The Orioles announced that first baseman/outfielder Ryan Noda has been designated for assignment. The club also announced the previously-reported waiver claims of Will Robertson and Drew Romo, and Noda’s DFA clears the final 40-man roster spot Baltimore needed to officially add Robertson and Romo.
Noda also came to Baltimore on a waiver claim last August, as the O’s claimed the 29-year-old away from the White Sox to create some roster depth in the wake of the trade deadline. Noda ended up appearing in seven big league games in an Orioles uniform, with 14 plate appearances. Combined with his 45 PA for Chicago, Noda ended up with a .106/.276/.170 slash line to show for his 59 total PA at the MLB level in 2025.
It was a busy year of transactions for Noda, as starting in November 2024, he went from the A’s to the Angels to the Red Sox to the White Sox and finally to the Orioles on a series of waiver claims and (in the case of the move to Boston) a trade. This is the third time Noda has been DFA’d, but he has neither the required three years of MLB service time or the past outright assignment on his resume to decline an outright if he clears waivers and the Orioles assign him to Triple-A. That means Noda will remain in Baltimore’s organization if outrighted off the 40-man, though his past history suggests that another waiver claim is certainly possible.
The Athletics selected Noda out of the Dodgers’ organization as a pick in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft, and it looked like a shrewd move for the A’s after Noda hit .229/.364/.406 with 16 home runs over 495 PA during the 2023 season. This solid rookie performance didn’t carry forward, however, as Noda followed up with only a .137/.255/.211 slash over 111 PA in 2024, and he spent the majority of that season in the minors.
Strong minor league production has kept Noda in the minds of teams looking to add roster depth on the waiver wire, though his Triple-A numbers dropped to .188/.409/.361 and 10 home runs over 291 PA. Since those plate appearances were split over four different teams in four organizations, it seems possible that the transactional whirlwind played a part in Noda’s dropoff at the plate. He still maintained his ability to get on base, and Noda is still a player capable of handling first base or either corner outfield slot, plus some center field work in a pinch.