Dodgers' Chris Owings: Gets spring invite from Dodgers
Rotowire
Owings signed a minor-league contract with the Dodgers on Thursday that includes an invitation to spring training, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Owings has spent more time in the minors than the majors the last few years, most recently going 4-for-25 in 10 games with the Pirates and posting a .798 OPS in 86 contests at Triple-A Indianapolis in 2023. The 32-year-old utility player is likely headed to Triple-A Oklahoma City to begin the 2024 campaign.
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Pirates' Chris Owings: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Owings was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Saturday.
Owings had gone 4-for-25 (.160) with 12 strikeouts and zero walks since joining Pittsburgh's major-league roster May 8. The 31-year-old utilityman holds a brutal .124/.228/.148 batting line in 93 major-league plate appearances since the beginning of the 2022 season.
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Pirates' Chris Owings: Promotion official
Rotowire
The Pirates selected Owings' contract from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of Monday's game against the Rockies.
Pittsburgh optioned Mark Mathias to Triple-A to clear a spot on the active roster for Owings, who submitted a .883 OPS over 50 plate appearances at Indianapolis. The 31-year-old has seen action at three infield spots as well as center field at Triple-A this season and should serve in a utility role while he's up with Pittsburgh.
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Pirates' Chris Owings: Set to join big-league club
Rotowire
The Pirates plan to select Owings' contract from Triple-A Indianapolis prior to Monday's game against the Rockies, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Mackey speculates that Owings will likely replace Mark Mathias on the 26-man active roster, but the Pirates have yet to confirm any transactions. While Owings isn't currently on the 40-man roster, the Pirates have an open spot. The 31-year-old utility player has an .883 OPS with two home runs in 13 games with Indianapolis this season.
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Pirates' Chris Owings: Bound for minors
Rotowire
Owings accepted an assignment to minor-league camp Saturday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.
Owings had the right to opt out and look for work elsewhere once he was informed that he failed to make the team, but he decided he was fine opening the year at Triple-A Indianapolis. The veteran's defensive versatility gives him multiple paths to the big-league bench, but he's a career .239/.287/.366 hitter, so it's no surprise he's failed to earn more than 68 MLB plate appearances in any of the last three seasons.
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Pirates' Chris Owings: Inks minors deal with Pittsburgh
Rotowire
Owings signed a minor-league contract Thursday with the Pirates that includes an invitation to major-league spring training.
Owings struggled to a .107/.254/.143 batting line in 26 games (68 plate appearances) last season with the Orioles before getting released in June. He then latched on with the Triple-A affiliate of the Yankees and slashed .235/.303/.412 across 208 plate appearances in the International League. The 31-year-old can serve as organizational infield depth for Pittsburgh leading into the 2023 campaign.
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Yankees' Chris Owings: Signs MiLB deal with Yankees
Rotowire
Owings signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees on Saturday, Conor Foley of The Scranton Times-Tribune reports.
Owings was released by the Orioles last weekend but will have a chance to carve out a role at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after joining the Yankees on a minor-league deal. He appeared in 27 games with Baltimore to begin the year and hit .107 with two doubles, six runs and a stolen base.
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Chris Owings: Released by O's
Rotowire
Owings was placed on unconditional release waivers Sunday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Owings spent the first two months of the season on the active roster, but he did very little with his limited opportunities, hitting .107/.254/.143 in 68 trips to the plate. His career 69 wRC+ means he'll likely be looking for a minor-league deal on the open market.
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Orioles' Chris Owings: Booted from 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Orioles designated Owings for assignment Wednesday, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.
The Orioles will move Owings off the 40-man roster to clear a spot for long reliever Austin Voth, whom the organization claimed off waivers from the Nationals on Tuesday. Owings had seen limited playing time for the Orioles this season, appearing in 27 games while slashing .107/.254/.143 across 68 plate appearances.
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Orioles' Chris Owings: Activated by O's
Rotowire
Owings (personal) was reinstated from the bereavement list Tuesday.
Owings was away from the Orioles during their weekend series against the Guardians, but he'll rejoin the team after spending the minimum amount of time on the bereavement list. Right-hander Marcos Diplan was sent down Sunday to make room on the active roster.
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Orioles' Chris Owings: Placed on bereavement list
Rotowire
Owings was placed on the bereavement list Friday.
Since players are required to spend between three and seven days on the bereavement list, the 30-year-old will be unavailable for the Orioles' weekend series against the Guardians. Tyler Nevin should see a slight uptick in playing time while Owings is away from the team.
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Orioles' Chris Owings: Sits for third straight
Rotowire
Owings is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Yankees, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
After a stretch of five consecutive starts last week in which he went 3-for-15 with a double, two walks and three runs, Owings finds himself on the bench for the third game in a row. Even with Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) on the injured list and Jorge Mateo (shoulder/chest), Ramon Urias (abdomen) and Austin Hays (hand) having all recently missed time with injuries, Owings still appears to be behind Tyler Nevin and Ryan McKenna in the pecking order among the team's utility options.
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Orioles' Chris Owings: Steals base in win
Rotowire
Owings went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base in a 3-2 win Thursday in St. Louis.
Owings singled, stole a base and scored in the seventh inning. It was just his fourth game in the month of May and his first stolen base this season. After showing some promise last season in limited time for Colorado, Owings has been dreadful at the plate in 2022, slashing .138/.286/.172 over 35 plate appearances with one extra-base hit.
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Orioles' Chris Owings: Draws three walks
Rotowire
Owings went 0-for-1 with three walks in a 4-2 win over the Royals in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader.
This was Owings' first game action since April 30, as he's been a bit lost in the shuffle among the Orioles' field players. He's done little to earn more playing time with a .105 batting average and a 6:12 BB:K through 25 plate appearances this season. Owings remains a versatile defender, but that could see him stay limited to making late entrances into games as a defensive replacement or pinch hitter or runner.
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Orioles' Chris Owings: Filling in for resting Odor
Rotowire
Owings will start at second base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Angels.
Owings will pick up his fifth start of the season Sunday, filling in at the keystone for the lefty-hitting Rougned Odor, who sits with a southpaw (Jose Suarez) on the mound for the Angels. The utility man is 1-for-10 with eight strikeouts through his first six games with the Orioles.
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Orioles' Chris Owings: Makes Opening Day roster
Rotowire
Manager Brandon Hyde confirmed Wednesday that Owings has made the Orioles' Opening Day roster and will have his contract selected, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.
Owings will likely begin the season as a utility player, but there could be avenues for the 30-year-old to eventually settle into an everyday role at second base, third base, shortstop or in the outfield if injuries or poor performance from the players ahead of him on the depth chart opens up playing time. Before being shut down last summer with a thumb injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the season, Owings had a brief run of fantasy relevance for the Rockies. In just 21 games with Colorado, Owings slashed .326/.420/.628 with a home run, two stolen bases, nine runs and five RBI.
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Orioles' Chris Owings: Joins Orioles on minors deal
Rotowire
Owings (thumb) joined the Orioles as a non-roster invitee Tuesday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Owings missed most of the last two months of last season after undergoing thumb surgery. Prior to that, the veteran utility man hit .326/.420/.628 for the Rockies, though that came in a tiny sample of 50 plate appearances and was far out of line with his career .243/.288/.372 slash line. If he does wind up making the team, it will likely be in a utility role.
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Rockies' Chris Owings: Moves to 60-day IL
Rotowire
Owings (thumb) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.
Owings was ruled out for the season in early August after doctors put a pin in his left thumb, so his move to the 60-day IL is simply procedural. The 30-year-old has appeared in just 38 games across the last two seasons, and he slashed .298/.372/.536 with three homers, 18 runs, 10 RBI and three stolen bases. He's slated to become an unrestricted free agent during the offseason.
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Rockies' Chris Owings: Ruled out for season
Rotowire
Owings will miss the remainder of the 2021 campaign after doctors put a pin in his left thumb Thursday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
Owings was already sidelined indefinitely after he underwent surgery on his left thumb in late July, and he'll officially be shut down for the remainder of the season. The 29-year-old also had his 2020 season cut short due to a hamstring issue, and he appeared in just 21 games this year due to the thumb issues. He'll now prepare for spring training in 2022 after he slashed .326/.420/.628 with a homer, nine runs, five RBI and two stolen bases during his limited sample this season.
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Rockies' Chris Owings: Undergoes surgery
Rotowire
Owings underwent surgery on his left thumb Friday, Nick Groke of The Athletic reports.
Owings was placed on the injured list with a mallet finger injury on his left thumb Tuesday, and he doesn't have a timetable for his return following Friday's procedure. Joshua Fuentes and Connor Joe could see increased playing time in the infield while the 29-year-old is sidelined.
