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The Orioles will place catcher Matt Wieters on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Wieters hasn't played since July 9.
He'll be able to eligible to return from the DL on July 25.
The Orioles haven't announced a corresponding move but it's expected that they'll start Craig Tatum at catcher, use Jake Fox as his primary backup and then call up a position player. Third baseman Josh Bell is one of the top candidates.
A Baltimore native, Dan Connolly has been covering sports for 14 years, and baseball and the Orioles for 10 seasons, including the past six with The Sun. His first year covering baseball on a daily basis was Cal Ripken Jr.'s final season as a player. It's believed that is just a coincidence.
Steve Gould is an assistant sports editor for The Sun, overseeing Orioles coverage. The Columbia native joined The Sun as a sports copy editor in 2006 after graduating from the University of Maryland.
Peter Schmuck has been covering baseball for a lot longer than Steve Gould has been on this earth. He is now a general sports columnist, but has been a beat writer covering three major league teams (the Dodgers, Angels and Orioles) and also spent a decade as the Sun's national baseball writer. If you want more of his insight on the Orioles and other sports issues, check out his personal blog -- The Schmuck Stops Here.
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Comments
So can we assume given his eligible to return date that it's retroactive to July 10? And do you know if the team expects this to be a minor thing and for him to come back on the 25th? If they're sticking with Fox as the backup, it sounds like they're probably expecting it to be short-term; I have to assume that if it were a prolonged absence, they'd bring in an actual catcher to be the backup.
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Jeff Z's reply: Yes, at this point, they feel he'll be ready by July 25 or very close to it.
Posted by: Ben | July 15, 2010 5:05 PM
I guess eight strikeouts and zero walks in 15 big league at bats after 75 strikeouts and just 18 walks in 286 AAA at bats wasn't enough to show Andy that Bell isn't anywhere close to ready.
Somewhere, Jeff Salazar and Joel Guzman are very pissed off.
Posted by: not brooks | July 15, 2010 5:09 PM
I am not too concerned about this. I think Trembley was running Wieters pretty hard, and, Samuel acknowledged this and started giving him more frequent days off. As a result I think Wieters' bat started looking sharper. It's a shame because Wieters was starting to turn it around, and you thought he was primed for a hot streak. All that being said, this might be a blessing in disguise in being able to force him to get some extra rest.
Posted by: Eddie in NYC | July 15, 2010 5:12 PM
During the past 15 games he's appeared in, Wieters had reached base via hit or walk. Yep, he's warming up.
When he returns the roster might look completely different. Including the manager and coaching staff.
Posted by: James | July 15, 2010 6:18 PM
I agree with not brooks
Bell is a bust and should be released
300 ab's is more than enough for this joker
Posted by: smitty | July 15, 2010 6:56 PM
smitty,
Come on. You know nb wasn't saying he should be released. He was saying that he needs more time to develop at AAA, which he does. What good is it to bring him up and sit him on the bench when he needs reps? It's called "development" for a reason.
I don't know how you got it in your mind that nb is on par with wayne and jason. He's actually a reasonable guy.
Posted by: Chris in Hawaii | July 15, 2010 9:01 PM
Salazar & Guzman should be given shot but, with Pie,Kakes,Jones and on D.L Scott and Riemold what chance do they have to stay on club in future? Bell is being called up to get major league experince and getting his feat wet. Either way as soon as Wieters gets back Wiggy or Tejada is going to be traded.
Posted by: Ryan | July 15, 2010 10:03 PM
I agree with smitty.
Any and all criticism should be looked at as pure, unabashed pessimism.
Far be it from anyone to question the organization on the promotion of a player who clearly needs more time to figure things out in the minors.
Posted by: not brooks | July 16, 2010 11:13 AM
Calm down with the negative comments about Bell, what determines if a player is ready for the big leagues? All of u thought wieters was ready but he is hitting below .250 relax we need Bell did get big league experience right now this is a list season !
Posted by: Jacob | July 16, 2010 2:06 PM