The Orioles have announced that they have completely eliminated the catcher Aramis Garcia and pitcher chris ellis to Triple-A Norfolk. They now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.
Garcia was claimed from the Reds on Oct. 15 and quickly went through waivers from the Orioles. He was projected to earn just $800K during his first trip through arbitration, but Cincinnati opted to release him with Tyler Stephenson entrenched as the team’s leading receiver. Garcia dealt with a sprained left middle finger during the 2022 season that forced him to the 60-day disabled list, limiting the former second-round pick to 47 games in which he posted a meager .213/ .248/.259 with a single home run. . The 29-year-old has a better record at Triple-A, where he has hit .264/.329/.447 in parts of four seasons.
The Orioles relied primarily on a combination of Robinson Chirinos Y antonio bemboom to supplement Adley Rutschman in 2022. With Chirinos’ free agency looming, Garcia will likely join Bemboom to compete for a backup catcher position in the spring, and the loser remains a deep piece at Triple-A.
Ellis, a former third-round pick, underwent season-ending arthroscopic shoulder surgery in early May after dealing with shoulder inflammation. He struggled in both of his starts this year, pitching just 4 1/3 innings and allowing 5 runs while walking 6 batters before being placed on the disabled list. Ellis is eligible for arbitration after the 2024 season.
However, Ellis got off to a strong start to his Orioles career in 2021 after the Rays waived him. With the Birds, he made six starts (25 1/3 innings) and pitched with a 2.49 ERA. However, advanced metrics weren’t quite as optimistic, giving Ellis a high FIP of 5.22 due in part to his low strikeout rate of 15.2% and high walk rate of 12.4%. Additionally, Ellis has a career 6.02 ERA in 318 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level in parts of six seasons.