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Why Fans Should Be Concerned About Brady Anderson as Baltimore Orioles GM

By Jonathan French

2 Mar 1998: Outfielder Brady Anderson of the Baltimore Orioles in action during a spring training game against the Montreal Expos at the Fort Lauderdale Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Orioles defeated the Expos 11-9. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Squ
2 Mar 1998: Outfielder Brady Anderson of the Baltimore Orioles in action during a spring training game against the Montreal Expos at the Fort Lauderdale Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Orioles defeated the Expos 11-9. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Squ /
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2. Nolan Reimold, OF

Another Orioles player who Brady Anderson strongly advocated for is Nolan Reimold.  MASNSports’ Roch Kubatko interviewed Anderson about Reimold in 2010 as he was also working out with him in California that offseason:

"“I can tell you that he’s strong and he’s healthy,” Anderson said. “He sprinted at 100 percent and the Achilles isn’t bothering him. He’s motivated to do well. And the compelling thing is, it’s pretty well known that the Rays have a well-rounded organization and great scouting, and the fact that they want him should tell you a lot.”"

At that point, Reimold was coming off a career-worst season with a .610 OPS and had suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. The Orioles were debating to trade him to the Rays for shortstop Jason Bartlett and wound up keeping him and trading for J.J. Hardy instead.

Reimold did rebound to a .781 OPS in 2011 but only had a .247 AVG and was below average in the field with -2 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). He doubled in the tying run and scored the winning run in Game 162 against the Red Sox, however, so there’s that.

In 2012 Reimold also started off well in his first 16 games but was plagued by injuries again with a herniated disc in his back that required season-ending surgery. In 2013 he only managed to play in 40 games and could only manage a .195 AVG with a  .586 OPS, and he had to undergo surgery for the same disc issue.

Still, the team tendered him a contract for $1.025 million than 2013-2014 offseason, but finally wound up waiving him in July 2014 and he was picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays and finished his season with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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That wasn’t the end of Reimold and the Orioles, however. The team would sign him once again as a free agent to a minor league deal with a spring training invitation before the 2015 season, and was tendered a contract again before 2016 and avoided arbitration with a $1.3 million deal.

In 2016 he tied a career high with 104 games played but only managed a .222 AVG with a .664 OPS and had  -1 DRS in the outfield. Like 2011 however, he had a crucial moment in Orioles history. Reimold entered the 2016 AL Wild Card game with the score tied, pinch-hitting and striking out for Hyun Soo Kim against Francisco Liriano to end the top half of the 11th.

Next, Reimold stayed in the game for the bottom of the inning, in spite of better fielders being on the bench. After he misplayed a ball in left field, which put the winning run on third base and more pressure on starter-turned-reliever Ubaldo Jimenez. Up next was Edwin Encarnacion and Orioles fans all know how that one ended.

Finally that offseason of 2016-2017, Reimold left as a free agent and has yet to return. Again, seeing the fierce advocacy shown for Reimold in 2010, there shouldn’t be a doubt that Brady Anderson played some role in Reimold’s long tenure with the Orioles.

With advocacy for players like Wright and Reimold, the pattern is clear, and Rosenthal stated it pretty plainly along with a quote from Buck Showalter why that pattern is troublesome for any prospective GM:

"Today, the players Anderson gravitates toward most are the players who remind him of his old self, players seemingly on the verge of losing their careers. Showalter said that his only problem with Anderson is that he, ‘tries to save ‘em all.’"

Tries to save them all?

That certainly doesn’t sound like somebody that can separate their personal feelings from the day to day operations of a baseball team.

Orioles fans can say what they want about Duquette’s personality, but he’s shown no real influence of player favoritism as the Orioles’ GM. To give a few examples, he’s traded tenured Orioles like Jeremy Guthrie and Jim Johnson and let others like Nick Markakis leave the team. This has allowed the Orioles to either improve with the trade itself or to free up resources to improve the team in other ways.

It is also quite refreshing after seeing somebody like former GM Andy MacPhail with his preference for former Cubs players like Steve Trachsel and Felix Pie. For example, MacPhail’s four-year extension of 31-year old Brian Roberts when the team had just traded Erik Bedard the offseason.

Brady Anderson, on the other hand, has played a role in wanting players to stay in spite of the poor resource allocation.

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