Former Guardians trade throwaway officially becomes Orioles' depth arm

The Guardians’ August trade with the Brewers has a chance to be the kind of trade that both fanbases think about for a long time. 

For the Guardians the trade could last a long time thanks to the presence of Craig Yoho and Blake Perkins, both of whom have multiple years of team control and could be solid depth pieces in Cleveland for years to come. 

Meanwhile, the Brewers part of the trade stems from catcher Bo Naylor, who is poised to be Milwaukee’s backup catcher in 2027 and could be thrust into a starting spot if the Brewers choose to trade William Contreras. 

And then there’s reliever Codi Heuer. Heuer started the year with the Guardians before being traded to Milwaukee as a part of that aforementioned deal. While it seemed like he could fit into the Brewers’ bullpen, Milwaukee flipped him to the Orioles in the final seconds of the trade deadline. Although he never appeared in a game with Baltimore in 2026, he’s going to get another chance to do so in 2027 — albeit not as a part of their big league picture. 

On Saturday the Orioles announced that Heuer had cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. Although that means that he’s going to have a bit of an uphill battle to make the Orioles’ big league roster, it also means that he’s going to have an organizational home in what could be one of the crazier offseasons in recent memory. 

Codi Heuer is going to open 2027 in the Orioles' minor league system

Heuer ended up finishing his time with the Guardians with a 4.66 ERA in 9 2/3 big league appearances with the Guardians. The Guardians added him in the offseason as a low-risk depth arm, and he made good on that signing with a strong showing in the spring that helped him earn a spot on their 40-man roster. He may have had a 9.00 ERA in eight innings in the spring, but he also racked up 11 strikeouts while hitting 97 miles per hour on his fastball. 

The Guardians ended up calling him up in the middle of May to take Franco Aleman’s spot in the bullpen, which kicked off his four-week tenure on Cleveland’s roster. He flashed some multi-inning prowess with a two inning appearance against the Nationals, but he only struck out 13% of the hitters he faced and had an inflated hard-hit rate of 52%. 

Heuer pitched well in his time in Triple-A with Baltimore (14 2/3 scoreless innings), but he only made four appearances in September. It’s hard to count on Heuer being an everyday option since he missed over three years due to various arm injuries, but he’s a solid depth option to keep around in case of emergency. 

His status as a minor leaguer means he’s going to get a chance to pitch in 2027 no matter what since the minor leagues won’t be impacted by the impending lockout. If Heuer’s able to pick up where he left off last season then that time in the minors could help push him onto a big league roster once big league baseball returns.

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