The Orioles are signing an infielder Vimael Machin to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, Reports ESPN's Jorge Castillo. The former A's infielder played the last two seasons in the Mexican League and last appeared in a major league game during the 2022 season. Machin is a client of Usus Sports Management.
Machin, 31, was the Athletics' Rule 5 pick in 2019 out of the Cubs organization. He held a roster spot in the shortened 2020 season, where he made 74 plate appearances, and another 15 MLB plate appearances in 2021. Machin's career heavy workload in the majors came in 2022, when Oakland used him at the plate for 73 games and 253 runs. He has shown strong discipline in the main events, posting a 10% strike rate, but Machin is just a .208/.290/.261 hitter overall.
This tepid production came across a total of 361 plate appearances over three seasons, but Machin was noticeably better in the upper minors. He's a career .291/.384/.439 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons and just last year posted a ridiculous-looking .401/.495/.579 slash in 85 games with Los Charros de Jalisco in Mexico. (As this line suggests, the Mexican League is an extremely hitter-friendly environment – even more so than the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.)
Machin has played all four infield positions extensively. He has spent the most time at third base (3,810 innings), but also has more than 2,000 innings at second base, more than 1,000 at first base, and another 935 innings at shortstop. He is a left-handed hitter with excellent plate discipline (12.8% walk rate in Triple-A) and strong bat-to-ball skills (15.3% strikeout rate in Triple-A; 18.6% in the Majors).
Baltimore obviously already has a crowded infield Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holiday, Coby Mayo, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O'Hearn And Ramon Urias everything mixes together in different places. Machin brings some depth of experience in Triple-A and provides the opportunity to compete for a spot on the roster if Baltimore's enviable reserve of infielders is eventually thinned through a combination of injuries and trades.
