Orioles Sign Shed Long To Minor-League Deal
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Baltimore Orioles have signed second baseman and left fielder Shed Long to a minor league contract, the team confirmed.
ESPN's Jeff Passan was first to report the deal.
Over three seasons with the Seattle Mariners, the left-handed hitting Long batted .216 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI in 380 at-bats. The 26-year-old played 25 games in left field and 10 at second base last season.
In eight minor league seasons, primarily as a member of the Cincinnati Reds organization, Long hit .273 with a .352 on-base percentage and .439 slugging percentage. He stole 55 bases during that stretch.
Seattle outrighted Long in October, and he elected free agency on Nov. 7. While Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association remain in a lockout, grinding typical offseason activity to a halt, the Orioles were able to reach a deal with Long because he doesn't immediately join the club's 40-man roster.
Long could be a factor in an infield competition that aside from first base, a spot locked down by two of the team's best hitters, Ryan Mountcastle and Trey Mancini, appears to have three openings.
Prior to the lockout, the Orioles added additional infield depth by signing second baseman Rougned Odor, 27, to a one-year contract.
In 102 games with the New York Yankees last year, Odor hit .202 with 15 home runs and 39 RBI. For the first time in his major league career, the 27-year-old spent time at third base, playing 247 innings there as a Yankee.
Last November, the team added prospect Terrin Vavra, who's played both second base and shortstop in the minors, to the 40-man roster, making eligible for promotion to the major league club.
Vavra spent most of his season at Bowie, but injuries limited him to 58 games. In 40 games with the Baysox, the 24-year-old second baseman hit .248 with 5 home runs and 20 RBI.
Elsewhere, third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez, second baseman Ramón Urías, second baseman Jahmai Jones and utility man Rylan Bannon are all on the 40-man with a chance to compete for at-bats.
The outfield is a bit more crowded with starters Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander all set to return.
