Orioles recall Terrin Vavra, sign Max Wagner (plus lineups)

The Orioles placed infielder Jonathan Araúz on the 10-day injured list with a right digit avulsion fracture, sustained last night while diving into second base, and recalled infielder Terrin Vavra from Triple-A Norfolk.

Vavra isn’t in tonight’s lineup. He’ll wait to make his major league debut as the No. 12 prospect in the system per MLBPipeline.com.

Having Vavra on the roster gives the Orioles a needed left-handed bat. He can play second base and the outfield.

The Orioles signed infielder Max Wagner, their second-round draft pick out of Clemson University and the 42^nd overall.

Wagner’s deal is for $1.9 million, according to an industry source. The slot value was $1,861,900.

The club has signed three of its selections, including outfielder Dylan Beavers, No. 33 overall from the University of California, and outfielder Jud Fabian, No. 67 overall from the University of Florida.

Wagner, a 20-year-old right-handed hitter, slashed .370/.496/.852 this season with 15 doubles, a triple, 27 home runs, 76 RBIs, 45 walks and 51 strikeouts in 259 plate appearances. The Green Bay native played only two seasons at Clemson and was sophomore-eligible. He batted .214/.305/.345 in 35 games in 2021 with five doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs.

MLBPipeline.com ranked Wagner as the No. 66 prospect. He was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Player of the Year after tying Khalil Greene’s school home run record of 27.

Infielder Jackson Holliday, the first-overall pick, reached agreement on a $8.19 million deal that set the franchise record. His signing could be announced later this week.

As for tonight’s game, Trey Mancini is playing first base and Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter.

Ramón Urías is slashing .429/.429/.857 (12-for-28) with three doubles, three home runs, eight RBIs and six runs scored during a seven-game hitting streak.

Spenser Watkins faced the Rays on May 22 in Baltimore, didn’t retire any of the three batters he faced, and left with an elbow injury after being hit by Ji-Man Choi’s comebacker.

Adley Rutschman is catching again tonight after Luke Raley clipped the back of his legs last night on a play at the plate, infuriating the crowd but causing no bad blood between the players.

“No issue whatsoever,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “Fans got excited. I think nobody got excited. Like the way that Luke handled it, and certainly Adley was very receptive to it. They made sure each other were all right. More Luke.”

“It was a hard baseball play,” Raley said. “I didn't do anything dirty. I talked to Adley afterward, he was completely fine with it. He knew there was no dirty intent behind it. I was trying to keep us out of a double play, keep the bases loaded and see if we can get some runs that inning.

“I went up my next at bat and I said, you know, there was no dirty intent. He said, ‘Oh, absolutely.’ He said he was trying to quiet the crowd down and let them know that everything was good. So, I do respect him for that, and he knows that's all you can do.”

The Orioles have back-to-back winning months for the first time since 2016. The 48 victories this season already surpass the 2018 total.

They’re 21-10 when scoring first.

The Orioles have won 17 games without hitting a home run, second in the majors behind the Guardians’ 18.

Baltimore native Shane McClanahan, the American League’s starter in the All-Star Game, is 10-3 with a 1.71 ERA and 0.795 WHIP in 18 starts. He’s walked 19 batters and struck out 147 in 110 2/3 innings.

McClanahan started against the Orioles on opening day and struck out seven in 4 1/3 scoreless innings. The left-hander is 4-0 with a 2.30 ERA and 1.134 WHIP in five career starts versus the Orioles.

Cedric Mullins is 5-for-14 with a home run against McClanahan.

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Trey Mancini 1B
Ryan Mountcastle DH
Anthony Santander RF
Austin Hays LF
Adley Rutschman C
Ramón Urías 3B
Rougned Odor 2B
Jorge Mateo SS

Spenser Watkins RHP

For the Rays
Yandy Díaz 3B
Brandon Lowe DH
Randy Arozarena LF
Ji-Man Choi 1B
Isaac Paredes 2B
Luke Raley RF
Christian Bethancourt C
Roman Quinn CF
Yu Chang SS

Shane McClanahan LHP