The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Luis Vázquez. He’ll take the active roster spot of infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation, retroactive to June 7th. The 40-man roster count climbs from 38 to 39. The O’s added that right-hander Matt Bowman, who was recently designated for assignment, has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.
Vazquez, 25, was acquired from the Cubs in a minor trade back in January. The infielder was a 14th-round pick by Chicago back in 2017 but made it to the majors for the first time just last year with an 11-game stint on the North Side. Vazquez split time between shortstop, third base, and second base during his brief call-up and looked competent at all three of those positions defensively, but hit just .083 with six strikeouts in 14 plate appearances during that brief call-up to the majors. Other than that, he spent the entire year at Triple-A Iowa, where he hit a solid but unspectacular .263/.347/.432 in 64 games, which in terms of wRC+ sat right around league average with a figure of 98.
During the offseason, the Cubs committed to a complete overhaul of their third base and bench mixes. Aside from promoting top prospect Matt Shaw, they brought in Jon Berti, Vidal Brujan, and Justin Turner to round out the bench mix while parting ways with not only starting third baseman Isaac Paredes but also longtime bench pieces like Patrick Wisdom, Nick Madrigal, and David Bote. Vazquez found himself let go as part of that purge and was designated for assignment to make room for the addition of Berti to the 40-man roster, which ultimately facilitated his trade to the Orioles organization. The infielder didn’t last long on the Orioles’ own 40-man roster and was outrighted to the minors just a week after the club acquired him. He received some consideration for an Opening Day roster spot but ultimately began the season at Triple-A Norfolk, where he’s slashed .280/.345/.447 with a 114 wRC+ in 37 games this year.
Vazquez is now set to take over for Mateo on the Orioles’ bench. Mateo’s dealing with discomfort in his surgically repaired elbow after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, so while MLB.com notes that Mateo underwent an MRI that revealed no structural damage it’s hardly a surprise that Baltimore has decided to be cautious with their utility man. Mateo is presently in the midst of his worst season as an Oriole with a 44 wRC+ and a 35.4% strikeout rate, so it’s possible that the time off could give him some time to reset as well. The soon to be 30-year-old remains a useful bench piece despite his paltry offense this year thanks to his elite baserunning (14 steals in 15 attempts this year as a part-time player) and his versatility to handle virtually every spot on the diamond as needed. Vazquez, Ramon Urias, and Dylan Carlson will all be tasked with helping to pick up the slack while Mateo is on the shelf.
As for Bowman, the right-hander made his debut back in 2016 and spent a few years as a solid middle reliever for the Reds and Cardinals before falling off the map for a few years due to injuries. He resurfaced in 2023 and has bounced between the Yankees, Twins, Diamondbacks, Mariners, and Orioles over the past three years while putting together a 4.79 ERA and 4.91 FIP in 56 1/3 innings. He’ll now head to Triple-A to serve as non-roster relief depth for Baltimore going forward.