The Baltimore Orioles have claimed Vance Worley off waivers from the Pirates, according to the Orioles on Twitter. Worley was most likely going to be non-tendered by the Pirates this off-season, as he was due to make a raise over his current $2.45 M salary, and wasn’t looking like a factor in the rotation outside of depth and a long reliever.
The Pirates used Worley in both roles this year. He struggled as a starter, with a 4.57 xFIP, and had decent results as a reliever, with a 3.93 xFIP. He never really looked comfortable in the reliever role, and was eventually waived by the Pirates and sent to the minors when they acquired Joe Blanton, who was a better fit for the team out of the bullpen. Worley eventually returned in September to give the team some innings, after being stretched out in Triple-A as rotation depth, which wasn’t needed.
This move doesn’t really impact the Pirates’ off-season plans, for reasons noted above. It will be interesting to see if Baltimore tenders him a contract, or if they’re just trying to get him in the mix to try and negotiate a better pre-arbitration deal.