Baltimore Orioles claim starting pitching prospect off waivers

Ragsdale, 27, was acquired by the Giants from the Philadelphia Phillies in 2021 for Sam Coonrod. The pitcher was originally drafted by the Phillies in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Amateur Draft out of the University of South Florida; since being drafted, Ragsdale has yet to make an MLB appearance and was optioned to Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk once he was claimed.

The gap on Ragsdale’s resume is due to a lengthy recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), which sidelined him for the better part of two seasons. Orioles fans may remember a former prospect, Cody Sedlock, suffering from the injury several years ago. It has also impacted and shortened the careers of MLB pitchers like Phil Hughes, Matt Harvey, and Stephen Strasburg.

Ragsdale returned to full health in 2024 when he split time between Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento in the Giants’ farm system. In 27 appearances, Ragsdale posted a 4.18 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and a 5-7 record across 120.2 innings of work. This season, the right-hander started 14 games for the River Cats, posting a 5-5 record with a 5.37 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in the high-scoring Pacific Coast League.

With the Orioles nursing an injury-plagued rotation this year, Ragsdale provides some good organizational depth as the team plays out the rest of the 2025 season. Baltimore just reactivated southpaw Cade Povich this week from a hip injury, although it added Zach Eflin to the IL last week with lower back soreness; the Orioles also announced that starter Grayson Rodriguez will be undergoing season-ending elbow debridement surgery to remove loose bone chips.

Ragsdale is equipped with a mid-90s four-seam fastball and a quality curveball and splitter. The Giants were certainly high on the 27-year-old, as they added him to the 40-man roster last year to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft; unfortunately for the Giants, and perhaps fortunately for the Orioles, the team had to DFA Ragsdale last week to make room for Carson Whisenhunt, who started on Sunday and picked up the win against the New York Mets.

As the season winds down and the Orioles re-evaluate for next year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ragsdale get an opportunity to start some games. Pitching is certainly one area where Baltimore would like to improve next season, and Ragsdale has shown enough potential to warrant a look.