Andrew Stetka: Return of Schoop could provide O's with a boost

The Orioles that is plugging along and moving up the standings in the American League East, but also seem to be getting healthy. Yesterday's return of Adam Jones to the lineup provided the O's with a sense of relief after he missed just over a week with a shoulder ailment. Matt Wieters has returned from Tommy John surgery, and though he isn't playing every day, he's still providing a boost to the batting order and behind the plate. J.J. Hardy, Ryan Flaherty, David Lough, Miguel Gonzalez and Bud Norris have all spent time on the disabled list and since returned to contribute. The O's are still missing Wesley Wright and Jason Garcia, but it's quite a mystery as to how much either player was expected to contribute this season.

The last real puzzle piece to put in place for the Orioles, aside from those two injured relievers, could be Jonathan Schoop. The second baseman could be set to return from the disabled list as early as this week. Schoop seemed poised for a breakout season before going down in April with a sprained knee. His return to the roster could finally allow the Orioles to play with a full, healthy team. That's something they haven't been able to do all season.

I remain somewhat skeptical about the sudden return of Schoop, though he's reportedly looked healthy in rehab games. He could face a few more of those this week at Triple-A Norfolk, but returning this quickly from a PCL injury has me scratching my head. The O's have taken a fairly cautious approach with injuries in the past. Wieters was slowly worked back from surgery and Gonzalez was quickly placed on the DL at the slightest sign of his groin injury. The team's best player, Jones, has been held out as a precaution over the last week or so with his shoulder injury. With Schoop, perhaps it's just a case of a young player having the ability to heal faster than most. The 23-year-old second baseman hasn't particularly been missed while out with his injury, but the Orioles would definitely rather have him playing every day than sticking Flaherty out there. If you remember, things even got so desperate when Flaherty was hurt that Steve Pearce was playing the position.

With Schoop's return, the Orioles will have to make room. It causes a problem only because there aren't a ton of movable parts on the roster. The team has lots of depth, but not enough spots. The same will need to be done on Thursday when the O's need a starting pitcher, likely to be Kevin Gausman. He's a whole different topic that creates a whole new roster crunch. When it comes to Schoop, it appears the most likely move would be to remove an outfielder from the roster. The Orioles have eight players who have the ability to play the outfield with at least some regularity, and that includes Chris Davis, who has seen time in right field this weekend.

There's also the simple fact that the Orioles aren't likely to stay with a six-man bullpen for much longer, even though that's where they stand right now. They'll want to add someone to that mix, and it could very well be Gausman after he makes a start this week, which will be needed due to Sunday's doubleheader. Right now, Delmon Young, Travis Snider, Nolan Reimold, Chris Parmelee, David Lough and Steve Pearce all appear vulnerable in a roster crunch. Even though Jimmy Paredes lacks a real ability to play a position, I wouldn't include him on that list only because of how hot he's been at the plate. Perhaps an injury takes place this week that makes the roster move much simpler for the team. If it doesn't, someone could be on the way out.

Regardless of what happens, whenever Schoop is ready to return to Baltimore, the O's will welcome him with open arms. While it's been a shame to see him out for a large portion of the season so far, the Birds have been able to tread water and recently thrive in his absence. Having him back on board can only help. It just might give the team a nice little boost to hang on to the top perch of the AL East as the All-Star break approaches.

Andrew Stetka blogs about the Orioles for Eutaw Street Report. Follow him on Twitter: @AStetka. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.