Orioles wasted no time calling up former Guardians outfielder who flamed out in MLB 

A little less than four weeks ago, the Cleveland Guardians designated Johnathan Rodríguez for assignment, bringing about the end to his time on the roster that resulted in a.176 batting average in 44 MLB games. 

It didn’t take long for him to find a new home after that, as the Baltimore Orioles claimed him off waivers in a move that reunited him with former Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz.

While the Orioles assigned him to Triple-A Norfolk after acquiring him, he officially reunited with Albernaz over the weekend thanks to the Orioles calling him up in place of Tyler O’Neill, who was placed on the 7-day concussion injured list. 

Although Rodríguez won’t immediately be thrown into the fire, he’s still set to play a big role in the Orioles’ outfield thanks to the team’s bevy of injuries. 

Former Guardian Johnathan Rodríguez officially joins Orioles’ outfield picture 

Rodríguez appeared in eight games with Norfolk, where he hit .333 with two RBI, one double and three walks. But Triple-A production has been a problem for Rodríguez, as he’s hit .301 in 260 games in his career at the level and was even named International League MVP in 2024. 

The problem has been what he’s done when he’s been called up to the next level, as he’s only been able to manage that feeble .176 batting average with 36 strikeouts due to an inability to hit any kind of offspeed pitches. 

He got a spot on the Guardians’ postseason roster last year thanks to a huge home run against the Rangers in Cleveland’s postseason-clinching win, but he went 0-for-3 against the Tigers in the Wild Card Series and made a key defensive misplay in their Game 1 loss. 

He stayed on Cleveland’s roster all offseason thanks in large part to the fact he was one of the few right-handed hitters on the roster, but he ended up becoming expendable after the Guardians added Rhys Hoskins to their big league roster. 

Now he’s going to join an Orioles roster that’s already in the thick of injury struggles. Along with losing O’Neill to a concussion he sustained due to a fainting episode, they’re also without Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday. 

He made his debut in Baltimore’s win against the Giants on Sunday and walked in his lone at-bat. 

Even if O’Neill ends up returning right after his time on the injured list is over, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Rodríguez had to step in for him at another point in the season considering how often he’s struggled with injuries in his career. 

Along with this being the fourth time O’Neill’s hit the injured list since he joined the Orioles last season, it’s the 18th time he’s been placed on the IL in his career. 

Although Rodríguez didn’t have a ton of success in his time with the Guardians, he could still be a successful platoon option thanks to his power and ability to hit against southpaw pitching.

While his clear flaws never allowed him to take advantage of that skillset in Cleveland, his time in Baltimore could be a different story. 

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