Today, we continue our series on players who played for the Orioles in the 2010s that you may have forgotten about.
The first article we started with for this series listed five starting pitchers, and it was nice to see some of our readers remember the players we talked about in that article. It was also nice to go down memory lane for a brief moment in time.
With that said, here are five relief pitchers you may have forgotten were Orioles during the 2010s.
Luis Ayala
It’s the second game of the 2012 season. The Orioles are up 8-2 on the Minnesota Twins and don’t want to burn their closer Jim Johnson or their set-up man in Darren O’Day. So, manager Buck Showalter turns to Luis Ayala, who would shut down the Twins 1-2-3 to help the Orioles move to 2-0 on the year.
Ayala debuted in 2003 for the Montreal Expos and would spend around nine years in the league, playing for the Expos/Nationals, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins and New York Yankees before he signed with the Orioles at the ripe age of 34 years old. Ayala’s 2012 season was incredible to say the least, as he tossed 75 innings, carried an ERA of 2.64, a WHIP of 1.54 and only gave up two home runs the entire season.
Ayala would also spend just two games with the Orioles in 2013 before being traded to the Atlanta Braves for minor league pitcher Chris Jones. Ayala would sign with the Orioles in 2014 but never hit the major league roster before being released later that season. He then spent some time in the Mexico Baseball League up until 2018.
Clay Rapada
A pitcher with 152 games logged in his career and did not lose a single game? Clay Rapada spent seven years in MLB, and despite being an undrafted player, he was able to log an 8-0 record on his career in 152 games in the majors and 93 innings pitched.
Rapada became an Oriole in January of 2011 and struggled, having a 6.06 ERA in 32 games. He pitched just 16.1 innings and had a 2-0 record. Rapada’s role was interesting, as he was a lefty who had better splits against right-handed batters, making him sort of a “righty specialist” out of the pen.
Rapada would be released by the Orioles after the 2011 season and bounce around between teams, playing his last game for Cleveland in 2013. He did fill some minor league positions and even participated in the WBC qualifiers in 2017 for the Philippines. Rapada is now the assistant pitching coordinator for the San Francisco Giants.
Evan Meek
Everyone remembers Opening Day for the Orioles in 2014, when fans got to witness newly-acquired slugger Nelson Cruz hit his first O’s bomb that would eventually win the game against the Boston Red Sox. However, do you remember Evan Meek entering the game the half inning after Cruz hit that illustrious home run?
Meek became an Oriole at 31 years old after not playing in the majors during the 2013 season. The big right-hander struggled, having a 5.79 ERA in 23 games, 23.1 innings, while only striking out 16. Meek had a 1.58 WHIP due to control issues, as he walked 11 batters that season, his only season in orange and black.
Meek is also famous for being the pitcher on the mound who gave up the final hit of Derek Jeter’s career in Yankee Stadium. Meek would bounce around after his time with the Orioles, having some minor league appearances with the Washington Nationals and even participating in the KBO for the Kia Tigers.
Branden Kline
One thing that makes me happy to see the Orioles do is when they have players who are born and raised in Maryland play for their hometown team.
Branden Kline was born and raised in Frederick, Maryland, and even attended Governor Thomas Johnson HS in Frederick. He would be selected by the Orioles in the second round of the 2012 MLB Draft, and while it would take a long time, Kline would make his big league debut in orange and black.
It took seven years for Kline to make his debut, but he finally got his chance in April of 2019. The 6-foot-3 righty pitched for the Orioles for just 37 games between two years and compiled a 5.48 ERA in just 46 innings pitched. Kline also gave up nine home runs, 46 total hits and 28 earned runs. This would be his only time in MLB, as he would retire from baseball in 2021.
Troy Patton
The date is December 12, 2007, and the Orioles have just announced that former MVP shortstop Miguel Tejada has been traded to the Houston Astros. Coming back to the O’s in the deal was left-hander Troy Patton and four other players, including Matt Albers and Luke Scott.
Patton would spend four seasons with the Orioles before he was traded to the San Diego Padres in May of 2014 for catcher Nick Hundley. Patton’s time with the Orioles was actually really good, as in 169 innings, Patton had a 3.25 ERA in 151 games. He also struck out 135 batters.
Patton’s career would take an unfortunate turn after he was traded to San Diego. He would play in the minors until he would be suspended in 2016 for 80 games for breaking MLB’s PED rules for the third time in his career, after being suspended in 2013 and 2014.
Which pitchers on this list do you remember watching? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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