2:26 p.m.: The Dodgers announced that they have acquired McDermott for the minor league right Axel Perez. They already have 40 man slots, so no more moves are needed.
2:10 p.m.: The Orioles traded a right-hander Chayce McDermottwho selected him for assignment last week, to the Dodgers, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City and his new team, adds Jack Harris of the California Post.
McDermott, 27, is just a few seasons removed from being considered one of Baltimore’s top prospects. He pitched 119 frames of 3.10 ERA ball between Double-A and Triple-A and followed that up with 100 frames and a 3.78 ERA in Triple-A the next season. McDermott made the MLB shortstop in 2024, pitching four innings, and looks set to emerge as a regular contributor to the Orioles’ pitching staff.
However, that did not happen. The 2025 season was a nightmare for the former fourth-round pick. McDermott posted a 6.91 ERA in his first 11 starts at the Triple-A level. Opponents collected 43 hits — six of them homers — and drew 36 walks in just 43 innings in that brutal 11-run inning. McDermott also struck out four batters and was charged with seven wild pitches. Because of those struggles, the O’s took him to the barn. After a rough first outing (five runs in 1 2/3 innings), he chipped in to a 1.76 ERA and 18-to-7 K/BB ratio in his final 15 1/3 innings out of the Triple-A bullpen.
It’s been a struggle for McDermott in 2026. He pitched 5 1/3 innings in the Norfolk bullpen and gave up four runs on five hits, six walks and a hit-by-pitch. McDermott also pitched three innings this spring in Baltimore and hit three solo home runs.
Shaky command has long been McDermott’s biggest flaw, and the right-hander is still struggling with that during what is now his final year in the minor leagues, Baltimore continued last week. McDermott’s former prospect status was enough to generate some interest on the trade market, and now you’ll see that he could be the latest candidate for a change to find new life in the Dodgers organization. Los Angeles has plenty of success stories of this type – at least in part because of the volume of players it takes in this type of trade. Usually, they will immediately try to transfer the player mentioned on the release themselves, even if McDermott is still available, there is no rush to do so in the near future.
McDermott is sitting at a best of 95.3 mph in his four-seamer at Triple-A this season. The uptick in velocity is not surprising for a long-time veteran just starting the journey to short relief. He’s already lost his changeup and curveball, now pairing his four-seamer with a new cutter that sits at 90.1 mph and the slider he’s had for years (but now he’s throwing a few miles per hour slower, in the low 80s).
As for Perez, he is a 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic who is in just his third professional season. He signed with LA as an 18-year-old in January of 2024 and made his league debut in the Dominican Summer League last year. Listed at 6’4″ and 168 pounds at the time of signing, Perez has just 23 innings under his belt. He posted a 5.48 ERA in last year’s DSL season, striking out more than 31% of his opponents but also posting an abysmal 12.6% walk rate. He’s a low-level lottery ticket who has been years away from being any kind of consideration at the MLB level — if he progresses to that level at all.
