Baltimore Orioles: What Can Reimold Bring?

Feb 28, 2014; Port Charlotte, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter

(14) bats in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in a spring training exhibition game at Charlotte Sports Park. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

Nolan Reimold was re-signed by the Baltimore Orioles, the organization that drafted him, on Tuesday to a minor league contract with a Spring Training invite, a low-risk, potentially high reward move by the team.

Nolan Reimold. Some Oriole fans would say, when it comes to injury-prone in the dictionary, you should see a picture of Reimold.

But, that just isn’t fair. Reimold was injured diving into the stands for a foul ball in 2012. But, the year he was having up until that point was very similar to what Matt Wieters was doing last year before his injury.

Reimold was tearing the cover off the ball. Hitting .313 with 5 HRs and 10 RBIs in the first 16 games.

So, bringing him back makes all the sense in the world. This is a team that did not acquire the big name outfielder some wanted them to. They also did not bring in any of the lesser names, like Aoki or Rasmus.

But the Orioles now have a plethora of outfielders. And Spring Training will be an absolute battle. You have Adam Jones, a lock for the team. You have Alejandro De Aza and Steve Pearce, two likely locks, and Delmon Young, who may not play much outfield, but will make the team.

Then there is newly acquired Travis Snider, who it sounds like the O’s want to start in right field. Add to that David Lough, Reimold, Henry Urrutia, Dariel Alvarez and Alex Hassan, who is on the 40-man roster and it is downright crowded.

Buck has said repeatedly that Urrutia will get a long look this Spring Training. Alvarez will as well, although a little more seasoning will do him well.

But, back to Reimold. His injury that sidelined him most of 2012 was a neck surgery not overly different from what Peyton Manning had. You may remember, with Manning, there were concerns over whether everything would fuse and heal properly. For Manning it did, for Reimold it didn’t.

And he tried to play through it, because he desperately wanted to be an Oriole. And then, in 2013, he had to have surgery again. And that sidelined him for the beginning of 2014.

Sure, he has had other injuries, but most are related to that one injury. And while the odds are against him, a healthy Reimold has shown he is a major league player.

Fellow Wire writer Randy Buchman likes to say he helps drive the Reimold bus. Well, then that might make me the driver.

I won the team’s Nolan Reimold Sweepstakes back in 2010. May 26, 2010, I had on-field access and club-level access for four people, watched batting practice right beside Jim Palmer. I got autographs from numerous Orioles and from then manager Dave Trembley, who truly is a genuinely nice guy.  I had seats directly behind home plate.

Only thing was, Reimold was in AAA. The team had sent the struggling outfielder down.

And after that, no one has rooted harder for Reimold to be successful than I have.  I would love to see him make the team in 2015. Only time will tell, but I’m more than eager to drive the Reimold bus.