The Orioles announced that they have acquired right-hander Scott Blewett from the Braves in exchange for cash considerations. Outfielder Jordyn Adams has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot. Fellow outfielder Ramón Laureano has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and takes the active roster spot vacated by Adams. Blewett has not yet reported to the team and is therefore not on the active roster yet, so a spot will have to be opened for him when he does link up with the O’s.
It was reported yesterday that Atlanta was going to designate Blewett for assignment but it seems they lined up a trade before even getting around to that DFA. Blewett played a key role in yesterday’s heartbreaking loss in Atlanta. He entered the game in the top of the eighth, with Atlanta leading 9-3. He got through that inning while allowing one run, but Atlanta got that back in the bottom of the eighth. That left them with a 10-4 leading starting the ninth. Blewett stayed in and retired the first batter of that inning but the next four reached. Closer Raisel Iglesias was drawn into the 10-7 game and it quickly became 11-10 for the Diamondbacks.
Blewett was charged with five earned runs in an inning and a third. The sting of the loss seems to have prompted a bit of a shakeup, with Atlanta calling up Craig Kimbrel from the minors. That bumped Blewett off the roster but he’s actually been having a pretty decent season on the whole.
Even including yesterday’s unpleasantness, Blewett has a passable 3.91 earned run average in 2025. His 21.8% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate are close to average while his 56.3% ground ball rate is quite strong.
Blewett is out of options but is clearly valued around the league, as he keeps passing from club to club. He started this year with the Twins on a minor league deal. He was called up in April but designated for assignment a few days later. He was claimed by the Orioles but received another DFA a few days after that. He was sent to Atlanta in a cash deal, which led to him holding a roster spot for more than a month, though he’s now on the move again.
Adams, 25, signed a minor league deal with the O’s in the offseason. He was called up to the big leagues a week ago as the O’s were dealing with a number of position player injuries. He’s essentially been used as a defensive replacement since then, getting into five games but only making one plate appearance.
A former first-round pick of the Angels, Adams is considered an excellent athlete but he hasn’t been able to handle pitching since reaching the higher minor league levels. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has stepped to the plate almost 2,000 times on the farm with a .247/.326/.377 line and 84 wRC+. He has enough speed to steal 20 to 40 bases annually and run balls down in the outfield.
He’ll now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the O’s could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. He does have one option year remaining.
Photo courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images