The Royals are trading outfielder Rudy Martin Jr. to the Orioles, reports Ari Alexander of 7 Boston News. Baltimore will select him onto the 40-man roster and option him to Triple-A Norfolk. Trades like this usually involve a nominal cash consideration going back in return.
Martin is a 30-year-old who has never appeared in the majors. He began his professional career more than a decade ago. The Royals drafted Martin in the 25th round out of a Mississippi high school in 2014. He spent time in the Washington farm system and in the Mexican league before returning to the Royals on a minor league deal last year.
That contract included an upward mobility clause, which Martin triggered earlier in the week. That meant the Royals had to offer him to the 29 other teams, any of whom could elect to put him on their 40-man roster. Kansas City could then either put him on their 40-man or send him to Baltimore.
The 5’8″ Martin has spent the majority of the season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He hit well there and has been even better since earning a promotion to Triple-A in late June. Martin has a combined .284/.414/.441 slash line across 255 plate appearances. He has walked at a huge 16.1% clip against a league average 23.5% strikeout rate. Martin has hit eight homers and stolen 33 bases in 40 tries.
That strong production has earned Martin a spot on a 40-man roster for the first time. This doesn’t guarantee that he’ll ever play in the majors but is a significant career milestone in its own right. Baltimore has Taylor Ward, Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, Leody Taveras, Tyler O’Neill and utilityman Jeremiah Jackson as outfield options on the MLB roster. Heston Kjerstad, Reed Trimble and Johnathan Rodríguez are all on optional assignments to Norfolk.
The O’s have a full 40-man roster and churn through the final few spots more than any other team. Chris Bassitt or Blaze Alexander could be candidates for a move to the 60-day injured list, though they also have a number of recently acquired depth types they could look to sneak through waivers to open a spot.
