The Orioles announced that right-hander Jose Espada has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. He had been designated for assignment earlier this week when the O’s claimed outfielder Michael Siani. This is Espada’s first career outright and he has less than three years of service time, so he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency. He’ll provide the Orioles with some non-roster depth for the time being.
Espada, 29, signed a minor league deal with the O’s in July of 2025. He was added to the 40-man in August and then optioned to the minors, suggesting he probably had some kind of opt-out in that deal. He was called up in September and made one appearance before getting optioned back to Norfolk. He’s had a similar experience so far this year, spending most of it in the minors. He was recalled three times but only made one appearance.
He also made one appearance with the Padres in 2023, so he has three big league appearances on his ledger. He has thrown five scoreless innings in total. A career earned run average of 0.00 is nice but it’s obviously a very small sample. His larger body of work at Triple-A is less impressive. In 65 innings at that level, he has a 4.57 ERA. He has a strong 27.5% strikeout rate in that sample but a worrisome 15.5% walk rate. He mostly throws a mid-90s fastball and mid-80s slider, with a 90ish splitter being his third pitch in terms of usage.
After the 2023 season, the Padres non-tendered Espada, sending him to free agency without needing to put him on waivers. He spent 2024 in Japan, throwing 27 innings for the Yakult Swallows with an ERA of 5.00. He re-signed with the Friars on a minor league deal ahead of 2025 but eventually was released from that pact and signed with the Orioles. Since this is his first time clearing waivers and his service time count is under three years, he has to accept the outright assignment. He will try to improve his control and earn his way back to the majors.
Photo courtesy of Jamie Sabau, Imagn Images
