The Orioles have signed utility player Niko Goodrum and reliever Burch Smith to minor league contracts. Both players became free agents last week, Goodrum after clearing outright waivers with the Pirates and Smith after being released by the Marlins.
Goodrum is on his forth organization this season. Since Spring Training, he has bounced between the Twins, Rays, Angels, and Pirates. The switch-hitter has appeared in 13 major league games, split between Tampa Bay and Los Angeles. He’s batting.103/.188/.103, with 10 strikeouts and three walks. Goodrum has 75 Triple-A plate appearances and a significantly superior.270/.387/.444 batting line. He has drawn 11 walks and three home runs in that tiny sample.
The 32-year-old Goodrum has played in parts of seven MLB seasons. He’s a career.224/.297/.383 hitter with roughly 1600 big league plate appearances. Goodrum spent part of the 2023 season in Korea, where he hit.295/.373/.387 in 201 plate appearances. He provides depth at almost every position except catcher and center field.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71701543/usa_today_18182034.0.jpg)
Smith, 34, threw 29 2/3 innings for the Marlins this season. The right-hander was in camp with the Rays on a non-roster deal before using an upward mobility provision to secure an MLB look in Miami. Smith worked largely in low-leverage situations out of Skip Schumaker’s bullpen. He had a 4.25 earned run average and a good 47% groundball rate. He didn’t miss many bats, either, striking out 17% of batters while swinging at only 8.6%.
Smith’s tenure in Miami marked his first major league action in three years. He also spent a short time in Korea last season, but only made one start before sustaining a shoulder injury. This season, his velocity returned, with his four-seam fastball averaging 94.4 mph. He’ll join Triple-A Norfolk and try to work his way into a middle relief job at Camden Yards.
