More on Orioles' roster expansion; news on Moore, Avery
By now, you probably know that the Orioles will announce today the promotions of outfielder Nolan Reimold and infielders Brandon Snyder and Robert Andino. Reimold and Snyder are already on the 40-man roster, but the Orioles will have to designate a player for assignment to make room for Andino. That won’t be too hard. There are several players – pitchers Frank Mata and Armando Gabino, infielder Rhyne Hughes and outfielder Lou Montanez to name a few – who aren’t expected to get call-ups and might not factor in the team’s plans going forward.
The Orioles will then add three or four pitchers in the days ahead, but the exact timing of the next wave of promotions hasn’t been decided. Right-hander Chris Tillman, who throw 6 2/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Norfolk last night, will come up and start for the Orioles as the club goes to a six-man rotation for a good part of September. However, manager Buck Showalter and pitching coach Rick Kranitz still have to decide whether Tillman will make his next scheduled start for the Tides on Sunday in their second-to-last game of the season or immediately come up to the big leagues.
With how well the rotation is going, there could be a sense of "what’s the rush?" However, team officials are looking at the number of innings that have already been logged by rookies Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz this year and know adding Tillman into the mix will ease their workload a bit.
Another pitcher who will rejoin the club is reliever David Hernandez, who is on the disabled list with a left ankle sprain. Hernandez is scheduled to throw a live batting practice session in Sarasota, Fla., today, and how quickly he's activated will depend how he looks in today's session.
After Tillman and Hernandez, the Orioles will probably add one other pitcher, though they haven’t ruled out promoting two. With Michael Gonzalez pitching mostly in the eighth inning, the Orioles are leaning heavily toward bringing up a left-hander who could be used earlier in the game in matchup situations. The three guys who immediately come to mind are Troy Patton, Alberto Castillo and Pedro Viola.
It’s still not impossible that a guy like Dennis Sarfate gets another look, but with the length the Orioles are getting from their starters, Showalter is having a hard enough time getting guys in the current bullpen enough work to keep them sharp. That’s obviously a good problem to have. So look for them to add Hernandez and a lefty and then see whether the run of good starting pitching continues before deciding whether another reliever is needed.
We’ll know more later about how Showalter plans to mix in guys like Reimold and Snyder, especially with the team playing so well. However, I expect these guys to get some opportunities to show what they can do, and this month could be especially pivotal to a player like Reimold, who has had a nightmare season.
A couple of other things: Infielder Scott Moore got some consideration for a promotion. However, Moore hasn’t played since Aug. 24 and he’s dealing with pneumothorax, which is basically a partial collapse of the lung. Moore is recovering nicely and is expected to resume baseball activities today. However, it’s unlikely that he’ll join the Orioles before season’s end.
Outfield prospect Xavier Avery, who is currently at Double-A Bowie, remains the top candidate to join the Orioles’ contingent headed to the Arizona Fall League. That hasn’t been finalized, but Avery is at the top of the list.
A Baltimore native, 
Comments
Hey Jeff;
I would like to see Guzman, Adams (look at those extra base hits), Andino seems lazy on throws.Mahoney hits leftys perhaps the AZ league for him. Tyler Townsend also has a sweet swing for the future.
Pitching Sarfate?
Posted by: joe | September 1, 2010 12:31 PM
Any thoughts to recalling Matt Angle?
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Jeff Z's reply: Not that I've heard. With Markakis, Jones, Pie, Patterson, Luke Scott and now Reimold, I think the Orioles feel that they are more than set in the outfield for the final month.
Posted by: Harry | September 1, 2010 12:36 PM
Hey Jeff,
A few things.
Can you give an update to Alfredo Simon's long term future with the O's?
Also, I see Jeff Francoeur was traded to the Rangers. How did that happen without anyone trying to stop it including the O’s?
I want to bury the hatchet with McPhail, but not trading some of our veteran players is inexcusable and unwise. I appreciate the fact we are winning and Showalter is nothing short of a miracle worker. But we have way too many spare parts and utility players on this team.
Lastly, Avery is a good ball player, not sure if he’s as good as AJ. But a good prospect nonetheless.
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Jeff Z's reply: It appears that Simon has hit a wall a little here and that's understandable being that he still isn't much removed from TJ surgery. I think it's no accident that the Orioles haven't used him since Chicago series. However, the organization does like his arm and I think he'll come to spring training with a chance to win a setup role in the pen. As for Francoeur, I don't share the same feelings as you do. Barely a .300 career on-base pct. Obviously a lot of teams think he has regressed severely for him to clear waivers. I don't watch him regularly, but that can be kind of telling. As for Avery, the organization is extremely high on him. Joe Mahoney may wind up winning the minor league position player of the year award, but Avery is absolutely in the discussion.
Posted by: Dan W | September 1, 2010 1:07 PM
Jeff, what to do with a guy like Guzman? He's got AAA experience and hit 31 HRs at AA. Seems to me he has little to prove in the minors, could he be a candidate to be promoted for the stretch run? Where do they see him going forward?
Thanks.
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Jeff Z's reply: I think they see him mostly for what he is Ken, a soon-to-be 26-year-old doing well against Double-A pitching. He's had a good year, but they don't see him as a "nugget" going forward.
Posted by: ken | September 1, 2010 1:16 PM
Has there been any talk of trying Matt Angle at second base? He appears to have a lot of tools needed to be a lead off hitter, but no chance in the O's outfield.
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Jeff Z's reply: His best tools are his outfield defense and speed. So I think moving his position would take that away.
Posted by: Butch | September 1, 2010 2:40 PM
Guzman is a beast.
Posted by: herb | September 1, 2010 2:55 PM
It's hard to argue with the results, but I've noticed that Matusz's velocity has been pretty much averaging in the high 80s and maybe (maybe) topping out at 93ish. So maybe with additional day of rest will do him some good there.
We have to remember that all of these young guys have never pitched this much before. And, the conventional wisdom is that any such health issues (if they happen) are usually felt the year after the heavy load is incurred.
Posted by: Eddie in NYC | September 1, 2010 3:16 PM
Reimold should stay focused on 1st base. We know what he can do in the outfield, maybe he can become a good answer at 1st.
I really think he came back too early from last years injury.
Posted by: Bo n Crabs | September 1, 2010 4:54 PM
Jeff,
If the Orioles start a 6 man rotation on Sunday then each of the current starters would only have to start 4 more games from that point and perhaps Showalter would not have to shut down any starter down before the season ends. I think both Matusz and Arieta have both passed their previous highs for innings pitched.
Posted by: Cecil | September 1, 2010 5:17 PM
Jeff, one question: will these guys be eligible for post season play?
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Jeff Z's reply: I think you are out of luck there.
Posted by: robertl | September 1, 2010 8:59 PM
I think reimolds worst problem was he should not have began playing until he was healthy.. IF he had taken 6-8 weeks before playing his whole season might have been different.. Any chance angle could be the AFL guy istead of avery??? WHO in your opinion is the next top starting prospect after Britton ?? WHAT do you see for Mahoney a possible callup or AFL ???? I have really liked trent mummey from this years draft..
Posted by: grant | September 1, 2010 9:55 PM