Former Baltimore Orioles Reliever Signs Minor League Deal With New AL Team

A former Baltimore Orioles reliever has landed with a new team in the American League.
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A former Baltimore Orioles reliever has landed with a new organization.

Right-handed relief pitcher Jonathan Heasley has signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox which includes an invitation to spring training coming off what was a nightmare campaign in 2024 both for the White Sox and for Heasley himself.

Heasley began the 2024 season with the Orioles after the team brought him in last offseason but made just four appearances at the big league level for Baltimore. In those four relief appearances, he would wind up posting an ERA of 16.88 with 10 earned runs in just 5.1 innings pitched.

Interestingly, Heasley was solid at the Triple-A level for Norfolk in an admittedly small sample size in 2024. In 10 appearances which included three starts, he threw 30.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.64.

Prior to landing with the Orioles ahead of this past season, Heasley had spent his entire professional career in the Kansas City Royals organization. The Royals selected the Plano, Texas native in the 13th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Oklahoma State.

Making his MLB debut ahead of the 2021 season, he appeared in each of the last three seasons prior to 2024. Over the three years with Kansas City, Heasley made 36 appearances which included 24 starts and 133.2 innings thrown. In that time, he had an ERA of 5.45 and ERA+ of 77 with 85 strikeouts which was good for a K rate significantly below the league average.

After the MLB struggles in 2024, Baltimore released him in July after he was designated for assignment and went unclaimed.

While Heasley obviously had a forgettable career for the Orioles in his one season in the organization, someone who has the ability to work both out of the bullpen and out of the starting rotation is versatile and could be useful at some point during the season for a Major League ball club.

Chicago of course was one of the worst teams in the history of baseball with a staggeringly awful 41 wins in 2024 and having traded away Garrett Crochet to Baltimore's division rival Boston Red Sox from an already very thin pitching staff, they could use held wherever they can get it.

At the very least, he becomes a name for Orioles fans to monitor for years to come. Although things didn't work out in Baltimore, maybe he can get his career back on track.


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