Rob Long: Reimold's Days Are Numbered - It Had To Be Done
On Tuesday, the Baltimore Orioles reinstated outfielder Nolan Reimold from the 60-day disabled list and designated him for assignment.
Now, the club has 10 days to trade, release or waive Reimold. I'm not expecting Reimold to pass through waivers, and neither does Orioles insider Roch Kubatko. If he does he would have to accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.
There's no question whether or not the Orioles made the right decision. With the way Steve Pearce and Delmon Young are producing, it's tough to find any place to put Reimold at this time. The O's are hoping Pearce has finally become the player who once hit .333 with 31 homers while driving in 113 runs in the minors. If he can remotely resemble that guy, and lately he has, the Orioles would have found a gem.
Buck Showalter has had problems finding enough at bats for Delmon Young who's hitting .327 in 114 plate appearances. With Nelson Cruz being tied for the league lead in home runs and Pearce being one of the hottest hitters on the planet, where do you play Young?
The only other question I have pertains to the long term. What if Pearce is just extremely hot right now and can't sustain success? What if Delmon Young moves on when he becomes a free agent? What are the O's left with then in the left field/DH category? I can't help but to look at the success of Alfredo Simon and Jake Arrieta and wonder what could have been.
I look at Nolan Reimold and the success he had when he was healthy and I see a very good baseball player. True, he could not stay healthy, but what if he is from this point on. If so, you could have a very productive player in your organization. It's a gamble either way. Let's hope the Orioles win with this decision.
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