The reeling Orioles shook up their catching alignment on Monday, optioning Chance Sisco to Triple-A Norfolk and selecting the contract of Austin Wynns. The transaction does not impact top prospect Adley Rutschman¡¯s timeline, but it does return Wynns, 30, to the big leagues for the first since time since 2019.

It also marks an important moment in the career of Sisco, who was drafted by the Orioles in the second round in 2013 and reached the Majors as a 22-year-old in 2017, hitting .199 with 16 home runs and a .658 OPS in 191 career games. Sisco also earned low marks for his defensive play, though he showed improvement in controlling the running game so far in 2021.

This season, Sisco was hitting .154 with zero home runs and a .431 OPS, having thrown out six of nine potential basestealers. He ranked as MLB¡¯s fourth-worst pitch framer by the Statcast metric Runs Extra Strikes; Orioles everyday catcher Pedro Severino ranks as the worst.

¡°He¡¯s becoming a better defensive catcher, but we need to get the bat going,¡± O¡¯s manager Brandon Hyde said. ¡°I¡¯d like to see him go down and get back to driving the baseball ¡­ I¡¯ve always loved his plate discipline and his ability to lay off pitches borderline and off, but he¡¯s got to start putting up some offensive numbers and get back to driving the ball from gap to gap. He needs to feel more comfortable offensively.¡±

Together, the two have made up one of baseball¡¯s least productive catching units this season, their collective -0.6 WAR per Fangraphs tied for the second lowest for any teams' backstops in 2021. The Orioles have received -1.8 fWAR from their catchers since the midway point of the 2020 season, the lowest of any catching group and second lowest from any position group on any team. Only the Texas Rangers' left fielders have been less productive in that stretch.

A career .239 hitter with five home runs in 70 big league games, Wynns was batting .333 with a 1.011 OPS in 15 games at Norfolk.

¡°I like Austin¡¯s intangibles,¡± Hyde said. "He¡¯s got great feel behind the plate -- does a great job with pitchers. He¡¯s a really good clubhouse guy and the ultimate team guy. I like the way he invests himself in getting pitchers through innings and helping guys on the mound. I want him to be who he¡¯s always been. Any kind of offense he gives is a bonus. Let¡¯s help out our pitching staff.¡±