The Orioles announced a trio of minor league signings, as left-hander Buddy Baumann, right-hander Wes Robertson, and catcher Andres Angulo have all been added to the roster. All three were minor league free agents, and thus eligible to be signed during the lockout.
Baumann is the only one of the group with MLB experience, as the southpaw posted a 5.58 ERA over 30 2/3 innings with the Padres and Mets from 2016-18. Baumann gave up five homers and 18 walks in that small sample size, with a 25.2% strikeout rate.
This stint in the majors seemed to be the peak of Baumann’s 11 pro seasons, which began after he was a seventh-round pick for the Royals in the 2009 draft. After pitching in independent baseball in 2019, Baumann actually retired from the sport, and worked as the pitching coach for the Angels’ rookie ball affiliate last season. However, it seems like Baumann will make a comeback attempt at age 34 and see if he can land one more ticket to The Show.
Angulo has spent his entire career in the Giants farm system, after signing as an international prospect out of his native Colombia in 2015. The catcher has a career .235/.308/.333 slash line over 848 plate appearances, making it as high as San Francisco’s Double-A affiliate last season.
Double-A also represents Robertson’s highest step on the minor league ladder, as he tossed 2 2/3 innings with the Reds’ Chattanooga affiliate in 2021. Unfortunately, it was part of a rough year overall for Robertson, who compiled an 11.51 ERA over 22 2/3 combined frames in rookie ball, A-ball, and Double-A. It was Robertson’s first season in the Reds organization after the undrafted righty spent his first three pro seasons (2017-19) pitching in the Rangers farm system.