Orioles are Promoting Top Prospect Gunnar Henderson Ahead of Playoff Push
One of the best young prospects in baseball is headed to the majors.
The Baltimore Orioles are promoting infielder Gunnar Henderson from triple-A Norfolk ahead of roster expansion on September 1. In doing so, the 21-year-old will be eligible for the postseason.
The Orioles have made Henderson available for Wednesday’s contest versus the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field, where he’ll make his major-league debut. He’ll wear No. 2, becoming the 43rd player to do so in franchise history.
To make room for Henderson, the club has optioned infielder Tyler Nevin to triple-A and has designated right-hander Denyi Reyes for assignment.
Henderson, who’s the No. 2 ranked prospect in the sport, was selected by Baltimore in the second round of the 2019 draft. The 6-foot-2 left-hander opened the season at double-A, appearing in 47 games, before being promoted to the next level.
In 65 contests with the Tides, the versatile infielder slashed .288/.390/.504 with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs across 295 plate appearances. He also posted a 138 wRC+ score and swiped 10 bases in 11 attempts.
Defensively, Henderson split time between first, second and third base along with shortstop, logging 528.1 combined innings. He committed nine total errors across all four positions.
It’s always special when a young player is promoted to the big leagues for the first time, and that remained true for Henderson. After being called into triple-A manager Buck Britton’s office, the talented lefty was surprised with his promotion to the Orioles.
Upon arriving to the majors, Henderson will become the 10th player from MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects list to make their big-league debut since Aug. 1, joining a talented group of youngsters.
Henderson will attempt to help Baltimore sneak into a playoff spot as the team currently sits 3.0 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild-card seed in the American League. But with 10 games remaining between these two franchises, nothing is set in stone yet.
Given his versatility, the Montgomery, Alabama, native is likely to command plenty of playing time moving forward. As a lefty, he could fill in for right-handers Ramon Urias, Jorge Mateo or Ryan Mountcastle when the team faces a tough right-handed pitcher. He could also overtake Rougned Odor as the everyday second baseman.
Either way, Henderson’s arrival should provide a massive spark to the clubhouse, similar to when catcher Adley Rutschman made his MLB debut on May 21.
The Orioles also remain hopeful that right-hander Grayson Rodriguez can make his big-league debut at some point this season. Unfortunately, the 22-year-old currently resides on the 60-day injured list with a lat strain.
At this point, however, there might not be enough time for the club’s top pitching prospect to appear in the majors before the end of the regular season.
Still, the Orioles remain focused on trying to secure a playoff spot for the first time since 2016.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Bryan Green. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.