The Orioles announced a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game, recalling left-hander Keegan Akin, right-hander Beau Sulser and infielder Tyler Nevin. In corresponding moves, righties Joey Krehbiel and Jake Reed were both optioned to Triple-A while infielder Ramón Urías was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain.
Urías, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Cardinals in 2020 prior to making his MLB debut with O’s that year. He only got into ten games but had a nice showing in that small sample, hitting .360/.407/.560. He followed that up with 85 games in 2021 with a .279/.361/.412 line. That production was 15% better than league average, according to wRC+, helping Urías produce 1.1 wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs.
Here in 2022, he’s had a bit of a mercurial season which began with a dismal April. By the end of that month, he was hitting just .194/.239/.224, wRC+ of 33. He then got into a good groove, hitting .245/.293/.491 for a wRC+ of 119 from the start of May until he landed on the IL on June 10 due to an oblique strain. He returned in early July and tore the cover off the ball that month, producing a line of .329/.380/.575, wRC+ of 170. He hit a skid in August to the tune of .221/.262/.368 but then bounced back with a .258/.370/.371 showing in September.
Since there’s only one week left, Urías won’t be able to return in the regular season, meaning he will finish the campaign with a batting line of .248/.305/.414. The resulting 104 wRC+ is a downturn from 2021, but still above average despite multiple injuries. On the other side of the ball, Urías took notable steps forward. He produced eight Outs Above Average in 769 1/3 innings at third base and one OAA at second base in 147 innings. The work at the keystone is especially encouraging since he was below-average prior to this year. Thanks to the improved glovework, he’s amassed 2.7 fWAR in 118 games this year.
Urías will finish the season just beyond two years of MLB service time, meaning he still won’t be arbitration eligible and isn’t slated to reach free agency until after the 2026 season. Rougned Odor is heading into free agency, which could potentially open the door for Urías to become a more regular second baseman, with Jorge Mateo at shortstop, Gunnar Henderson at third and Ryan Mountcastle at first, though it’s also possible the club brings in reinforcements and bumps Urías back into a utility role.
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