CHICAGO -- With two left-handed relievers now on the injured list (Keegan Akin and Dietrich Enns), the Orioles made a trade to add another southpaw to their bullpen mix.
Baltimore acquired lefty Nick Raquet from St. Louis in exchange for infield/outfield prospect Brayden Smith, a 13th-round Draft pick in 2025, the O's announced on Tuesday morning.
To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the O’s transferred Zach Eflin to the 60-day injured list and optioned Brandon Young, who allowed just two hits over five scoreless frames on Monday, back to Triple-A Norfolk. Eflin is getting a second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister later on Tuesday to figure out next steps.
“He’s getting a second opinion today … and the way it’s trending, 60-day makes a ton of sense,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “When Eflin gets a second opinion, gets the information, we’ll let everyone know what the reading is and how Eflin wants to go about it.”
Raquet, 30, began the season at Triple-A Memphis, where he had a 3.00 ERA in three innings over his first two relief appearances. His lone big league experience came in 2025, when he tossed two scoreless frames over a pair of outings for the Cardinals on Sept. 8 and 9.
A third-round pick of Washington in 2017 out of the College of William and Mary, Raquet had been in the Cards' organization since '24. He has had an interesting journey, as he quit baseball after having not advanced past Single-A in the Nationals' system by '19.
Raquet spent nearly three years working in finance in the Washington D.C. area for Ernst & Young before returning back to the sport, first by throwing into a net before playing catch with friends. When he decided he wanted to make his return, he spoke with members of the Nationals’ player development staff that he used to work with to set a pitching plan and make this journey possible again.
“At first it was just family [that I told], like, ‘Hey I’m think about doing something crazy. What do you guys think?’” Raquet said. “I think having the immediate support of ‘Yeah, that sounds awesome.’ And it wasn’t just like, ‘What are you doing?’
“It was just a passion to go out there again and see what I can do. Whether we got here or not, it was going back and doing something that I believed in.”
Raquet’s addition to the ‘pen was much-needed as Grant Wolfram was the only left-hander available out of the O's bullpen during their series-opening 2-1 win over the White Sox on Monday in Chicago. Cade Povich (who was called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday) tossed 5 2/3 innings of two-run relief in Sunday's series finale in Pittsburgh.
Akin (left groin strain) began the season on the IL and doesn't have a timeline for a return. Enns (left foot infection) was placed on the IL on Monday (retroactive to Saturday).
“Obviously the need for left-handed pitching, you can never have enough left-handed pitching, especially relievers,” Albernaz said of Raquet, who throws a sinker, sweeper and slider. “We love the strike-throwing ability [Raquet] has shown, and it’s an area of focus for him. But the ability to spin the baseball is the biggest thing.”