Baltimore Picks-Up Contract From Triple-A

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – As Major League Baseball opens the 2015 season, former Yale baseball player Ryan Lavarnway has earned himself a spot on the 25-man active roster of the Baltimore Orioles, when the club chose his contract from Triple-A Norfolk on Monday morning.

It was announced by the Orioles on Monday that the team decided to pick-up Lavarnway's contract to round-out the active roster just before Baltimore's opening game with the Rays in Tampa, Fla.

Lavarnway, who was claimed off waivers by the Orioles on Dec. 23, 2014, joins a young, talented team that reached the American League Championship Series just last season under manager Buck Showalter.

The 27-year old catcher will be expected to help fill-in for the absence of Baltimore's injured starter, Matt Wieters, who is a three-time All-Star. The inclusion of Lavarnway on the roster adds depth to the catching position for Baltimore, as the Orioles are currently carrying three catchers.

Lavarnway played in the Boston Red Sox organization for seven seasons, prior to the recent offseason that saw him move from the Dodgers to the Cubs and then the Orioles. During his tenure in Boston, Lavarnway was on the 40-man roster during the 2013 World Series championship run by the Red Sox.

In 97 career appearances for Boston, the former Bulldog recorded a .201 batting average from 2011 to 2014 in 279 at-bats. Lavarnway had five home runs and 34 RBI in that time, including 17 doubles.

He was drafted out of Yale in the 2008 amateur draft by the Red Sox in the sixth round, the same year he led the Ivy League in home runs (13), RBI (42), walks (29), slugging percentage (.824) and on-base percentage (.541).

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity