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Orioles MiLB Transactions Update: August 13

Writer's picture: Grant DeVivoGrant DeVivo

Enrique Bradfield Jr. headlines the slew of Orioles Minor League promotions


Within the last 24 hours, the Baltimore Orioles have announced a slew of transactions within their Minor League organization. For the most part, it is good news as many notable prospects have received promotions. Sadly, there was also a roster cut in Double-A Bowie that may leave some fans upset.


Let's dive deep into what has been buzzing down on the farm in Birdland.


Promotions

The following players have been promoted to the respective next level.



The Baysox are certainly getting a speed upgrade in their lineup now. All three of their new outfield additions can flat-out fly, and they have been responsible for 151 of Aberdeen's South Atlantic League best 308 stolen bases this season according to Steve Melewski.


Enrique Bradfield Jr. was one of three outfielders who got promoted to Bowie on Sunday.

Bradfield is the main promotion that stands out here, but obviously no discredit to Josenberger and Trimble. The 22-year-old was the Orioles' first round pick in 2023 Vanderbilt University and he has been exciting fan across Birdland with his plus speed. He'll get the job done on the base paths as evidenced by his 59 stolen bases and some incredible defensive plays in the outfield. He does not need to crush 30 home runs a season if his speed is this much of a lethal weapon. Bradfield is hitting .267 with 26 RBI and a .708 OPS, and he was a .324 hitter in July. According to Michael Marancontini, he had 20 multi-hit games and 15 multi-stolen base games. Bradfield's promotion has been long-awaited, and it is another building block in the developing career of a young huslter that Orioles fans want in the big league outfield to be in the years to come.


Speedsters Josenberger and Trimble will be joining Bradfield in Bowie. Josenberger is a former third round pick out of the University of Arkansas in 2023. The 22-year-old is hitting .230 this season with 9 home runs, 38 RBI, and 45 stolen bases. He is a .357 hitter this month with 8 stolen bases, and he has reached base safely in all 9 games that he has appeared in this month. Trimble, 24, was the Orioles' second round selection in 2021 out of the University of Mississippi. After injuries limitted his action in the first third of the season, he has been a preliminary force in the Ironbirds' lineup. Since being acivated from the IL on June 18, he is batting .250 with 18 stolen bases, 21 RBI, 24 walks, and an .856 OPS, further proving why the Orioles were right to take him so high in the 2021 draft. Both Josenberger and Trimble are high draft selections who are extremely athletic and are exciting to watch. They have done very well in A+ ball recently, and they are deserving of their own promotions and their upcoming opportunities at AA Bowie.


There certainly has to be more corresponding moves coming. Bowie has used the trio of Dylan Beavers, Jud Fabian, and John Rhodes extensively in their outfield this season. With the three new additions to the outfield, surely either Beavers, Fabian, or Rhodes is on the move somewhere, most likely Triple-A Norfolk. That is barring that they plan on using Josenberger primarily at second base, and that may make sense given their surplus of outfielders and given that Josenberger can play second base. That should be confirmed within the next couple of hours.


Orioles No. 11 prospect Leandro Arias has been promoted to Aberdee. Photo: Hannah Reagle

As for Arias, he joins the other recently promoted young gun in Aberdeen in Aron Estrada. Both are 19-years of age and are knocking on some doors in the Minor Leagues. Arias, the Orioles' No. 11 prospect, got off to a good start this season after splitting time at the Florida Complex and Delmarva and hitting .262 with a .447 slugging percentage and an .810 OPS through June. In 30 games since then, he has cooled off to a .176 batting average with an underwhelming .488 OPS. Overall this season, he is a .225 hitter with a .670 OPS and 40 RBI. With young players like him, there is room for development and the Orioles obviously want to push him forward and challenge him. In all fairness, he did hit Carolina League pitching very well in the first half of the season and had stood out as one of Delmarva's best hitters. Now, it is time for him to face some arms in the SAL, and it starts to get tougher once you climb to this level of Minor League Baseball and especially when you are hitting in a pitcher's park like Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.


Released

Following their 5-4 loss to the Harrisburg Senators on Sunday, the Bowie Baysox released two players.



If you were at the game on Sunday, you had to have sensed that something was happening with Williams. While jogging off the field after the final out, he was greeted with a big hug from his manager Roberto Mercado, as well as several of his teammates and coaches. He was then greeted by his family by the dugout before departing the field. It turns out that it was his last game in the organization.


Best wishes to Donta' Williams, who was released by the Bowie Baysox on Sunday.

Seeing Williams go is a tough one. A 4th round pick in 2021 out of the University of Arizona, WIlliams featured a similar skillset to Bradfield, a promising speedster who has incredible range in centerfield and runs all over the base paths. Williams got off to a hot start in the organization as he was a .291 hitter with an .802 OPS and 11 RBI in 27 games in 2021, and he appeared to be the Orioles' under-the-radar prospect. In the following years, he simply could not get his bat going. While he did steal 56 bases in between 2022 and this season, he was just a .209 hitter. This season, one where was assigned as a fill-in for Norfolk and where he spent time on the development list, he was only hitting .218 with a .286 slugging percentage, a .636 OPS, and 9 RBI. It is an unfortunate decline for a young player who gave it his all when he stepped onto the field, was a personality of his own, and had promise as a member of the stacked 2021 draft class featuring Colton Cowser. There is still something left in the tank for Williams, however, and he should not have a problem finding a new team almost immediately after being let go by the Orioles.


This was Henzman's first season in the Orioles' organization. Originally a 4th round pick of the White Sox back in 2017, the 29-year-old latched on with the Orioles on June 4 after being releaed by the Marlins in May. Henzman was hit hard during his first few weeks with Bowie, but he settled in and ended up having a really nice stay with the Baysox. He had a 3.81 ERA in 16 games (26 innings), and he sported a 1.192 WHIP with 25 strikeouts and just 6 walks. He was tagged for 4 home runs, though. It may seem puzzling that the Orioles would part ways with someone who was throwing the ball so well like Henzman, but perhaps the organization is more interested in investing in younger arms up-and-down the system, and Henzman was, of course, one of the more veteran arms in the organization and also further down on the depth charts. That does not mean he cannot make an impact elsewhere, and his stint in Bowie should prove that.


The Baysox also announced the release of reliever Ryan Hennen on August 6. The 26-year-old southpaw had a stellar 2023 season split between Aberdeen and Bowie as he posted a 2.73 ERA and a 1.121 WHIP with 39 strikeouts in 33 innings. 2024 has been a completely different story as he has been getting hit very hard. In 34 innings, his ERA sky-rocketed to 6.09 and his WHIP was an elavated 1.559. Batters were hitting .296 against him this season and a concerning .288 when he was working with runners in scoring position. Hennen does not throw hard, of course, as his fastball tops out around 92 MPH. He is a pitcher who needs to rely on hitting his spots and mixing his stuff in, and obviously he was not getting his pitches across if hitters were hitting this well against him. It was a disappointing unfolding after he had posted such great numbers in years past, but hopefully he can catch on with a new organization, fine tune his arsenal, and become a reliable late-inning southpaw canididate for the late innings.


Nothing but best wishes to all three of these guys in their future endeavors and in their next chapters of baseball and life.



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