Control Issues Trail Zulueta to Baltimore; Orioles Bet on Bullpen Depth Over Reliability

Baltimore claimed right-hander Yosver Zulueta off waivers from Chicago on June 28, optioning him to Triple-A Norfolk immediately. The move cost nothing—the Orioles had 40-man roster space—and represents the fifth organization to gamble on Zulueta's raw stuff since Cincinnati designated him last winter. That's not a vote of confidence; it's roster triage.

Zulueta's resume is thin and brittle. He threw 23⅔ innings across 2024-25 with Cincinnati at a 5.32 ERA, then went to Seattle and posted a 7.54 ERA over 22⅔ Triple-A innings in 2026. The strikeout tooling is there—he's at 21.4 K% in the minors this season—but the control has disintegrated. His walk rate sits at 17.9% for 2026, a figure that would rank in the bottom percentile of any reliable relief corps. Over his major-league stint, Zulueta did manage a 54% grounder rate, a positive indicator for suppressing damage. But grounders mean nothing if you're walking batters at a rate that inflates counts and burns pitches.

Chicago picked Zulueta off waivers from Seattle on June 15, only to cycle him right back through the waiver system 13 days later. The Cubs never gave him a look on the big-league roster, a telling vote that internal evaluations revealed little reason to interrupt the roster. Baltimore's claim is a low-cost lottery ticket—developing organizations always have a place for high-velocity arms with control questions—but the timeline for any utility is months away, if it materializes at all.

For Orioles bullpen props, this move carries minimal near-term impact. Zulueta won't appear in majors before mid-July at the earliest, and only if Triple-A results shift dramatically. Baltimore's current relief construction won't change meaningfully based on a 23-year-old waiver claim. Any bullpen ERA, WHIP, or individual reliever K rates you're projecting for the next two weeks should remain unaffected. The control problems are too severe to expect a June-to-July callup to a contending team. If Zulueta does reach Baltimore later this summer, he'll enter as a long-relief or garbage-time option, not a high-leverage arm. Fade any bullpen-prop moves predicated on Zulueta's arrival until there's evidence he's earned a sustained roster spot.