A familiar face: Baltimore Orioles bring back reliever Jorge Lopez off of waivers from the Marlins.
On August 2nd of 2022, the Baltimore Orioles decided to trade all-star closer Jorge Lopez to the Minnesota Twins. It was seen by many as a controversial move, as the Orioles were 53-51 and in the thick of the wild card race. What confused O’s fans even more was that they got back players that weren’t usable right away. The Twins traded left-hander Cade Povich (#22 Minnesota prospect), right-handed reliever Yennier Cano (13.96 career ERA), and pitchers Juan Nunez and Juan Rojas.
Since the trade, Lopez has pitched for two organizations (Twins, Marlins). Lopez has an ERA of 6.24, and a K/BB walk rate of 1.6. It is fair to say that he has significantly regressed from his all-star form in 2022 with the Orioles. Jorge Lopez was placed on waivers by the Marlins about a week ago after his recent struggles.
After joining Baltimore’s minor league system, Povich has struck out 168 batters in 128.1 innings pitched. The ERA is a little high (6.44), but the 23-year-old has shown lots of promise and could find himself in the majors soon. The star of the show has been Yennier Cano. After struggling to throw strikes in the beginning of his career, Cano has been a flamethrower for the O’s. He went the first month and a half of the season without giving up a hit, and has been arguably the second best reliever for Baltimore.
A little over a year later, Jorge Lopez finds himself back on Baltimore’s roster. The Orioles picked Lopez up off of waivers on September 2nd, although he hasn’t been activated yet. The main concern is that because he was picked up after August 31st, he isn’t eligible for the postseason. Baltimore will most likely use him to get some other guys in the pen some rest and build up some confidence. He might not return to his all-star self immediately, but maybe pitching in a familiar environment will ignite the fire inside of Jorge Lopez. Their lead on the Tampa Bay Rays is only 2.5 games, and they want to separate themselves as much as possible.
