The Orioles announced they’ve outrighted infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson after he was designated for assignment over the weekend. Baltimore also confirmed they lost third baseman Bryan Ramos to the Cardinals via waivers, a move that was reported earlier this afternoon. Their 40-man roster count sits at 39, as Wilson’s DFA had already removed him from the tally.
Wilson actually lost his roster spot when Baltimore traded for Ramos, sending cash considerations to the White Sox. They quickly waived Ramos as well, so it seems they were hoping to stash both players at Triple-A Norfolk. That’s par for the course for Baltimore, the league’s most aggressive team at working the waiver wire. Wilson himself was claimed from Philadelphia at the end of January.
The 31-year-old Wilson has played parts of three MLB seasons, all with the Phillies. He has played in 100 games and taken 245 trips to the plate, hitting .242/.328/.428 with nine home runs. That’s slightly above-average production, but Philadelphia used the right-handed hitter in favorable situations. Nearly 60% of his career plate appearances have come against left-handed pitching. Wilson has taken nearly 1700 trips to the dish over five seasons in Triple-A, where he’s a .247/.339/.462 hitter.
This is Wilson’s first career outright assignment. He doesn’t have three years of service time, meaning he’ll have to accept. He’ll certainly get a non-roster invite to Spring Training when camps open next week and will try to play his way back onto the roster. A heavily right-handed bench isn’t doing him many favors, especially after the O’s acquired out-of-options infielder Blaze Alexander from Arizona yesterday.
