Former failed Reds prospect claimed off waivers by Orioles

On Thursday afternoon, the Baltimore Orioles claimed former Cincinnati Reds prospect Levi Stoudt off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. Stoudt came to Cincinnati in the Luis Castillo trade back in 2022 but never quite found his footing in the Reds' system.

Stoudt had a short run of success in late 2022 at Double-A Chattanooga but struggled in 2023, pitching to a 6.23 ERA at Triple-A. He pitched to a discouraging 9.58 ERA over four outings with the big league club last summer and struggled to find the strike zone consistently during that time.

The Reds chose to DFA Stoudt ahead of spring training, and he was swiftly claimed by the same Mariners team that shuttled him away two years ago.

Failed Reds' prospect Levi Stoudt will look to find success with Orioles' development program

In line with his past performance, Stoudt again failed to command his pitches at Triple-A and washed out of Seattle's system. He'll join an Orioles development team that's had success turning pitchers' careers around but the more likely outcome is that he'll serve as minor league depth while Baltimore's more notable prospects get moved up to the majors.

It's a bit of a disappointing run for Stoudt, who had been ranked as the Reds' 15th-best prospect coming into the 2023 season by MLB Pipeline. He'd had good velocity and the makings of a wipeout slider that unfortunately just never materialized.

Thankfully he wasn't the centerpiece of the Castillo deal. Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo are still expected to be significant pieces of the Reds' future and should salvage the deal with a passable grade for GM Nick Krall.

Former Reds prospect Eduardo Salazar claimed off waivers as well

Interestingly, Stoudt wasn't the only former Reds' prospect claimed this past week. Right-hander Eduardo Salazar was also DFA'd by Seattle and was picked up by the Nationals on Thursday evening.

Salazar pitched in the Reds' organization for six years before leaving as a free agent this past offseason. He was bad during his brief stint in MLB with Cincinnati in 2023 but did throw two scoreless innings with the Dodgers earlier this year.

This marks the second time this year Salazar has been designated for assignment. He'll be challenged in a Nationals' system that finds itself on the upswing at the moment.

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