The Mets made a roster move on Thursday afternoon before their three-game set against the Giants begins at Citi Field on Friday night, claiming right-hander Cameron Weston off waivers from the Orioles and designating catcher Shawn Ross for assignment. Weston was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.
Weston, who turned 26 years old last Thursday, was drafted by the Orioles in the eight round of the 2022 Draft and worked his way up through Baltimore’s minor league system. He has appeared in one major league game,
tossing a scoreless inning against the Blue Jays on May 28 in his MLB debut. He struck out the first batter he faced — former Met Andrés Giménez — before allowing a walk to Brandon Valenzuela and inducing a double play from George Springer. Weston was subsequently optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk, where he has struggled to the tune of a 7.89 ERA in 51.1 innings pitched this season.
The Pennsylvania native sports a unique sidearm delivery, with a four-degree arm angle that would rank second-lowest among qualified right-handers behind submariner Tyler Rogers. Weston also averaged an impressive 19.9 inches of horizontal break on the seven sinkers he threw in his debut. For reference, no qualified pitcher is averaging over 18.7 inches of horizontal break on a sinker this season (Austin Warren, Sean Manaea, and Nolan McLean all rank in the top 20 on that leaderboard).
Ross was claimed off waivers from the Pirates on August 2. In 15 games with Syracuse, he hit .195 with one home run. Ross made his debut earlier this season for Pittsburgh, playing in two games and crushing a mammoth home run (110.6-mph exit velocity, 438-foot projected distance) in his second big league at-bat.
The Mets and Orioles have now each claimed a player off waivers from the other team in the past 72 hours, with Luis Robert Jr. currently in the heart of Baltimore’s lineup. When the the two clubs play a three-game series at Citi Field from September 14-16, it will already mark the return of Pete Alonso and Robert — but perhaps Weston will have a chance to join the party of players facing their former teams as well.
