The Orioles have selected the contract of right-hander , according to a team announcement. Southpaw was designated for a signment to make room on the active and 40-man rosters. Hiraldo, 29, signed with the Diamondbacks out of the Dominican Republic all the way back in 2018 but departed affiliated ball following a Joey Loperfido Jersey 2021 season where he struggled to a 4.13 ERA in 24 innings of work at the High-A level. He caught on with the independent Atlantic League, where he scuffled a bit in his first year outside of the minor leagues but bounced back to deliver an impre sive 1.50 ERA in 18 innings of work. After once again impre sing in 2024 (this time as a member of the Mexican Leagues Caliente de Durango), he caught on with the Orioles this year on a minor league deal. The right-hander has just 18 1/3 innings of work under his belt in the minors since returning to affiliated ball, but hes dominated at every level the Orioles have put him through with a 2.43 ERA and 26.0% strikeout rate overall. Evidently, the Orioles feel hes ready for the test of major league action, and the 29-year-olds big league debut could come as soon as todays game against the Red Sox. Now that hes on the 40-man roster, Hiraldo will be an optionable bullpen piece available to Baltimore, a particularly valuable commodity given that closer , top setup man , and top lefty are the only three pitchers besides Hiraldo will options remaining in the bullpen as things stand. Its been a tough year for Orioles pitching to say the least, given their MLB-worst team ERA of 5.77. The bullpen is le s of a culprit in those struggles than the rotation, but their 5.67 ERA and 4.82 FIP still make them a bottom-four bullpen overall in baseball this year. Turning things around in the bullpen will primarily rely on pieces like Bautista and Cano getting right, but a dominant performance from Hiraldo in his first opportunities at the big leage level might be enough to convince the Orioles to keep him around over a struggling arm like Seranthony Dominguez, even though the latter is out of options. At the very least, a strong showing from Hiraldo in this first call-up to the majors should bode well for his ability to earn opportunities after a trade deadline where the Orioles look increasingly likely to be sellers in at least some capacity. As for Perez, the 29-year-old has spent each of the past four seasons in Baltimore after previously pitching for the Astros and Reds over the years. Perezs time in Baltimore has been generally succe sful, with a 3.72 ERA and 3.58 FIP acro s 212 appearances, though it must be noted that most of that succe s came in the 2022 and 23 seasons. Last year was a down season for Perez, as he posted an ugly 4.53 ERA that clocked in 16% below average by ERA+ despite solid peripheral numbers. Those peripherals gave him a 3.30 FIP that suggested positive regre sion could be on the way, but Perez has not experienced that in 21 2/3 innings of work for the Orioles this year. Instead, hes been torched to the tune of a 8.31 ERA with a 5.71 FIP that, while better, offers little optimism for above-average results going forward. Those deep struggles were evidently enough for Baltimore to pull the plug on the lefty, who theyll now have one week to either work out a trade or attempt to pa s through waivers. Davis Schneider Jersey