Former trusted Orioles reliever resurfaces on minor-league deal with Angels

Dillon Tate was an important part of one of the most beloved Orioles teams of this century. When Tate broke out in 2022 and pitched to a 3.05 ERA with a 3.48 FIP in 67 appearances while pitching almost exclusively in the seventh inning or later, it seemed like the Orioles had found a bullpen arm on whom they could rely for the next several years. Unfortunately for both the Orioles and Tate, he missed the entirety of the Orioles 2023 season with right elbow/forearm injuries, and when he returned in 2024, his velocity was down multiple ticks, and he struggled with his command to the point that the Orioles eventually had to DFA him.

Tate caught on briefly with the Toronto Blue Jays, but despite looking alright with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, he only ended up pitching 9.2 total innings for the Jays between 2024 and 2025, and at the end of 2025, the Blue Jays did not retain him. Just like that, a once-promising arm was out of the league.

The Orioles should keep an eye on Dillon Tate as he attempts to revive his career

That is, until yesterday, when the Angels signed Tate to a minor league deal. It'll be worth monitoring Tate's progress with the Angels. As mentioned above, Tate was not bad in Triple-A Buffalo. Specifically, he was very effective against righties.

In 2025, righties put up a .205 xwOBA against Tate. He struck them out at a 32% clip and walked only 3% of them. His whiff rate, swinging strike rate, zone rate, and in-zone contact rate against righties were all elite. Against lefties, he was borderline disastrous, which is likely why the Blue Jays only called him up for a handful of innings.

Even in Tate's best season in 2022, he had pretty dramatic platoon splits, but nothing as crazy as what was going on in 2025. Obviously, Tate can look at the data and see that his struggles against lefties are what are holding him back from being in the majors again

It'll be interesting to see if, over the next few weeks in the Angels system, Tate can display some sort of answer to left-handed hitting. He doesn't have to go as far as to become a lefty specialist, but he has to make it so they don't kill him so consistently. If Tate shows progress against lefties, the Orioles definitely have room in their bullpen for a reunion with their former high-leverage arm. It might take a small trade with the Angels involving cash being sent to LA in exchange for the journeyman reliever, or they might just wait and see if Tate gets cut or has some sort of opt-out that he can exercise.

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