Former Orioles Selected in First Baseball United Player Draft
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Two former Baltimore Orioles were drafted in the Baseball United Draft on Monday, as the new international baseball league filled out its rosters for its upcoming season.
Those two former Orioles were Jair Jurrjens, who was drafted in the second round, and Dwight Smith Jr., who was drafted in the third round. Both were drafted by the same team, the Wolves.
Smith, an outfielder, spent 2019 and 2020 with Baltimore. His best season with the O’s was in 2019, when he batted .241 with 13 home runs and 53 RBI in his only full Major League season. He played in 101 games. In 2020, the COVID-19 shortened season, he batted .222 with two home runs and six RBI in 21 games.
Jurrjens played in the Majors from 2007-14 with four different teams, including the Detroit Tigers, the Atlanta Braves and the Colorado Rockies. The reliever spent the 2013 season with the Orioles, as he finished with a 4.91 ERA in just two games. But, earlier in his career, he finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2008 and was named an All-Star in 2011.
The Draft was meant to fill out the four teams that will compete in the new league in Dubai. Those teams are called the Cobras, the Monarchs, the Wolves and the Falcons.
Baseball United is the first professional baseball league based in the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. The league will host a showcase event in Dubai on Nov. 24-25 with two Baseball United All-Star teams playing a two-game series.
Baseball United has some Major League heft behind it. Former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, former Cincinnati Reds infielder Barry Larkin and former Texas Rangers third baseman Adrián Beltré are each co-owner and board members. Former Seattle pitcher Félix Hernández is also a board member.