1:27PM: The Orioles will receive cash considerations in return, MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reports.
12:28PM: The Royals have acquired Nick Gordon from the Orioles, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports. Baltimore’s end of the trade return isn’t yet known. Gordon signed a minor league deal with the O’s last winter, and he’ll now join the team that his father Tom pitched with from 1988-95.
Drafted fifth overall by the Twins in 2014, Gordon is a known commodity to the Royals from his 243 games with Minnesota across the 2021-23 seasons. It seemed like Gordon was breaking through when he hit .272/.316/.427 over 443 plate appearances for the Twins while playing all over the diamond in a super-sub role, but a fractured shin limited him to 34 MLB games in 2023. Minnesota then dealt Gordon to the Marlins in February 2024, and Gordon hit only .227/.258/.369 over 95 games and 275 PA with Miami, playing mostly as a left fielder.
This tenure in South Beach ended when the Marlins outrighted Gordon off their 40-man roster last August, and he spent the rest of the season in Triple-A. He elected minor league free agency in October and landed with Baltimore, though his chances of making the Opening Day roster always seemed rather slim, given the number of infield options the Orioles already had available.
Gordon will now get a fresh start in Kansas City, and perhaps be in a slightly better position for a big league call-up. The Royals have other MLB-experienced players as Harold Castro and Jordan Groshans at Triple-A, though the likes of Nick Loftin, Joey Wiemer, or Drew Waters (who have also seen time in the majors) are already on the 40-man roster. The fact that the Royals went out and got Gordon, however, indicates that the team wasn’t entirely satisfied with its roster depth, plus Gordon adds some more left-handed hitting to the mix.