Dodgers lose Jake Reed on waivers to the Orioles

Jake Reed goes from one contending team to another. The right-hander was claimed off waivers by the Orioles on Monday, three days after he was designated for assignment by the Dodgers.

Reed pitched for the Dodgers in both 2021 and 2022, with similar paths both years. He was acquired around the middle of the year, pitched in the majors, at some point pitched for the Mets, and was eventually claimed off waivers by another team.

This year, the 29-year-old Reed was claimed by the Dodgers off waivers from the Mets on July 13, and within two weeks was in the majors. When sent to Triple-A Oklahoma City on July 31, that was his fifth time getting optioned this season, the maximum allowed by the collective bargaining agreement.

Reed was called up again last Tuesday in New York, along with Heath Hembree to fortify a taxed bullpen. Pressed into duty immediately, Hembree earned the win in last week’s series opener over the Mets, with Reed earning the save, the first of his career. He’s one of nine Dodgers pitchers to record a save in 2022.

In all, Reed had a 1.93 ERA in 4⅔ innings with the Dodgers, with two strikeouts and a walk. He pitched in five of the seven games for which he was active. But when Blake Treinen was activated off the 60-day injured list on Friday after missing over four months with a partial tear of his shoulder capsule, the Dodgers needed to make room on both the active and 40-man rosters. They designated the effectively out-of-options Reed for assignment, which led us to Monday’s waiver claim.

Reed joins an Orioles team that entered Monday 2½ games behind Toronto for the final American League wild card spot. Since he wasn’t in the organization by August 31, Reed would be ineligible should Baltimore reach the postseason, but he can at least help them try to get there.

Some Dodgers designated for assignment this season have cleared waivers and stuck around in Triple-A, including Carson Fulmer, Robbie Erlin, and Stefen Romero. But they’ve also lost a handful on waivers.

Darien Núñez, out for the year with Tommy John surgery, was claimed by the Giants on April 27. The left-hander was soon released but quickly re-signed by San Francisco to a minor league contract.

Ian Gibaut was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers on June 30, and was even active for two games for Los Angeles but did not pitch. He was claimed off waivers by the Reds on July 5, and has a 4.44 ERA and 3.03 FIP in 22 relief appearances for Cincinnati.

Rylan Bannon had a similarly short time with the Dodgers, claimed from the Orioles in August but designated for assignment four days later without having played for Los Angeles. Bannon was claimed off waivers by the Braves on August 16, and is hitting .350/.482/.575 in 13 games with Triple-A Gwinnett.

Reyes Moronta signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in March and pitched 22 games in relief. He was designated for assignment when Dustin May was activated, then Moronta was claimed off waivers by the D-backs on August 22. Moronta has allowed two runs in 4⅓ innings in five games for Arizona.