Baltimore Orioles interested in Vance Worley reunion
By Ben Palmer
The Baltimore Orioles are reportedly interested in bringing Vance Worley back to Baltimore. Worley was released by the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
The Baltimore Orioles are reportedly interested in bringing back reliever Vance Worley to Baltimore, per Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun. Worley was released by the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
The Orioles are very familiar with Worley, as he played with the team all last year, appearing in 35 games and starting four for the team last season. Worley finished last season with a 3.53 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and a 5.82 K/9.
According to Encina, there is mutual interest in Worley’s return to Baltimore, and Buck Showalter has essentially said as much in regards to him.
According to Showalter, “It’s different with a guy like Worley because you have a prior [history] with him. It’s like he’s been through camp with us. In fact, he’s been through the fire of the season. The other guys, this is where your professional scouting comes into play and [Dan Duquette’s] trust factor in those evaluations, whether ‘X’ player is better than the player you’ve got here.”
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It would appear that, if Worley is interested, and it seems he is, the Baltimore Orioles would welcome him back with open arms, and that could very easily happen, as the team is always looking for more pitching.
Worley’s numbers from last season are somewhat worrying when you take a closer look at them. A groundball pitcher, Worley gave up the highest hard-hit rate of his career last year, at 31.6%.
He also had the highest walk rate of his career, 9.6%, and the second-lowest K/9 of his career at 5.82. Plus, while his ERA was a respectable 3.53, his FIP was 4.82, which, along with an elevated 79.7% left on base rate, would suggest regression is in store.
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If the Orioles do decide to bring Worley back, he will likely be placed in a long reliever role, similar to what he did last season with the team. Hopefully he’ll be able to retain some of the good stats from last season, but I would expect him to regress some, which worries me about him out of the bullpen.