The Baltimore Orioles have claimed RHP Eric Hanhold off waivers from the New York Mets. To make room for Hanhold on their 40-man roster, the Orioles have designated LHP Ty Blach for assignment.
Hanhold, 25, was recently designated for assignment by the New York Mets in order to make room on the 40-man roster to call up LHP Donnie Hart. Since the Mets made the roster move, they have yet to utilize Hart in a game. Of note, the team has also kept 29 year old rookie pitcher Chris Mazza on the 40 man roster despite his pitching to a 6.45 ERA in seven relief appearances this year.
The Mets obtained Hanhold in the Neil Walker trade with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017. Entering this season, he was ranked by Mets Minors as the top relief prospect in the Mets farm system and the 23rd best prospect overall in the system.
Like many Triple-A relievers, Hanhold struggled this year with the new ball. In 39 games for Syracuse, he was 3-4 with a 4.62 ERA, 1.644 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, and a 6.1 K/9. Due to his struggles in Syracuse, he was sent to Binghamton in late June.
The stint seemed to work as he would make nine appearances for Binghamton goiing 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA, 0.955 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, and an 11.0 K/9. After that stint, he was promoted back to Syracuse where he pitched much better. Over his final 12 appearances of the season, he pitched 14.0 innings with a 2.57 ERA and 1.357 WHIP.
Even with that impressive stretch to end the year, Hanhold would be one of the four Syracuse relievers who blew a 7-1 and a 13-6 lead. Hanhold’s contribution was coming into the eighth inning of what was then a 13-11 game. He would inherit runners on second and third. In blowing the save and taking the loss, he would throw a wild pitch, walk two, and allow a double in one-third of an inning.
After that performance he would not be among those called up to the majors when the roster expanded to 40 players. As luck would have it, he was on the roster bubble, and he would eventually find himself designated for assignment. As a result, he would end his Mets career with three appearances at the end of the 2018 season where he allowed two earned on four hits over 2.1 innings pitched.
