The Orioles introduced this morning that left-hander Tucker Davidson, whom they designated for task on the ultimate day of the common season, elected free company moderately than accepting an outright task to Triple-A Norfolk.
A former high prospect with the Braves, Davidson bounced to the Angels and Royals earlier than touchdown with the O’s for the 2024 season. He posted 4 2/3 scoreless frames within the majors this 12 months, albeit with two walks in opposition to only one strikeout. The majority of his season was spent in Norfolk, the place he logged 115 2/3 innings with a 3.89 ERA, 20.7% strikeout fee, a 9.1% stroll fee and a forty five.7% ground-ball fee.
The 28-year-old Davidson break up his time in Norfolk between the rotation and the bullpen, faring much better within the former. Whereas his numbers as a starter have been satisfactory — 4.48 ERA, 18.5% strikeout fee, 9.1% stroll fee — he was far more profitable popping out of the ’pen. In 44 aid innings, he notched a 2.45 ERA, 23% strikeout fee and 9.2% stroll fee. As a starter, opponents batted .266/.336/.431 in opposition to Davidson this season. They flailed away at a .195/.263/.335 tempo when he was pitching in aid.
Davidson will flip 29 in March. So far in his large league profession, he’s posted a 5.76 ERA in 129 2/3 innings. Actually, that’s not an thrilling profile, however there’s motive for cautious optimism transferring ahead. His work in aid this 12 months was sturdy, and the transient MLB look he had with the Orioles featured a fluctuate totally different pitch combine than he’s had in seasons previous. Davidson has historically targeted on a four-seam/slider mixture, mixing in an occasional curveball as a change of tempo. The Orioles had him cut back the utilization of each his four-seamer and slider whereas including a sinker and splitter that he used about 12% of the time every.
In all chance, Davidson will nonetheless be on the lookout for a minor league deal this winter, however a former high prospect on the precise aspect of 30 with strong Triple-A numbers and a tweaked pitch combine creates extra intrigue than many different minor league free brokers. He’ll be an choice for golf equipment in search of rotation and bullpen depth alike.