September Call-Ups

The first wave of Minor League call-ups should arrive in Baltimore today with Nolan Reimold, Robert Andino and Brandon Snyder joining the Orioles from the AAA Norfolk Tides.

Nolan is returning to Baltimore after he was sent to Norfolk following a slow start to the 2010 season with the O's.  His problems continued with the Tides for a month or so after he was demoted but he really heated up over the past couple months.

Reimold had a breakout 2009 season for the Birds after making his Major League debut on May 14.  He was a Rookie of the Year candidate before succumbing to an achilles problem late in the season.  Nolan is one of Kalina's favorite players so she's just a little excited that he will be back in town.

Andino was designated for assignment late in spring training to make room for Julio Lugo on the O's roster.  He cleared waivers and has had a great year in Norfolk with his bat (13 homers, 76 RBI) but not so much with his glove (31 errors).  Since he wasn't on the 40 man roster, a corresponding move has to be made, but I'll get to that later.

"Dino" was with the O's for the entire 2009 season and mainly provided middle infield depth.  He filled in for an injured Cesar Izturis and received regular playing time from late May through early July. 

This is Brandon's first big league call-up so when and if he makes it into a game, it will be his MLB & Orioles debut.  He was the Orioles 2005 1st round draft pick; he has risen steadily through the organization and played at every affiliate level over the past six seasons.  Over his time in the minors, he has had some great seasons to go along with a few disappointing campaigns.  His 2010 season at Norfolk had only been OK, .257 with 9 homers and 43 RBI, so I'm a little surprised that he got the call to come to Baltimore.  I guess it's about the time in his career where the O's front office needs to figure out if he has a future in the Big Leagues. 

Kalina and I saw him play many times in Frederick and Bowie, and the few times I got to speak to him he seemed like a nice guy.  I hope that things work out and we will be seeing him play in Baltimore for years to come.

With the good news, comes the bad.  Lou Montanez was designated for assignment to clear room on the 40 man roster.  Things just have never worked out for Lou with the Orioles.  It seems like every time he had an opportunity to get playing time, he would do really well, but then get hurt pretty quickly, or he'd already be hurt when a roster spot opened up. 

Lou appeared in between 26-38 games for the O's over each of the past three seasons, with his longest and most productive time coming in 2008.  That was also the season that he won the AA Eastern League Triple Crown with Baysox.  Good luck wherever you end up Lou!