Orioles claim first baseman off waivers from White Sox

Noda fills the needs at two positions where the Orioles suddenly need some depth. During the flurry of activity on Thursday, the Orioles traded away starting first baseman Ryan O’Hearn and outfielder Cedric Mullins; rookie Coby Mayo took over duties at first base on Saturday, while the team awaits the return of Ryan Mountcastle from an injured hamstring.

Noda, 29, was originally drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 15th round of the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021 as the player to be named later in the deal that sent pitcher Ross Stripling to the Jays, and in 2022, Noda was selected with the second pick in the Rule 5 Draft by the Oakland Athletics. He went on to make the Opening Day roster in 2023.

Before landing with the White Sox this season, Noda also had stints in the minor league systems for the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox. The White Sox claimed Noda off waivers on June 13th this year.

In 16 games for Chicago, Noda struggled with a slash line of .088/.295/.176 with just three hits and one RBI in 34 at-bats. Noda has always demonstrated patience at the plate with a career 226:101 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

For now, he’ll serve as some positional depth at Norfolk while the Orioles play out the rest of the regular season. Noda is on a one-year contract and is under team control in 2027 and eligible for arbitration in 2028.