Montanez expected to undergo surgery
Outfielder Lou Montanez underwent an MRI yesterday that revealed two torn ligaments in his right thumb, an injury he sustained on May 2 while making a diving catch in Toronto.
Montanez consulted with a hand specialist in Baltimore earlier today, and he's expected to undergo surgery to reattached the ligaments. He's available to pinch-hit, since he's already been playing through the pain. He pinch-ran for Melvin Mora last night.
The thumb swelled again recently after Montanez was jammed by a pitch, forcing him out of the lineup. With Nolan Reimold's arrival, Montanez has spent additional time on the bench.
X-rays taken after the catch didn't reveal any damage to the thumb, but the MRI brought bad news.
The surgery likely would sideline Montanez for six-to-eight weeks. He'd need to go on an injury rehab assignment before being activated.
The Orioles could wait until Luke Scott is eligible to come off the disabled list on Tuesday to place Montanez on the disabled list, rather than making two roster moves.
Montanez is batting .204 with one homer and six RBIs in 18 games since being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Roch,
With this injury news, does that pretty much mean Pie stays--even after Scott comes back?
Jim
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Pretty much looks that way. - Roch
Makes the Reimold decision easier when Luke comes back. Wiggy better get hot if he's going to keep getting some at bats at DH though because Nolan will be out in Left.
I've been questioning his health for 10 days here. He should have been DLed along with Luke Scott.
It's a real shame for Lou.
Certainly makes it easy to determine who the 4th outfielder is. Let's hope Pie can relax and continue to contribute in that role.
Terrible news for Lou. Probably good news for Pie, but, still....
Tough break for Lou. His career seems full of them.
From a team standpoint, it makes our roster move an easy one. And anyway Pie's natural position is 4th outfielder, so you could argue the stars are aligning for him.
Wow, saying things usually work themselves out is an understatement! Good luck Montanez!
Roch, with the whole question of whether or not the Pie experiment is still going on, do you expect that now Reimold is here to stay and that left field is his to lose at this point. Or do you think the club is still going to give Pie an extended look in left and send Reimold back down?
Thanks
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I don't think Reimold's going anywhere. - Roch
Roch,
Wow. Well, I guess that settles that. Reimold is staying. So he'll probably be the main starter in LF and Pie is our backup OF.
Though I think Pie's days are eventually numbered. Outside of some unforeseen circumstance Pie won't be getting enough ABs to build up value or consistency. Either way he's likely going to be dealt for little, released, or picked up off waivers unless he has a hot streak of hitting and stealing bases, but that will have to be a helluva streak to warrant taking ABs away from Reimold.
I can understand them not wanting to DL him even though the short bench. They don't have another OF on the 40 man.Even if Pie stays and it looks that way,he doesn't give you much off the bench.I think Christian would be a better 4th OF,at least he can hit some.The thing is Luke still hasn't hit BP,I don't think,will he even be ready to come off the DL?
Bad news for Lou,poor guy finally got a chance and a diving catch on a stupid playing surface did him in.
Really sorry to hear this. I hope he makes it back here later this year. Get well soon Lou.
Here is to a quality person and a great hitter....
Good Luck on your recovery!
A pure hitter in all essence. The bad part of this whole thing is Pie stays on a ML roster.
How about Montanez work on his corner infield defense when he rehabs and even Norfolk. It'll be tough to find him regular AB upon his return. I'd love to see him become a super-utility guy for us. He used to play SS. I'm sure he could learn first or third.
Hey Basemonkey,
I'm guessing you're also basemonkey on Peter Schmuck's blog. You brought up an interesting point over there about seeing a #3 starter as someone who consistently gets into the 6th inning giving up just 3-4 runs (if I recall correctly). That was intriguing--I hadn't ever assigned empirical expectations for each starter according to their order in the rotation. Pretty cool, thanks.
How would you (or other folks on this blog) name empirical performance expectations for the #1, #2, etc.?
I'd really like to know, thanks!
What do you think the chances of this being our lineup next year?
Roberts -2b
Jones - CF
Markakis - RF
Weiters - C
Reimold - LF
Scott/Montanez - DH Platoon
Mora - 3B (pick up the 2010 option)
Snyder - 1B
Ituriz - SS
I think I could deal with that with the possibility of upgrades at 3B or SS in the offseason or maybe through a trade this year. Lots of speed and lots of power. Now pray the pitchers pan out.
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I'm not so sure the Orioles pick up Mora's option, or that they'll start the season with Snyder at first. Possible, but those are the two big questions. - Roch
Well pretty soon they'll replace Eaton and Weiters will be up,so there shouldn't be that much left to complain about. The bullpen still has a couple holes but are showing signs of improvement.
It always seemed odd that a "jammed thumb" (for once an athletic injury that we mere mortals can identify with} would essentially sideline Montanez for weeks and that this would be perfectly okay with the team. I was wondering if they had ever even x-rayed the thing; apparently, they hadn't. You'd think that a team owned by a PI lawyer would think of things like that.
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The entry I filed includes mention of the X-ray not revealing any damage. The MRI showed the torn ligaments. That makes me wonder why teams even bother with X-rays. It's always the MRI that solves the mystery. - Roch