The Orioles announced that utilityman Terrin Vavra and left-hander Tucker Davidson have been outrighted off the 40-man roster and assigned to Triple-A. The moves open up two more spots on Baltimore’s 40-man prior to today’s deadline for teams to set their rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, leaving the O’s with 36 players on the roster and four openings to be filled.
There’s clearly some room to maneuver here for the Orioles, as Hudson Haskin is the only clear-cut candidate to be added to the 40-man today. Of course, Baltimore’s farm system is so deep that even prospects outside their top 30 might be sought after by other clubs, and the O’s routinely make picks in the Rule 5 Draft themselves to add talent from other organizations. Having extra roster space also allows Baltimore for potential additions of Major League players through trades and free agency.
Vavra made his MLB debut in 2022 and hit a respectable .258/.340/.337 over 103 plate appearances that season, playing primarily as a second baseman and left fielder with one appearance in right field. He also saw a little bit of third base time this year, and even worked out at catcher in an attempt to further increase his versatility (and his chances of remaining on the big league roster). However, health was unfortunately the story of Vavra’s 2023 campaign, as a shoulder strain kept Vavra on the injured list for much of the season. His last MLB game was on May 31, and he played in only two minor league games after mid-June.
Davidson was claimed off waivers from the Royals a few weeks ago, and he signed a pre-arbitration contract solidifying his potential big league salary for the 2024 season. The 27-year-old southpaw has a 5.98 ERA over 125 career innings with the Braves, Angels, and Royals, to date falling short of the potential he showed when coming up the ladder in Atlanta’s farm system. Though he has some solid numbers at the Triple-A level, Davidson has had trouble limiting walks and recording strikeouts in the majors, and he became primarily a reliever this season after previously working as a starter with the Braves.
In order to move Davidson to Triple-A and off the 40-man roster, the Orioles had to first put him through waivers since Davidson is out of minor league options. This could mean that he might face some regular turns through DFA limbo in the future should he return to Baltimore’s (or another team’s) 40-man roster.