Orioles think outside the box with most recent minor league signing

Earlier this week, the Orioles agreed to a minor league contract with former Oakland Athletics' infielder Vimael Machin. The 31 year old was originally drafted out of VCU back in 2015 by the Cubs. He spent 5 years in Chicago's system before getting picked up by Oakland in the 2019 Rule 5 draft.

Machin has seen time in parts of three major league seasons, all with the A's. He's appeared in 112 major league games, the most recent of which was back in 2022. During that time, he put up an unimpressive .208/.290/.261 slash line with very limited power.

Machin appeared in 52 games for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Phillies Triple-A affiliate. He was a more effective hitter there, and in general has been a solid player at the higher levels of the minor leagues. That performance has yet to translate to major league success, however.

After spending time in the Phillies' system in 2023, Machin headed to the Mexican League where he signed on with Guadalajara. Over the past 18 months, Machin has played in both Mexico and in the Puerto Rican Winter League, as well as the Dominican Winter League and the Caribbean Series.

Orioles nab former Athletics infielder Vimael Machin on minor league deal

Machin has been a solid defensive middle infielder but his real calling card has been his plate discipline. Throughout the course of 8 minor league seasons, Machin has put up a career .365 OBP. That's one of the few aspects of his game that actually did translate well to his time in the majors.

While in Oakland, his batting average barely scraped past .200, holding his OBP down in the process. But Machin did post a 10% walk rate and a strong 18.6% strikeout rate. He might be a bit too old at this point to really break through, but if he were ever able to find a way to impact the ball, he'd be a useful major leaguer.

Controlling plate appearances doesn't come easy, and Machin has a good feel for the strike zone. It's possible that the Orioles can find a way to kickstart his ability to do damage on contact, albeit a bit of a stretch to do so on an everyday basis.

Regardless of whether Machin ever finds his way in the majors, he'll give the Orioles a bit of extra depth at Triple-A. And on a cheap minor league deal, there are worse ways the O's can spend time and money.