Oriole #982- Jimmy Paredes

There have been a handful of Orioles debuts, probably the last round for the 2014 season, this past week. I will cover them over the coming days, and hope to remain somewhat timely with my writing. But who ever really knows? I'm obviously pretty unpredictable.

I haven't had the chance to do much autographing at all during this season and I only got a single autograph at Wednesday's Orioles game, but it thankfully filled a hole in my collection as Jimmy Paredes signed and personalized this freshly minted old man card. (I'm not sure but it might say Ryaa, but it's close enough for me and still much preferred to any form of Brian/Bryan.) My dad had just given me this card as we walked into the game around 6:30 and it was signed by 7 which was the quickest turnaround that I think I've ever done with one of his awesome cards!

Jimmy is actually in his second stint with the Orioles system in 2014, as he was a "member" of the organization for just two days back in mid-February. In fact, he rode the waiver carousel for much of the offseason, being selected by the Marlins from the Astros on November 4th, the O's got him from the Marlins on February 15th, then the Royals plucked him from the O's on February 17th, and the Orioles finally got their guy back from KC on July 24th. He spent most of the following month with the AAA Tides, before being recalled to Baltimore on August 28th and appearing in his first game the following day. He is the 982nd player to appear in a game for the O's and has appeared in five games, all at third base, since his debut.

There have been times where he has really flashed the leather but he also has already made two errors. He has been strong at the plate so far, hitting .333 with a HR and 4 RBI over 18 ABs. Over his career he has struck out way too often but has only whiffed once thus far for the O's.

Jimmy has been around the MLB block as he made his debut with the Astros back in 2011 and appeared in 118 games for the team between '11-13. He made it into 9 games for the Royals this season before the Orioles re-acquired him, so Baltimore is his third big league squad. And for the record, he has struck out in about 30% of his MLB ABs to date.

With Manny Machado's season ending injury, I would guess that Paredes might have a chance to make a postseason roster as a late inning defensive replacement, as long as he can clean up his fielding game over the next month. The O's obviously see something they like with him since they have brought him into the season twice this year so who knows what the future may hold.

Thanks for signing my card, Jimmy!