Orioles confuse fans with David Bañuelos roster move

The Orioles have had a busy month, making a great number of roster moves to address a variety of injuries on the major league roster. Most recently, the O's made a series of moves on Sunday afternoon in the wake of Ramón Urías' ankle injury and the return of starter Zach Eflin.

As part of that jumble, the Orioles selected the contract of catcher David Bañuelos for the third time this year, bringing the 27 year old back up to the majors ahead of Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Bañuelos didn't appear in Sunday's game and prior to Monday's matchup with the White Sox, the Orioles chose to designate him for assignment.

While Bañuelos isn't a particularly exciting prospect, it's a bit perplexing why the Orioles would select his contract for a single day, not use him, and then immediately bounce him off the roster. Bañuelos has already cleared waivers twice this summer and it's unlikely that he'll get claimed this time around either, but that doesn't make the move any less strange.

The Orioles clearly don't trust catcher David Bañuelos

In his stead, the Orioles selected the contract of utility infielder Nick Maton ahead of Monday's game. The O's had already recalled top prospect Coby Mayo, who started at third base on Sunday, though he didn't make it into Monday's affair.

Maton gives the Orioles a bit more lineup length than Bañuelos does, though even with expanded rosters in September the O's are running with just two catchers.

As for Bañuelos, he'll likely head back to Triple-A Norfolk, where he's spent the majority of his time this year. He's hit .225/.360/.352 there, good for a slightly below average 95 wRC+. While he isn't adding much in terms of damage on contact, the ability to draw walks and get on base is a valuable skill set to have.

The most logical explanation for the Orioles' recklessness with Bañuelos' contract is that top prospect Samuel Basallo is up in Triple-A and hitting well. The O's also have 25 year old Blake Hunt on the 40-man, though he's been horrific since being acquired from the Mariners earlier this year.
A .293/.372/.533 line with Seattle's Triple-A club turned into a .168/.202/.283 line in Norfolk.

As it stands, the Orioles clearly don't seem to care if Bañuelos gets claimed on waivers this week. Though he's provided solid depth for the organization this year, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the O's and Bañuelos part ways at the end of the season should he pass through waivers and return to Norfolk once more.