Orioles Outright Chris Vallimont

The Orioles announced this afternoon that righty Chris Vallimont has gone unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He was assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk.

Vallimont, 26 in March, has yet to reach the major league level. A former Marlins draftee, he was dealt to the Twins in the 2019 deal that sent Lewin Díaz to Miami. Minnesota selected Vallimont onto their 40-man roster over the 2021-22 offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He was assigned to Double-A Wichita to start last season but struggled, allowing 24 runs through his first 19 innings. Minnesota took him off the 40-man and he landed with Baltimore after being snagged off waivers.

The O’s sent him directly to Norfolk. Vallimont started 12 of his 16 appearances for the Tides, putting up a 5.38 ERA across 72 frames. His 21.3% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk percentage were solid enough but he had a tough time stranding runners. Baltimore never recalled him for his MLB debut and took him off the 40-man when acquiring Ryan O’Hearn (whom they promptly designated for assignment to claim Díaz off waivers in a full-circle move).

This is the first career outright for Vallimont. He doesn’t have the right to refuse the assignment, so he’ll stick in the organization without occupying a 40-man roster spot. He could still be in camp as a non-roster Spring Training invitee and is likely to head to Norfolk to start the season as rotation depth.