Yaramil Hiraldo was a non-roster invitee to Orioles spring training who didn’t pitch in an exhibition game. He was included in an early round of cuts on March 2, his name buried behind outfield prospects Enrique Bradfield Jr., Dylan Beavers and Jud Fabian and major league reliever Colin Selby.

One of them is with the club this week – the reliever who was out of affiliated ball since 2021, pitching in Mexico and the independent Atlantic League until the Orioles signed him on Oct. 31.

Hiraldo had his contract selected on Saturday when the Orioles designated veteran left-hander Cionel Pérez for assignment in a bold bullpen move. He posted a combined 2.45 ERA in 11 games between Triple-A Norfolk (six), High-A Aberdeen (three) and Double-A Chesapeake (two).

“I found out during a practice day and they told me I was gonna come up to Boston and be on the taxi squad,” Hiraldo said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “They told me to just be ready. There’s a chance I could be on the roster, a chance I might not be on the roster. And sure enough, it happened. So I’m here now, I’m ready to go and ready to help the team.”

There are plenty of interesting success stories floating around baseball. Albert Suárez provided a doozy with the Orioles. Hiraldo received a paltry $2,500 bonus from the Diamondbacks during the international signing period in 2017-18, the 11^th lowest among 1,176 players, according to baseball journalist Francys Romero. His adjusted salary with the Orioles is $523,008, per Spotrac.

BOSTON – The Orioles found a fresh arm for Game 2 of tonight’s doubleheader and parted with a former high-leverage lefty.

Reliever Cionel Pérez was designated for assignment, and the Orioles selected the contract of right-hander Yaramil Hiraldo from Triple-A Norfolk.

Hiraldo is wearing No. 76 and waiting to make his major league debut.

The 40-man roster has 39 players.

Pérez has been in a statistical decline since posting a 1.40 ERA in 66 appearances in 2022. His ERA rose to 3.54 with a 1.556 WHIP in 65 games in 2023 and 4.53 in 62 games last season.

Today’s Orioles activity centers on minor league depth.

The team announced that its signed catcher David Bañuelos and right-handers Yaramil Hiraldo and Rodolfo Martinez to minor league contracts for the 2025 season.

Bañuelos, 28, agreed to terms on Oct. 14, which I wrote about the following day. He could have become a free agent five days after the World Series, but the Orioles got an early start on negotiations.

The sides struck their first deal on Dec. 30, 2023 and Bañuelos spent most of this season on the Orioles’ taxi squad. He hopped on and off the 40-man roster a few times this season and received his first and only major league at-bat on April 16 against the Twins. He flied to right field in the ninth inning.

Appearing in only 22 games with Triple-A Norfolk, Bañuelos hit .225/.361/.352 with three doubles and two home runs. He’s playing in the Dominican Winter League.