Orioles claim slugger Walker off waivers

Adam Walker's stint with the Brewers was a brief one.

The Orioles claimed the slugging outfielder on waivers Friday, two weeks after the Brewers plucked him from the Twins.

Walker, who turned 25 in October, finished second in the International League with 27 homers for Triple-A Rochester this year. He posted a .243/.305/.479 slash line with 75 RBIs in 132 games but also struck out a Minor League-leading 202 times in 531 plate appearances.

"I'm just trying to have quality at-bats. If a pitcher makes a pitch, strikeouts happen. And they happen a little bit more me with me. But if I'm swinging at quality strikes, I can handle that," Walker said in June.

"I'm not trying to change who I am just to put the ball in play. But sometimes I've been trying to do too much, trying to hit a ball 600 feet when what I should do is try to put the barrel on it. If I barrel a pitch up, usually good stuff happens."

Selected by the Twins in the third round of the 2012 Draft, Walker was a mid- and postseason All-Star each year from 2013-15. He was named 2013 Topps Midwest League Player of the Year after hitting .278 with 27 homers and 109 RBIs for Class A Cedar Rapids, then slugged a career-best 31 homers while batting .239 for Double-A Chattanooga in 2015.

"Adam Walker has excellent power and good ability to drive in runs," Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette told masnsports.com. "We look forward to him helping our team."