Baltimore Orioles Sign Struggling Young Hurler To Minor League Deal

The Baltimore Orioles made a low-level deal with a pitcher that will get a second chance after his release.

Jun 8, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; A Baltimore Orioles batting helmet rests in a cubby in the dugout against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. | Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles signed left-handed pitcher Cooper McKeehan to a minor-league contract on Friday, per his MiLB.com player page.

The Orioles assigned him to their Class-A affiliate in Delmarva.

The BYU product joins the Orioles from the Kansas City Royals organization, where he was drafted in the 16th round.

Most recently with the Royals’ High-A affiliate in Quad Cities, McKeehan took a significant step back, which led to his release on Sunday.

The reliever pitched in 14 games and went 1-2 with a 9.56 ERA in 16 innings. He had two holds and blew his only save opportunity. He struck out 14 and walked 13.

It could be that he’ll benefit from a chance of scenery, because in 2023 he was a Carolina League All-Star for the Royals’ Class-A affiliate in Columbia.

In 31 appearances with Columbia he went 8-1 with a 1.08 ERA in 31 games. He had 11 saves in 12 chances and threw 50 innings. He struck out 53, walked 10 and allowed batters to hit .171 against him.

That earned him a promotion to Quad Cities, where he struggled, in a preview of this season. In 10 games at Quad Cities he went 2-2 with a 8.78 ERA in 10 games. He struck out 14 and walked 12 in 13.1 innings.

The Orioles are hoping that they’ll get the McKeehan that pitched for Columbia and can build on that in their system, as he showed future closer potential with an elite strikeout-to-walk ratio and opponent batting average.