Orioles add McKenna, Burdi; Hyde says Fry needs to regain confidence at Triple-A

For their opening game in Toronto on Monday night, the Orioles have added two players, outfielder Ryan McKenna and right-handed pitcher Zack Burdi, who were both recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.

McKenna, who has had multiple stints with the Orioles this season, is hitting .208 with a home run and six RBIs in 63 games. His addition gives the Orioles a superior defensive outfielder.

He’d been especially hot at Norfolk, hitting .307 with 11 homers and 23 RBIs in 27 games with a 1.106 OPS.

McKenna is starting in center field as Cedric Mullins has a day off.

“An extra bench player is important right now,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’ve got three left-handed starters this series, probably two in New York.”

Hyde mentioned Anthony Santander, whose nagging left ankle continues to slow him and Mullins, who’s missed just three games, as needing a break.

Burdi, a former first round draft choice of the Chicago White Sox in 2016, was claimed on waivers from Chicago on August 18^th.

In 14 games with the White Sox in the last two seasons, the 26-year-ole right-hander was 0-1 with an 8.27 ERA. Burdi had a 3.00 ERA in three games at Norfolk.

“As a teammate, I think it’s very valuable to have guys around the clubhouse, who are talkative and like to express their emotions throughout the day,” Burdi said. “I’m pretty open and willing to meet new people and express myself around the clubhouse.”

Burdi was a teammate of Josh Rogers, who pitched with the Orioles in 2018 and 2019 at the University of Louisville. Rogers was released by the Orioles on June 1^st, and is now with the Washington Nationals organization.

“Josh is a really close friend of my family,” Burdi said. “He was great from a transition, helped me with just getting to know faces.:

His brother, Nick pitched part of three seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2018-2020 and is currently on the 60-day injured list with the San Diego Padres.

McKenna and Burdi replace Paul Fry and Spenser Watkins on the roster.

Fry allowed a grand slam in Sunday’s 12-8 loss to Tampa Bay. In 52 games, Fry was 4-5 with a 6.08 ERA. He had a 34.71 ERA in nine games against the Rays this season, and in August had a 21.86 ERA in 11 games.

“I hope to have Paul back,” Hyde said. “Some appearances in Triple-A, a little bit more low-pressure environment is going to do him some good right now.

“He’s lost a little bit of confidence. You see that in his misses, the walks, a lot of arm-side misses with his slider. I’d like to get his confidence back with his fastball over the plate.

“We felt like the right thing for Paul, [who[ we believe in very much is to have him go down there…and hopefully come back here with the confidence he had in the first half.”

Watkins started out quickly, and won two of his first three starts, and had a 1.65 ERA. He lost his next seven starts and has a 7.47 ERA.

This isn’t the end of the roster moves this week. On Wednesday, the Orioles will add two players when the roster expands to 28.

Left-handed pitcher Alexander Wells, who could replace Watkins in the starting rotation is on the taxi squad along with catcher Nick Ciuffo and right-handed reliever Dusten Knight.

If Burdi appears in Monday night’s game, he’ll be the 57^th player used by the team, one short of the record-setting 58 players in 2019.

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