Orioles Make Massive September Roster Shuffle: Luis Robert Jr. Activated, Luis De León Set for MLB Debut
The Baltimore Orioles opened September with one of their largest roster restructurings of the season, adding a former All-Star to the outfield, promoting one of the organization’s top pitching prospects for his Major League debut and bringing two familiar faces back from Triple-A Norfolk.
Baltimore announced Tuesday that it activated outfielder Luis Robert Jr., selected the contracts of left-hander Luis De León and right-hander Albert Suárez and recalled outfielder Heston Kjerstad from Norfolk.
To create room, the Orioles placed outfielder Christian Franklin on the 10-day injured list with left hand inflammation, optioned left-hander Cade Povich to Norfolk and designated pitchers Cameron Weston and Nick Raquet for assignment.
It is far more than a routine September roster expansion. The Orioles are altering both their pitching staff and their outfield at a point when every game carries weight.
Luis Robert Jr. officially joins the Orioles
Robert is unquestionably the biggest name involved.
Baltimore claimed the 29-year-old center fielder from the New York Mets on Monday before activating him Tuesday. Robert will wear No. 88 for the Orioles.
The move gives Baltimore a player who was considered one of baseball’s premier power-speed talents only a few seasons ago. Robert won a Gold Glove as a rookie with the Chicago White Sox in 2020 and finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting. Three years later, he earned his first All-Star selection and won a Silver Slugger after hitting 38 home runs and stealing 20 bases.
His 2026 season has been much more complicated. Robert played 58 games with the Mets and hit .223 with 10 home runs, 23 RBIs and a .702 OPS. A lumbar spine disc herniation kept him sidelined from April 27 through July 20.
There were encouraging signs before New York placed him on waivers. Robert hit .288 with six home runs and a .922 OPS over 21 games beginning Aug. 6, showing flashes of the explosive offensive player he was earlier in his career.
Baltimore assumed approximately $3 million of Robert’s remaining 2026 salary. The Orioles also inherited a $20 million club option for 2027 that contains a $2 million buyout. That makes Robert more than a September rental if the Orioles believe they can help him return closer to his peak form.
The timing also matters. Because Baltimore acquired Robert before Sept. 1, he remains eligible for the postseason if the Orioles qualify.
His arrival provides manager Craig Albernaz with another right-handed hitter capable of playing center field while also allowing the Orioles to move their outfielders around depending on matchups.
For a team trying to make a late Wild Card run, it is a calculated gamble with legitimate upside.
Luis De León gets the call
Perhaps the most intriguing move of the entire day is the promotion of Luis De León.
Baltimore selected the 23-year-old left-hander’s contract from Norfolk, and his first Major League appearance will also be his MLB debut.
De León has steadily climbed through Baltimore’s farm system since signing with the Orioles as an international free agent in December 2021. MLB Pipeline has ranked him among Baltimore’s better pitching prospects, with his fastball and slider each receiving 60 grades on the traditional 20-80 scouting scale.
The 6-foot-3 left-hander has generated strikeouts throughout his professional career. Through his most recently available 2026 minor-league numbers, De León had recorded 121 strikeouts across 99 innings while going 6-6 with a 4.73 ERA over 26 appearances, including 22 starts.
Across 355 2/3 career minor-league innings, he has accumulated 446 strikeouts.
That strikeout ability is what makes his promotion especially interesting.
De León is not simply being added as a September roster placeholder. Baltimore now gets an opportunity to evaluate a pitcher who could become part of its Major League rotation or bullpen picture moving forward.
He will wear No. 81.
Albert Suárez returns — again
Albert Suárez’s unusual 2026 journey continues.
Baltimore selected his contract from Norfolk just days after signing him back to another minor-league deal.
Suárez has repeatedly moved between Baltimore, Norfolk, waivers and free agency this season. He was designated for assignment Aug. 21, outrighted to Norfolk two days later and elected free agency Aug. 24. Baltimore then re-signed him to a minor-league contract Aug. 27.
Now he is back in the Major Leagues.
Despite all that movement, Suárez has pitched effectively when Baltimore has used him. The 36-year-old carried a 2-0 record, 3.93 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over 55 innings and 25 appearances this season.
His value goes beyond those numbers.
Suárez can give Baltimore multiple innings, pitch out of the bullpen and provide an experienced arm during a stretch in which the Orioles cannot afford to exhaust their highest-leverage relievers every night.
He also has plenty of familiarity with the organization. After spending several seasons pitching overseas, Suárez returned to Major League Baseball with Baltimore in 2024 and delivered a 3.70 ERA over 133 2/3 innings, including 24 starts.
He will wear No. 49.
Heston Kjerstad receives another opportunity
Baltimore is also bringing Heston Kjerstad back to the Major Leagues.
Kjerstad’s road has been far from straightforward since the Orioles selected him second overall in the 2020 MLB Draft.
Injuries and inconsistency have interrupted his attempts to establish himself as a permanent Major League player, but his offensive production at Triple-A continues to earn him opportunities.
Kjerstad was hitting .287 with 11 home runs, 44 RBIs and a .790 OPS across 307 minor-league at-bats in 2026.
The 27-year-old owns a .218 average with 10 home runs, 36 RBIs and a .649 OPS over 285 career Major League at-bats.
Baltimore activated him from the 60-day injured list May 28 after he recovered from a right hamstring strain but immediately optioned him to Norfolk.
This September recall represents another chance.
With Robert joining the Orioles and other outfielders dealing with injuries, Kjerstad does not necessarily need to carry the offense. Instead, Baltimore can use his left-handed power selectively against favorable pitching matchups.
Christian Franklin lands on injured list
One of the roster openings came at the expense of Christian Franklin.
Baltimore placed Franklin on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Aug. 31 because of left hand inflammation.
Franklin has been with the Orioles for less than a month.
Baltimore acquired him from the Washington Nationals on Aug. 3 for minor-league right-hander Joe Glassey. Franklin had hit .249 with a .375 on-base percentage, six homers and 17 stolen bases in 93 games for Triple-A Rochester before the trade.
He made his Major League debut the following day.
Franklin has struggled offensively during his first taste of the Major Leagues, hitting .147 over 34 at-bats with no homers and no RBIs, although he has reached base at a .310 clip and stolen two bases.
His minor-league résumé remains interesting because of his combination of speed and plate discipline. Franklin owns a .389 career minor-league on-base percentage with 88 stolen bases.
The Orioles will now give his left hand time to recover while Robert and Kjerstad absorb additional outfield opportunities.
Cade Povich heads back to Norfolk
Povich’s stay in Baltimore lasted only one game this time around.
The Orioles recalled him Monday to start at Coors Field and then optioned him back to Norfolk following the game, opening another spot on the active roster.
Povich has spent much of 2026 bouncing between Norfolk and Baltimore. Entering his latest appearance, his Major League numbers stood at 2-1 with a 4.45 ERA across six games and 28 1/3 innings.
He has had a more difficult year at Triple-A, posting a 5.46 ERA with 65 strikeouts over 57 2/3 innings in 13 appearances according to MiLB statistics.
Povich still has value as left-handed starting depth. The Orioles simply have more immediate roster needs following Monday’s start.
Because he was optioned rather than removed from the 40-man roster, Baltimore can bring him back later if another rotation opening develops.
Cameron Weston designated for assignment
Baltimore also made a tougher long-term decision with Cameron Weston.
The Orioles designated the 26-year-old right-hander for assignment, removing him from their 40-man roster while they determine whether he will be traded, claimed on waivers or remain in the organization.
Weston, Baltimore’s eighth-round selection in 2022 out of Michigan, reached the Major Leagues for the first time May 28.
His debut went well. Weston worked one scoreless inning and struck out one batter.
The Triple-A numbers have been much more difficult.
Weston has a 7.89 ERA and 1.93 WHIP over 51 1/3 minor-league innings this season, although he has struck out 66 hitters.
That strikeout rate still gives teams something to evaluate, but Baltimore needed 40-man roster spots for De León and Suárez.
Weston’s designation reflects one of the unavoidable consequences of September roster construction. At this stage of the season, roster flexibility becomes almost as important as prospect status.
Nick Raquet also designated
Left-hander Nick Raquet was the second pitcher designated for assignment.
Raquet, 30, was originally a third-round pick of the Washington Nationals in 2017 out of William & Mary. He made his Major League debut in 2025 and has bounced between Norfolk and Baltimore during the current season.
His Triple-A performance has been respectable. Raquet owns a 5-1 record with a 3.53 ERA and 49 strikeouts over 43 1/3 innings in 34 minor-league appearances this year.
His Major League results were less successful. Raquet posted a 7.36 ERA in four appearances covering 3 2/3 innings.
Like Weston, Raquet could still remain with Baltimore if he clears waivers and accepts an outright assignment.
For now, however, the Orioles valued the combination of De León’s upside and Suárez’s reliability enough to make the change.
This is a very different September roster
Taken individually, some of these moves might appear minor.
Together, they show exactly what Baltimore is trying to accomplish.
Robert gives the Orioles another potential middle-of-the-order threat and a legitimate center-field defender. Kjerstad provides left-handed power. De León gives Baltimore another high-upside arm. Suárez supplies stability and innings.
Meanwhile, Franklin can recover without forcing Baltimore to play shorthanded, Povich returns to a regular rotation schedule in Norfolk and the Orioles opened two valuable 40-man positions by designating Weston and Raquet.
Robert is the headline acquisition, but De León might be the most significant development from an organizational standpoint.
Baltimore has spent years searching for homegrown starting pitching. Giving De León meaningful Major League innings in September could provide valuable information about whether he is ready to compete for a larger role in 2027.
MSB Take
The Orioles are not behaving like a team ready to quietly play out September.
They are taking swings.
Claiming Robert is exactly the type of gamble Baltimore should make. There is very little prospect cost, and the upside is substantial. A healthy Robert does things few players can do. His 38-home run, 20-steal season was only three years ago, and his August surge with New York suggests the ability has not disappeared.
The Orioles also deserve credit for promoting De León rather than simply filling the extra September pitching spot with another familiar depth arm. This is the time to find out whether one of Baltimore’s better pitching prospects can get Major League hitters out.
Kjerstad is another player who deserves a legitimate opportunity. The Orioles invested the No. 2 overall pick in him, and despite the injuries and disappointing stretches, he continues to hit at Triple-A. September should provide another chance to determine what his future in Baltimore looks like.
Suárez might be the least exciting transaction on paper, but he could quietly become one of the most useful pieces. September bullpen workloads get ugly quickly, and having a veteran who can cover multiple innings can save an entire pitching staff.
The Robert move changes the ceiling of this roster. The De León promotion changes the intrigue.
Baltimore entered the final month with meaningful baseball still ahead of it, and Tuesday’s roster overhaul makes one thing clear: the Orioles intend to use every available roster spot trying to extend their season.
