Orioles make obvious choice with demotion to clear space for Scott Blewett

On Monday afternoon, the Orioles claimed former Twins righty Scott Blewett off waivers. The 29 year old came up in the Royals' organization but bounced around between the White Sox and Braves systems before latching on with Minnesota in 2024.

Blewett made the most of his opportunity last year, pitching to a 1.77 ERA in 20.1 innings. He'd gotten off to a hot start in 2025 as well but was designated for assignment over the weekend to make room for lefty Kody Funderburk. Blewett is no stranger to being ditched, as the Twins outrighted him twice last year. He re-signed with Minnesota on both occasions, and signed a minor league contract with them this offseason, as well.

In order to make room for Blewett on the 26-man roster, the Orioles have optioned righty Colin Selby back to Triple-A Norfolk. Selby was one of the few Orioles relievers with minor league options, and he was the clear choice to get sent down in order to make room for Blewett.

Orioles option Colin Selby to Triple-A to make room for righty Scott Blewett

Blewett himself is out of minor league options, as are the majority of the Orioles' relievers. The only guys left in the Baltimore bullpen who could theoretically be sent down are Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano, and Keegan Akin. The rest would have to be DFA'd in order to get them off the 26-man.

Selby has been a fine addition since the Orioles scooped him up last summer. While he got hit hard in his lone outing in the majors this year, he was mostly effective in Triple-A last year and threw four scoreless innings with the big league club down the stretch in 2024.

Prior to his most recent call-up, Selby had struck out 5 batters in 3.1 innings with the Tides, walking just one and allowing no runs on one hit. He'll head back to Norfolk and work out of the bullpen while waiting for his next opportunity.

In order to make room on the 40-man, the Orioles had previously designated lefty Luis H. Gonzalez for assignment. Gonzalez is currently injured and hasn't pitched in a Triple-A game since April 8. However, the O's haven't been open about the specifics of Gonzalez's injury and it's not clear how long he'll be out.

Gonzalez is not a significant loss. He was with the Orioles' organization between 2015-2019, left for Japan's NPB in 2020, and returned to MLB the following season. He signed back on with the Orioles prior to 2024 and has been with the O's ever since. He pitched to a 4.50 ERA in 2024, striking out 74 batters in 60 innings. He'd been worse this year, but it's not clear if his current injury played into his lack of success in a small, early sample.