The Orioles are signing infielder Thairo Estrada to a minor league deal, per a team announcement. The deal includes an invite to big league Spring Training.
The deal is something of a belated birthday gift for Estrada, who turned 30 just yesterday. The infielder was signed out of Venezuela as an amateur by the Yankees and made his big league debut with them back in 2019, but he’s best known for his work with the Giants. From 2021 to 2023, Estrada slashed .266/.320/.416 (105 wRC+) and eventually found himself upgraded from a utility role to the team’s starting second baseman. He combined that slightly above average bat with a strong glove to become a very valuable player for San Francisco for a few years.
Things began to turn the wrong direction in 2024 — a season in which a left wrist sprain limited Estrada to just 96 games. He hit a paltry .217/.247/.343 (68 wRC+) even when he was healthy enough to take the field. The Giants cut him loose, and a one-year deal with the Rockies didn’t help him right the ship. Estrada suffered an injury in his other wrist, this time suffering a fracture during when he was hit by a pitch during Cactus League play. He missed about two months with that injury before additional IL stints due to a thumb sprain and hamstring strain. Overall, he hit .253/.285/.370 in just 165 plate appearances.
With the Orioles, Estrada will vie for a spot in an infield that looks quite a bit less crowded than it did just a few weeks ago. Second baseman Jackson Holliday and third baseman Jordan Westburg will both open the season on the injured list — the former due to a hamate fracture that required surgery and the latter due to a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, which he’ll first try to rehab without surgery.
The injuries to Holliday and Westburg have likely thrust former top prospect Coby Mayo (third base) and trade acquisition Blaze Alexander (second base) into starting roles. Utilityman Jeremiah Jackson could also see an increased role, and the O’s picked up out of options third baseman Bryan Ramos off waivers following the Westburg injury, giving them another option around the infield.
Estrada immediately becomes the most experienced member of the competition for a backup infield role on Baltimore’s bench. In 508 big league games, he’s tallied 1870 plate appearances with a .251/.299/.392 batting line (91 wRC+). He’s primarily been a middle infielder but has experience at third base and in all three outfield spots (primarily left field). Second base is his best position, but if he makes the club he can back up at a variety of positions while the rest of the Oriole infield is on the mend.
