Roansy

Contreras

Contreras has been granted his release to pursue opportunities overseas, according to a team statement. The 26-year-old hurler was hit hard in four relief outings for Colorado last season after being claimed off waivers from the Orioles in early September. He was an interesting pitching prospect a couple seasons ago with the Pirates, but never wound up making it as a full-time starter. He holds a pedestrian 4.77 ERA across 247 1/3 innings over 95 appearances (33 starts) in the big leagues since 2021.

Contreras will miss the final handful of games for Colorado. The 25-year-old righty was torched in four relief appearances for the last-place Rockies after being claimed off waivers from the Orioles earlier this month.

Sorry, Roansy. The 25-year-old former Pirates prospect is stretched out and could go right into Colorado’s rotation after throwing 4 1/3 scoreless innings against the Red Sox last week.

Brutal business. Contreras was waived five different times this season, but put together a solid year at Triple-A Norfolk before the Orioles gave him a chance in the big leagues on Wednesday. He responded with 4 1/3 scoreless innings of bulk relief and then woke up to find out he was designated for assignment again. He’s just 25 years old and deserves another chance, so hopefully some team will give him one.

Contreras gave the Orioles everything they could’ve hoped for in his return to the big leagues for the first time since last September, keeping Boston off the scoreboard into the late stages of the contest. He struck out two and scattered three baserunners in a strong season debut. He’ll likely continue operating in a swingman-type role for Baltimore over the final month. He’s at least earned another opportunity with this performance.

Contreras will be making a bulk relief appearance Wednesday versus the Red Sox. He was an intriguing option a few years ago. It’s no longer a few years ago.

Roansy Contreras is coming up to make a bulk relief appearance after Enns kicks off a bullpen game for the Orioles. There isn’t a ton of fantasy value to be extracted here.

The Orioles want to use six starters this week, but they lost Brandon Young last time out, opening up a spot. Contreras appears in line to get it after a nice run at Triple-A Norfolk of late; he has a 2.35 ERA over 23 innings in his last five starts. He’s out of options, so he could stick around as a swingman afterwards.

Contreras struck out five and walked one while registering a 38 percent whiff rate and 41 percent CSW. The Orioles appear to be tweaking Contreras’ slider. It was down almost two mph on Thursday with four inches more drop and one inch more horizontal movement. The pitch posted seven whiffs on 12 swings and was his most-used pitch. Contreras has allowed 18 earned runs in 48 innings (3.38 ERA) with 36 strikeouts since being moved to the rotation. He’s just 25 years old, so it makes sense for the Orioles to see what he can do at the big league level.

Contreras struck out three and walked two while throwing 51 of his 77 pitches for strikes. In 10 starts for Triple-A Norfolk, Contreras has a 2.59 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 31/11 K/BB ratio in 41 2/3 innings. The strikeout upside is not immense, but Contreras has pitched well enough as a starter that he’s probably worthy of an opportunity over guys like Brandon Young. Contreras is still just 25 years old, so it might be a good idea for Baltimore to see if he could push for a spot in the starting rotation next season.