SAN DIEGO - Before the Orioles could hand Tyler Wells the ball tonight, they had to reinstate him from the 60-day injured list and do some roster maneuvering.
They also returned infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the 60-day IL, a little earlier than they indicated yesterday. He’s also back.
Catcher Maverick Handley was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after spending one day with the team. Pitchers Corbin Martin and Elvin Rodríguez were designated for assignment. Martin was with the Orioles, and his exit frees up another spot on the 28-man roster.
The 40-man roster is full.
Mateo hasn’t played in the majors since June 6 due to elbow and hamstring injuries. He’s batting .180/.231/.279 with 14 steals in 15 attempts over 31 games.
PHILADELPHIA – The visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park isn’t a good location for trying to identify new players.
Lockers don’t come with names, just uniform numbers that aren’t much use without a program or freakish memory skills. And the Orioles’ roster has undergone a startling makeover.
A player sat on a couch yesterday wearing a thick white headband and looking at his phone. The face was unrecognizable to anyone who missed the introductions in Chicago.
The stranger turned out to be first baseman Ryan Noda, who had a pinch-hit single Sunday. The Orioles claimed him on waivers from the White Sox over the weekend.
A pitcher sat at his locker who also hadn’t been in the organization the last time that the Orioles were home. A reporter on the beat discreetly held up his phone to reveal the player page belonging to left-hander Dietrich Enns, who was acquired from the Tigers at the trade deadline for cash considerations. Enns allowed a run and five hits Sunday in 1 2/3 innings.
CHICAGO – A post-trade deadline world involves a lot of moving pieces.
The Orioles will take chances on waiver claims and young talent, hoping to find diamonds in the rough.
Who knows if Ryan Noda will be a flier that becomes a piece. This afternoon, though, he was a ninth-inning hero. One of two, but we'll get to that.
With the O's down 3-2 and down to their final out, Noda brought Colton Cowser home to tie the game at three.
But the heroics, and the good feelings it brought, were short lived. The Cubs walked it off in the ninth, and the Orioles fell 5-3.
The latest roster move this morning brings Ryan Noda to the visiting clubhouse at Wrigley Field.
Noda, claimed on waivers yesterday from the White Sox, has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. He’s wearing No. 41.
The Orioles designated infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra for assignment.
The 40-man roster has 35 players.
Noda, 29, appeared in 16 games with the White Sox this season and went 3-for-34 with a home run and 10 strikeouts. He played in 128 games with the Athletics in 2023 and 36 in 2024 and is a career .204/.341/.357 hitter. He smacked 16 home runs with 54 RBIs and a .770 OPS in ’23.