Tag Archives: Orioles

19 Nov

transaction watch

Though Reed Trimble has had trouble staying healthy and on the field in his pro career, Baltimore officials have seen enough good stuff to add the ex-Southern Miss star to the 40-man protected roster. Tuesday was the deadline for MLB clubs to set their rosters before next month’s winter meetings and the Rule 5 draft for eligible minor leaguers. Tupelo native Trimble was the 65th overall pick in 2021 after a standout sophomore year at USM (.345, 17 homers, 72 RBIs). A swift, switch-hitting outfielder, the 25-year-old Trimble has a .251 career average and 61 stolen bases (in 61 attempts) in 226 games over five minor league seasons. He reached Triple-A in 2025 and hit .259 with five homers and eight steals in 30 games for Norfolk. … Former Northeast Mississippi Community College standout Tyler Samaniego was added to Pittsburgh’s 40-man. Drafted in 2021 out of South Alabama, the 6-foot-4 left-hander posted a 3.08 ERA in 20 games in Double-A last season and has a career 3.82, working almost exclusively in relief. … Ryan Rolison, a former first-round draft pick from Ole Miss, was designated for assignment by Colorado, moving off the 40-man roster. The lefty put up a 7.02 ERA in 31 games as a 28-year-old rookie in 2025. … Ex-DeSoto Central High slugger Blaze Jordan and former USM standout Tyler Stuart were among the rated prospects (by MLB Pipeline) who did not get 40-man roster protection and could be plucked by other MLB clubs. Jordan belted a career-high 19 homers in 2025, playing at Triple-A in both the Boston and St. Louis organizations. Stuart, a 6-foot-9 right-hander in Washington’s system, has a career 3.44 ERA. … Brandon Woodruff, ex-Mississippi State standout, accepted a $22 million qualifying offer from Milwaukee; he had previously declined a reported $20M option in his last contract. The right-hander bounced back from injury in 2025, going 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA for the Brewers but missing the postseason. He is 53-28, 3.10, in 142 career appearances with Milwaukee. … MSU alum Nathaniel Lowe was designated for assignment by Boston and is likely headed for free agency. The seven-year veteran hit .280 with two homers and 16 RBIs in 34 games for the Red Sox last year after being released by Washington. He batted .228 with 18 homers all told in 2025.

14 Oct

it happened one october, take 2

On this date in 2014, McComb native Jarrod Dyson, inserted as a pinch runner, scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning for Kansas City in a 2-1 win against Baltimore in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. The win put K.C. up 3-0 in the series, and the Royals would eliminate the Orioles the next day at Kauffman Stadium, advancing to the World Series. Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Dyson, a .269 hitter with 36 steals that season, played in all four ALCS games as a sub but did not get a hit. Baltimore was managed by ex-Mississippi State star Buck Showalter.

04 Oct

special delivery

The major league postseason always delivers. Heroes rise. Goats emerge. Great things happen — and so do disasters. Stories become part of a team’s lore. Take today, Oct. 4, in MLB history. No longtime San Francisco Giants fan — or Chicago Cubs fan, either — will forget Will Clark‘s performance in 1989, Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field. The former Mississippi State star went 4-for-4 with two homers (one a grand slam), four runs and six RBIs to power the Giants to an 11-3 rout. He hit both bombs off Greg Maddux. The Giants would go on to win the best-of-7 series in five games — Clark was MVP — and advance to their first World Series since 1962. (They lost to Oakland in the Earthquake Series.) Digging down in baseball-reference.com’s BR Bullpen page for Oct. 4, several other performances by Magnolia State products jump out. In 1997, ex-Ole Miss standout Jeff Fassero, in his postseason debut, threw eight-plus strong innings for Seattle to beat Baltimore 4-2 in a must-win game for the Mariners, who trailed 2-0 in the best-of-5 American League Division Series contest. Fassero checked the O’s — Rafael Palmeiro, Cal Ripken Jr., Roberto Alomar Jr., et al. — on three hits and four walks, surrendering just one run at Camden Yards. Alas, the Mariners lost Game 4. End of season. On Oct. 4, 2000, Vicksburg native Ellis Burks‘ three-run homer in the third inning propelled San Francisco to a 5-1 win over the New York Mets at Pac Bell Park in Game 1 of the NLDS. Burks, who hit 352 career regular season homers, most by a Mississippi native, belted three in postseason play with three different teams. His bomb for the 2000 Giants came in the only game the club would win in that best-of-5 series. In 2016, Buck Showalter, the former MSU standout, made a managerial decision that still confounds Orioles fans and many others. In the 11th inning of the one-game wild card playoff at Toronto, with the score tied, he didn’t bring in ace closer Zack Britton, who had an 0.54 ERA and 47 saves during the season. After Brian Duensing got the first out, Showalter went with Ubaldo Jimenez, who allowed two singles and a three-run walk-off homer by Edwin Encarnacion, ending Baltimore’s season. That story endures. P.S. MSU alum Brandon Woodruff will not be on Milwaukee’s roster for the NLDS, which starts today against the Cubs. Detroit’s decision on former Biloxi High standout Colt Keith’s status for the ALDS, which begins tonight at Seattle, is still pending.

27 Sep

the night for three dogs

One former Mississippi State standout was hunting a playoff berth on Friday night, while two others were playing spoiler roles in the American League East title race. Nathaniel Lowe and the Boston Red Sox accomplished their mission, clinching an AL wild card, but Lowe’s fellow former Bulldogs Jordan Westburg and Jake Mangum could not spark upsets for Baltimore and Tampa Bay, respectively. Lowe, who joined the Red Sox in mid-August, went 1-for-2 with a sac fly as Boston rallied from three runs down to beat Detroit 4-3 on Ceddanne Rafaela’s walk-off triple in the ninth inning. Fenway Park went nuts. The BoSox are back in the postseason for the first time in four years — and, yes, they celebrated, champagne showers and all. “Just a total team effort. That was fun to watch,” Boston manager Alex Cora told mlb.com. Meanwhile, at Yankee Stadium, Westburg gave the Orioles an early lead with a three-run homer off Will Warren, the Jackson Prep product, but the Yankees powered their way to an 8-4 win. Warren (9-8) got the W as New York remained tied atop the AL East with Toronto, which beat Tampa Bay 4-2 at Rogers Centre. Rookie Mangum, batting .299 on the year, went 1-for-3 for the Rays, who briefly led early on. Toronto holds the tiebreaker over New York. Two games left for both. … In the National League wild card battle, Cincinnati rallied past host Milwaukee — the NL’s best team, record-wise — for a 3-1 win and is now tied with the New York Mets, who crumbled against Miami, losing 6-2. The Reds have won seven of 10. “There are things that are happening with the Reds right now that make you think they are destined for the postseason,” Reds broadcaster Jeff Brantley, the former MSU star, said during the game. The Reds hold the tiebreaker over the Mets for the final wild card. Two games left for both. P.S. On this date in 1935, Hughie Critz, one of Mississippi’s all-time best, played the final game of a 12-year career. The 5-foot-8 Starkville native, who attended MSU when it was called Mississippi A&M, hit .268 with 531 RBIs and 832 runs, playing for the Reds and the New York Giants. … Greenville native George Scott, another of the state’s greats, played his last MLB game on this date in 1979. “Boomer” hit .268 with 271 homers and 1,051 RBIs in 14 seasons; he spent most of his career with the Red Sox. He would play on in Mexico until 1984.

17 Sep

just stuff

Dakota Jordan, the ex-Mississippi State star from Canton, and Niko Mazza, a Southern Miss and MRA alum, celebrated a California League championship on Tuesday night. The San Francisco Giants’ Low-Class A San Jose club won the pennant with a 4-2 victory over Inland Empire. Jordan, a Cal League postseason All-Star, has been on the injured list since mid-August; he hit .311 with 14 homers and 82 RBIs. Mazza, 4-3 with a 2.22 ERA this season, did not pitch in the clincher. … Former William Carey University standout Patrick Lee won a ring with Detroit’s High-A West Michigan team, which completed a dominant season with a Midwest League championship. … Ex-DeSoto Central High slugger Blaze Jordan belted his 12th homer for Triple-A Memphis – a two-run shot off MSU product Christian MacLeod – as the Redbirds (a St. Louis affiliate) beat St. Paul 7-6. Jordan has 18 homers and 94 RBIs all told this season, his fifth in the minors. … After a month-long stay on the IL, Jordan Westburg returned to Baltimore’s lineup and went 0-for-3 with two walks and a run in the Orioles’ win against the Chicago White Sox. The MSU alum is the Orioles’ Roberto Clemente Award nominee for 2025. … Ex-USM standout Chuckie Robinson – 0-for-1 with a run and a sac in his one appearance for the Los Angeles Dodgers – was sent down (again) to the minors. … After his sizzling start for Boston, former MSU star Nathaniel Lowe is now in a 2-for-20 skid; he went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter in the Red Sox’s 2-1 loss to the A’s. … Current MSU standout Ace Reese – the SEC newcomer of the year last season – was ranked the No. 8 draft prospect among college players for 2026 by MLB Pipeline. Reese hit .352 with 21 bombs in 2025.

13 Sep

clobberin’ time

Blaine Crim is on the board. The ex-Mississippi College star got his first big league hit — a three-run homer — on Friday night in Colorado’s 4-2 against San Diego at Petco Park. Called up Friday for his third MLB stint this season, Crim took lefty J.P. Sears deep with two down in the fourth inning to put the Rockies up 3-1. The homer went a reported 439 feet as Rockies broadcaster Drew Goodman gave it his signature call: “Take a good look, you won’t see it for long.” A prolific long-ball hitter in the minors, Crim has 21 bombs — plus a .281 average and 85 RBIs — in Triple-A games this season and 124 for his career. He made his MLB debut with Texas back in early May, went 0-for-12 and went back to the minors. He told mlb.com on Friday that he was thinking, “Shoot, that might’ve been my only shot.” Crim was recalled briefly by Texas in late May but didn’t play. Designated for assignment on July 31, he was claimed off waivers by Colorado and sent to Triple-A Albuquerque. The 28-year-old first baseman, an Alabama native, was a 19th-round pick by Texas in 2019 after winning Gulf South Conference player of the year honors at MC. He is the first former Choctaws player to appear in a big league game since Harry Craft in 1942. Crim likely has earned more opportunities with the lowly Rockies, who are 41-107, worst record in MLB. P.S. Jordan Westburg, on the injured list for Baltimore since Aug. 22, started a rehab assignment on Friday and should be back with the Orioles soon. Former Mississippi State standout Westburg is batting .276 with 15 homers and 34 RBIs in 73 big league games, having spent two long stints on the IL. He was an All-Star in 2024. The Orioles, who’ve been out of playoff contention for some time, can play a spoiler role. They have seven games remaining against the New York Yankees starting Sept. 18.

23 Aug

reverse course

Nobody can honestly say they saw this coming. In four games with Boston, ex-Mississippi State star Nathaniel Lowe is 3-for-10 with a homer, two doubles, four RBIs and three runs. On Friday night, he whacked a pinch-hit double in the seventh inning and scored the game’s only run as the Red Sox beat the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. He drove in two runs in Thursday’s 6-3 victory. When he was released by Washington on Aug. 14, Lowe had a .216 average; he had hit .205 with two homers in July and .091 with one in August. The Red Sox, with a need for a lefty-hitting first baseman, snapped him up, and Lowe, 30, seems reinvigorated by the move to a contending club. He is a .263 career hitter with 106 homers over seven seasons and a Silver Slugger award on his resume. “(S)o far, so good,” Boston manager Alex Cora said in an mlb.com piece. “He’s been great coming off the bench, twice, putting up good at-bats. He’s a good defender, and it seems like he’s happy.” After Friday’s win, Boston’s seventh straight over New York, the Sawx are now second and leading the Bombers by a half-game in the American League East and atop the wild card standings. Might Red Sox fans look back on the Lowe signing as a seminal moment in this season? Worth noting: The last time the Red Sox won the World Series — 2018 — they had a Mississippi State alum playing first base — Mitch Moreland. And stay tuned: Game 3 of this four-game series today matches Ocean Springs’ Garrett Crochet against Brandon’s Will Warren. The stadium should be at fever pitch. … Meanwhile, at a more subdued Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, another former MSU standout had a big night. Jake Mangum went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs, a run and a stolen base as the Tampa Bay Rays whipped St. Louis 10-6. The Jackson Prep grad, who’s also been slumping of late, boosted his average to .283 with the third four-hit game of his rookie season. He has contributed two homers, 14 doubles, 34 RBIs, 32 runs and 20 steals in 90 games for a Rays team that, at 62-67, has tumbled out of the playoff picture. P.S. Former Mississippi Braves star William Contreras hit his first career walk-off homer Friday to give Milwaukee yet another victory, its 20th in 25 games, 5-4 against San Francisco. … Snake-bit Baltimore put MSU product Jordan Westburg on the injured list again, this time with an ankle sprain. … Arizona named Tim Bogar, former Jackson Mets shortstop back in the ’80s, as its new third-base coach. … In the minors, Southern Miss alum Matthew Etzel banged out three hits and is now batting .423 with five RBIs, five runs and four steals in six games since Miami promoted him to Triple-A Jacksonville.

19 Aug

whatever happened to …

Vantrel Reed: The Warren Central High and Hinds Community College product is playing in the MLB Draft League, a short-season independent pro loop. He is batting .285 with two homers, 10 RBIs and 12 steals in 30 games with the Williamsport Crosscutters. Reed starred for the 59-0 LSU-Shreveport team that won the NAIA World Series in May. (Also in the MLBDL are ex-Rust and Mississippi Valley State standout Dreylin Holmes and Jackson State alum Chenar Brown.)
Jacob Robson: The former Mississippi State standout, a Canada native, is now with Winnipeg in the indy American Association, where he is hitting .259 with 13 homers, 46 RBIs and 27 steals. Robson was an eighth-round draft pick out of State in 2016 by Detroit and has bounced all over the globe ever since. He got into four MLB games with the Tigers in 2021 and has also played in the Dominican Republic, Australia and the World Baseball Classic.
Will Bednar: The 14th overall pick in the 2021 draft, after helping MSU win the College World Series, the injury-plagued right-hander is at Double-A Richmond in the San Francisco system. Working only in relief this year, his ERA is 5.40 with a win, three holds and 62 strikeouts in 40 innings. He has a 1.17 ERA in six games in August. The 25-year-old has made just 81 appearances (5-11, 5.00 ERA) in his five pro seasons.
Billy Hamilton: The ex-big leaguer from Taylorsville, who’s been playing — or not playing — in the Mexican League, remains on the injured list, where the 34-year-old has resided since mid-May. He has seven steals in 10 games for Jalisco, giving the fleet-footed outfielder 850 bags in his long pro career. He swiped 326 — the record for a native Mississippian — over parts of 11 MLB campaigns, the last in 2023.
Drew Lugbauer: The former Mississippi Braves slugger — who holds the franchise career home run record with 68 over three seasons in Pearl — is now hitting bombs in the Mexican League. Currently with the Algodoneros Union Laguna, his third LMB club this season, he is batting .287 with 16 homers and 62 RBIs. All told, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound first baseman has hit 178 homers going back to his college days at Michigan (2015-17).
P.S. In his first game with Boston (see previous post), MSU alum Nathaniel Lowe drew a walk and scored a run in a 6-3 loss to Baltimore. In that game, former Bulldogs star and current Orioles third baseman Jordan Westburg, batting .375 over his last seven games, suffered an ankle injury that was initially described as “mild.”

18 Aug

wrigley’s the place

The eyes of the baseball world should be turned this week to Wrigley Field, where National League Central rivals Milwaukee and Chicago, both featuring Mississippi connections, will battle in what could be a pivotal five-game series. The fun starts today with a doubleheader (1:20 and 7:05 CDT). The first-place Brewers, who had a 14-game win streak snapped on Sunday, lead the Cubs by 8 games in the division race. If the Cubbies are gonna make up ground, it’s gotta start this week. Freddy Peralta, a former Biloxi Shuckers star, starts for the Brewers in Game 1. He is 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA but has had issues against the Cubs’ Kyle Tucker (.625), Pete Crow-Armstrong (.556 with a home run) and Michael Busch (two homers). Cade Horton (7-3, 3.07), a revelation as a rookie, goes for the Cubs. The Game 2 starters are TBD for both clubs. (The Cubs have yet to name a starter for Games 4 or 5, either.) Milwaukee’s regular lineup features several alums of the Double-A Shuckers: Brice Turang (who hit .340 with six homers during the 14-game streak), Sal Frelick and Isaac Collins. Brewers catcher William Contreras, a former Mississippi Braves star, is one of the NL’s best. He was a teammate in Atlanta of Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, who also played for the Double-A M-Braves. The slick-fielding Swanson is batting .249 with 18 homers and 10 steals. Brandon Woodruff, a Mississippi State product from Wheeler, is slated to start Tuesday’s game for the Brewers against 2025 All-Star Matthew Boyd, 11-6, 2.46. Since coming off his long stint on the injured list, Woodruff has been sensational: 4-0, 2.06 in seven starts, all Milwaukee wins. Ex-Shuckers ace Jacob Misiorowski (4-1, 3.89), the All-Star rookie, will start Wednesday’s Game 4 for Milwaukee. The Cubs have former Ole Miss standout Drew Pomeranz in their bullpen, and he’s been good. The 36-year-old lefty has a 1.85 ERA in 40 appearances in his first big league work in four years. And, for the record, the Cubs have ex-Madison Central High star Spencer Turnbull warming up at Triple-A Iowa, though the veteran right-hander has not pitched particularly well there: 0-2, 7.13, in four starts. P.S. Anthony Servideo, a third-round draft pick out of Ole Miss in 2020, has been released by Baltimore off of its Double-A Chesapeake roster. He was batting .156 in 95 games.

04 Aug

there and here

Kemp Alderman, former Ole Miss star and Decatur native, has been named the Double-A Southern League’s player of the week (July 28-Aug. 3). The 2023 Ferriss Trophy winner had nine hits — two of them homers — eight RBIs and three runs for Pensacola in the Miami chain. He hit both homers on Sunday against ex-Mississippi State hurler K.C. Hunt in the Blue Wahoos’ 8-4 win over Biloxi. It’s the second time this season Alderman has won the league’s POW award. He is one of 11 Mississippians to win the top player award in various minor leagues in 2025, joining Connor Hujsak, Konnor Griffin, Blaze Jordan, Tyson Hardin, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Niko Mazza, Braden Montgomery, Rowdey Jordan, Blaine Crim and J.T. Ginn. … Cijntje, the switch-pitcher out of MSU, has been promoted to Double-A Arkansas in the Seattle system. He was 4-7 with a 4.58 ERA in 19 games at the High-Class A level in what is his first pro season. … Atlanta has placed DeSoto Central High product Austin Riley (abdominal injury) back on the 10-day injured list. Former Mississippi Braves infielder Nacho Alvarez was recalled. … Baltimore sent Houston Roth back to Triple-A Norfolk without getting the ex-UM standout into a game. He has a 2.21 ERA, four wins and two saves in 24 relief appearances between Double-A and Triple-A this season. … The Mississippi Mud Monsters, hitting the road Tuesday for a six-game, two-city trip, have revamped their roster in recent days, adding right-hander Braden Forsyth (a Magnolia Heights, Meridian Community College and Ole Miss alum); first baseman Jack Holman; LH Ben Riley Flowers (a Southern Miss product); 7-foot RH Brenton Thiels; and RH Carl Brice (Callaway High alum). RH Heath Mann was signed and then released. The independent club is 35-36, fourth place in the West Division of the Midwest Conference of the Frontier League. The regular season ends Aug. 31. Eight teams qualify for the playoffs, four from each conference, in the 18-team league. … Ole Miss alum Anthony Calarco, who had 10 hits and seven RBIs in last week’s six-game series vs. the Mud Monsters, is batting .335 with a league-best 20 homers and 92 RBIs on the year for Schaumburg, one of the FL’s best teams. He played in Oxford in 2023.