The Guardians have acquired right-hander Chris Vallimont from the Orioles in exchange for cash, per announcements from both clubs. Vallimont, who was designated for assignment by the Orioles yesterday, has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus. To open a spot on the 40-man roster for him, the Guardians transferred Triston McKenzie to the 60-day injured list.
Vallimont, 26, was added to the O’s roster on the weekend and made his major league debut, tossing two thirds of an inning on Monday before getting designated for assignment yesterday. Prior to getting called up to the majors, he tossed 57 1/3 innings over 14 Triple-A appearances, with eight of those being starts. He posted a 5.02 ERA in that time, striking out 25.8% of opponents but walking 12.1%.
That lack of control has been an ongoing issue for the righty, who walked 10.6% of minor league batters faced last year and 14.2% in 2021. But he’s generally gotten his share of strikeouts as well, which is surely what’s intrigued the Guardians.
It’s unclear if the Guards view Vallimont more as a starter or a reliever but he’ll give them some extra pitching depth regardless. Earlier today, they placed Cal Quantrill on the injured list, who joined Peyton Battenfield and McKenzie among Cleveland pitchers on the shelf. Vallimont still has a pair of options and just a few days of service time, meaning the club could potentially deploy him as an optionable depth piece for the rest of this year and another season, as long as he continues to hold onto his 40-man spot.
As for McKenzie, he’s already been on the injured list for a couple of weeks and isn’t close to a return. It was reported this week that he’s going to attempt to come back from his UCL sprain via non-surgical means, which will require a three-week shutdown period before he attempts to ramp back up again. He’ll now be officially ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement of June 17, which would be mid-August.