in 224 total appearances, from parts of 2011 until 2015, and then coming back to Baltimore in 2016.

San Diego Padres

The NL West Wild card team has three former Orioles that have played for them this season, two of which are on the active roster. Easily the most notable one is Manny Machado. We know all about him, appearing in four All-Star games over 6 1/2 seasons, hitting 162 home runs and driving in 471 runs in 860 games. Machado is doing his usual be-good-at-baseball thing this season, hitting 32 home runs to go with 102 RBI’s in 150 games for a dominant Padres team.

Another piece of Baltimore is Josh Hader. He never appeared in a Major League game for the Orioles, playing for the rookie level Orioles and Aberdeen in 2012, and Delmarva for part of 2013. He had a 2.66 ERA in rookie ball, 0.00 ERA in Aberdeen, and 2.65 ERA with the Shorebirds. His struggles with the Padres have been well documented, but he’s still a very well-known and good reliever who will get his share of high leverage chances this postseason, so he’s one to keep an eye on.

Wrapping up the Padres connections is Tayler Scott. He’s in the minors in the Phillies organization, but appeared in eight games for the Padres, recording a 6.75 ERA. Scott appeared in eight games for the 2019 Orioles, posting a dismal 18.69 ERA in 8 2/3 innings, allowing a whopping 18 runs.

Philadelphia Phillies

Outside of Scott, who is on their 40-man roster but in the minors, the Phillies somehow don’t have any connections to the Baltimore Orioles who have played for them this season.

So, to wrap things up, the Orioles are not playing any postseason baseball this season. But, out of the 12 teams going to the playoffs, you can find quite a lot of former Orioles on those teams, including franchise legends such as Machado and Mancini. While we can’t root for Baltimore this October, there are some former Orioles to root for. Happy playoff watching, Orioles fans.

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