O's acquire pitcher Katz from White Sox
BALTIMORE -- The Orioles acquired left-handed pitcher Alex Katz from the White Sox on Saturday afternoon in exchange for international signing bonus slots Nos. 45 and 75.
Katz has posted a 3.09 ERA -- allowing 35 ER over 102 innings with 114 strikeouts -- over 62 career Minor League games. He will be assigned to Class A Advanced Frederick.
"Katz has got a good curveball and we got good scouting reports on him from the [World Baseball Classic]," Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said of Katz, who played for Team Israel. "[He's] got a good fastball and an excellent strikeout record -- and our guys like him and think he can be a good Major League reliever."
Several of the Orioles' late-spring or in-season pitching-depth signings have made their way to Baltimore already this season -- including Richard Bleier, Miguel Castro and Alec Asher, who are all currently in the team's 'pen.
Katz, 22, was the White Sox 27th-round pick in the 2015 Draft. He posted a 3.27 ERA last season between Class A Kannapolis and High Class A Winston-Salem.