On the day of writing this article, left-handed pitcher John Means signed with the Cleveland Guardians on a one-year deal for 2025 and a club option for 2026. This ends his tenure in Baltimore, which was a long lasting one to say the least. Means was a light in what felt like an eternity of darkness during the Orioles rebuild under Mike Elias, a friendly face everyone knew and liked, a steady presence on weak baseball teams. Now, he marks as the last name that survived that rebuild. After beating Stage 3 Colon Cancer and having 1.5 solid seasons back in Baltimore, Trey Mancini was dealt to the Houston Astros during the 2022 trade deadline and helped them win a World Series. He's now in camp competing for a roster spot with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Austin Hays followed suit in 2024 by being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for reliever Seranthony Dominguez, which wound up being a good deal for Baltimore. Hays is now with Cincinnati after being non-tendered this offseason. And Anthony Santander became a free agent along with Means and signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for 92.5 million dollars across five years. Means now joins them all as players who saw the worst of Baltimore baseball and is in the majority as a guy who never truly enjoyed competitive baseball in Charm City (which we'll get into). In honor for all he did as an Oriole, let's reflect on his time with the O's
Means was drafted in the 11th round of the 2014 draft by Baltimore out of West Virginia University. He never ranked higher than the 29th best prospect in the Orioles system according to MLB Pipeline but was still a solid prospect throughout his MiLB career. His ERA was typically between 3.50-4.00, he piled on the inning totals as he typically threw about 140-160 innings, and he posted good enough strikeout numbers to keep up as a starter and had the fallback of being a solid multi-inning lefty reliever. His stuff was never electric, but he had the craftiness to lead him to success and had 50-55 grades on his tools across the board. His control always gave him a chance to never beat himself and the calling card has been the low-90s fastball and devastating changeup at the major league level. He made his major league debut on 9/26/2018 and got wracked by the Boston Red Sox as he gave up five runs on six hits in 3.1 innings while striking out four, and it was only up from there. In 2019 he made 27 starts in 31 games pitched and had a 3.60 ERA in 155 innings as well as punching out 121 hitters. That year he was the lone representative for Baltimore in the All-Star Game hosted in Cleveland (kind of funny to think about now) and finished second in rookie of the year voting only behind Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez. 2020 felt like a disappointment coming off of a great rookie campaign, with his 4.53 ERA in 43.2 innings, but 2020 was a wild and unconventional season that can be forgotten for many, and 2021 was much better. In 146.2 innings, he posted a 3.62 ERA across 26 starts with 134 strikeouts and tossed a no hitter on May 5th in Seattle against the Mariners, which was the peak of his career. So, with all that in mind, it felt like John Means was a consistent left hander who could log at least 25 starts a year with around a 3.50 ERA, right? Unfortunately, no, and it wasn't his fault. And his career would change.
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| LHP John Means celebrating after his no-hitter in Seattle. |
In 2022, he made two starts early in the year, throwing eight innings to a 3.38 ERA with seven strikeouts. Seemed like a normal season was in the early stages for Means. However, injuries came calling. On 4/22, he was placed on the 60-day injured list with a left elbow strain, and this injury required Tommy John Surgery, which was done in the same month. He missed the rest of the 2022 season and the fun, young, chaos loving Orioles squad that Adley Rutschman injected life into once he got rolling in the big leagues. The 83-win Orioles missed the playoffs by just three games, and you have to wonder if Means' presence would have been helpful alongside second half stars Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish as well as the durable "dad" of the rotation that year in Jordan Lyles. Fortunately, he made it back on 9/12/2023 to help with the late division crown push and had a 2.66 ERA in 23.2 innings. Means was left off the playoff roster that got swept by the World Series Champion Texas Rangers for what seemed like precautionary reasons and elbow soreness at the time. His spring training ramp up was also slow played for the same reasons, and he was eventually ruled out for opening day and landed on the 15-day injured list before the season started. Luckily, he was able to get back early in the year on 5/1/2024, and made another four starts with a 2.61 ERA in 20.2 innings before he got hurt once again on 5/23/2024. This time, he was placed on the 60-day injured list for UCL surgery, and he went back under the knife for the same operation he had just two years prior. That knife repaired his arm in June and ended his season and his Orioles career on a heartbreaking note as he was set to become a free agent in the offseason.
Which brings us to this point in the story. It truly makes you feel bad for the guy. Writing up this article made me reflect on what an awesome player he was to have in an Orioles uniform. From all the good memories as an all-star and his no-hitter to what he did in the Baltimore community was special in its own way. I remember getting a great photograph from the no-hitter, which is still in a frame on a shelf in my room, and a baseball in the Orioles team store at Camden Yards that commemorated the no-hitter, which is also on a shelf in my room, and I'll cherish those pieces of memorabilia forever. John Means was a reason to watch Orioles baseball when it sucked, and it also sucks he couldn't enjoy the times he helped get the Orioles to. It's very difficult to come back from two TJ surgeries, and realistically I hope he can become a solid reliever so he can stick around in baseball. He deserved so much better than what he got, and I wish the best for his future.
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