Orioles designate veteran to make way for MLB's top prospect

The Orioles announced Wednesday morning that veteran infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp has been designated for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to the game’s No. 1 overall prospect, Jackson Holliday, whose previously reported promotion to the majors has now been officially announced by the team.

The veteran Kemp only signed with the O’s two weeks ago. He spent spring training with the Reds but was granted his release after he didn’t make the roster. He signed a big league deal with Baltimore on March 26 but went 0-for-10 with a walk and a strikeout in his limited time on Baltimore’s roster.

From 2020-22, the now-32-year-old Kemp was a solid contributor with the A’s. He split time between second base and left field, turning in a .252/.341/.361 slash (105 wRC+). Kemp lacks power but has superlative contact skills and keen plate discipline, evidenced by a 12.5% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate during that three-year stretch (and by his career 10.1% walk rate and 13.3% strikeout rate).

However, the 2023 season was one of Kemp’s worst since debuting with the Astros back in 2016. He played 124 games with the A’s and picked up 419 plate appearances but mustered only a .209/.303/.304 slash (77 wRC+). Kemp struck out in a career-low 9.5% of his plate appearances and swiped a career-high 15 bases (in 19 attempts), but those silver linings don’t outweigh his broader-reaching struggles at the dish.

In 2247 career plate appearances at the MLB level, Kemp is a .237/.324/.351 hitter. He’s drawn roughly average defensive grades in left field and has typically been an average or better defender at second base, though metrics like Defensive Runs Saved (-9) and Outs Above Average (0) were down on his glovework in last year’s sample of 410 innings at the position.

The Orioles will have a week to trade Kemp, place him on outright waivers, or release him. For veterans of this status, a release is most common, though it’s possible a team in need of some infield depth could look at the affordable nature of Kemp’s $1M contract with the O’s and work out a small trade (likely for cash).