The Orioles today announced that they have acquired left-handed pitcher COLE IRVIN and minor league right-handed pitcher KYLE VIRBITSKY from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor league infielder DARELL HERNAIZ.
Irvin, 28, made 30 starts for the A’s in 2022, pitching to a 9-13 record with a career-best 3.98 ERA (80 ER/181.0 IP). He set career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts (128) and tied his career high with 15 quality starts. The southpaw led Oakland in strikeouts, innings pitched, starts, quality starts, and wins, and ranked second among A’s pitchers in fWAR (1.4). His 14.4 pitches per inning were the second fewest in the American League, while his 1.79 BB/9 ratio ranked sixth best among qualified AL hurlers.
A native of Anaheim, Calif., Irvin was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Oregon. In 81 career Major League games (65 starts), he has gone 21-30 with a 4.40 ERA (198 ER/404.2 IP) and 288 strikeouts against 92 walks. He made his MLB debut on May 12, 2019 at Kansas City (W, 7.0 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 5 K).
Virbitsky, 24, made 23 appearances (22 starts) between High-A Lansing and Low-A Stockton in his first full professional season in 2022, going 7-7 with a 4.63 ERA (65 ER/126.1 IP). He issued just 30 walks and struck out 140 batters, the most among A’s minor leaguers. Baseball America recently ranked him as having the best control in Oakland’s system. The right-hander was originally selected by the Athletics in the 17th round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of Penn State University.
Hernaiz, 21, played at three levels in the Orioles organization last year, slashing .273/.341/.438 (111-for-406) with 21 doubles, five triples, 12 home runs, 72 runs scored, 62 RBI, and 32 stolen bases in 105 games between Double-A Bowie, High-A Aberdeen, and Low-A Delmarva. He played 58 games at shortstop, 24 at second base, and 21 at third base between the three teams. The infielder was originally selected by the Orioles in the fifth round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Americas (TX) High School.
Additionally, left-handed pitcher DARWINZON HERNANDEZ has been designated for assignment. The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.
