Orioles DFA Nick Vespi in order to make unnecessary waiver claim

On Sunday afternoon, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reported that the Orioles had claimed journeyman reliever Brooks Kriske off waivers from the Reds. Kriske had pitched to a 3.10 ERA with the Reds' minor league club but had run a 14.8% walk rate and his previous track record is questionable so the Reds decided to move on.

Kriske pitched in the Orioles organization previously, spending time in both Baltimore and Norfolk in 2021. He was not good in limited time, allowing 5 runs in 3.2 innings with the big league club en route to being released at the end of the year.

Kriske was once an interesting prospect back in the late-2010's when he was with the Yankees. He's always been able to generate swings and misses but has never been able to consistently find the strike zone. As a result, he's allowed far too many walks and the whiffs haven't translated to the majors as hitters are able to lay off the junk pitches.

In order to acquire Kriske, the Orioles chose to designate Nick Vespi for assignment despite a strong performance at the highest level.

Orioles DFA Nick Vespi in puzzling roster move

The Orioles never seemed to believe in Vespi considering they optioned him to Norfolk 5 times in 2024 along. In total, the O's optioned Vespi 18 times over the last three years, refusing to give Vespi the opportunity to settle into a bullpen role in Baltimore.

Vespi pitched to a 2.92 ERA with the Orioles this year with a 3.50 FIP and an impressive 6.1% walk rate. He's not a big strikeout guy, which we know is a major factor for the Orioles at this point in the game. He also hadn't pitched well at Triple-A but that almost shouldn't matter with the level of success he'd had in the big leagues.

Vespi was slightly worse in 2022 and 2023 but his career ERA sits at 3.88 in 53.1 major league innings. He almost certainly won't make it through waivers and he should find himself with a new organization before the week is out.

As Roch Kubatko reported, because Vespi had already been optioned so many times this year, he would have to be passed through waivers in order to send him back down to Norfolk. Kriske has minor league options left, which gives the Orioles a bit more flexibility in terms of roster management.

But what the move also does is make the bullpen in Baltimore worse. Vespi is a better pitcher than Kriske right now, and he has more success at the highest level. The O's bullpen is tight at the moment but it hasn't been good enough to inspire confidence heading into the final month of the season.

Kriske adds little value to the big league roster at a time when the Orioles need all the help they can get. Unfortunately, this move seems short-sighted but we'll have to hope it ends up better than it looks.