Orioles sign Shed Long Jr. to minor-league deal

The Baltimore Orioles signed utility player Shed Long Jr. to a minor-league contract, general manager Mike Elias confirmed Friday, according to Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com.

Long spent the past three seasons with the Seattle Mariners after they acquired him from the New York Yankees in a 2019 trade. Seattle outrighted the 26-year-old to Triple-A in October, although he opted for free agency instead of accepting his minor-league assignment.

The Alabama native struggled the past two seasons with the Mariners after a successful 2019 stint with the club where he posted a .787 OPS with five homers, 12 doubles, and three steals in 42 games.

Long played through a stress fracture in his shin during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, undergoing surgery after each campaign to fix the issue, his agent, Nate Heisler, said in October. He's expected to be 100% healthy ahead of spring training.