A day without an Orioles roster move is like a day without sunshine.
Second baseman Brian Roberts was activated from the 60-day disabled list yesterday, with Steve Tolleson being optioned to Triple-A Norfolk and Nolan Reimold being transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
That's three in one press release.
Endy Chavez limped off the field last night after straining his right hamstring. Brian Matusz avoided the DL, but Chavez could be headed to it.
Hamstring strains don't usually go away overnight. They're a day-to-day injury that tends to drag along until a manager no longer can stomach a short bench.
If Chavez is shelved, who takes his place?
Tolleson could be brought back from Norfolk before the minimum 10 days. He's got outfield experience and he's one of manager Buck Showalter's favorites. He's a good guess if you're tossing out names.
I floated the idea last night that Miguel Gonzalez could be recalled, also short of the 10-day requirement, and start tonight's game against the Pirates, but the Orioles would be down to three bench players.
Outfielder Lew Ford went 3-for-5 with two RBIs last night with Norfolk and is batting .396 with 17 RBIs, but he's not on the 40-man roster. Neither is Nate McLouth, who's batting .267 and probably would like a shot at the Pirates tonight.
Xavier Avery's on the 40-man and he made an immediate splash with the Orioles before cooling off, but he's batting .184 in his last 10 games with Norfolk and is currently 2-for-17.
Not exactly a hot hand, but he's an easy roster move and provides speed as an extra outfielder.
Maybe we'll find out later today, unless the Orioles choose to go the day-to-day route with Chavez.
By the way, Norfolk committed six errors last night, including two by outfielder Jai Miller. Three of the five runs off Jason Berken were unearned over four innings. Zach Phillips was tagged with two unearned runs out of three allowed in 1 2/3 innings, along with his fourth blown save and the loss.
Back in Baltimore, the top four hitters in the Orioles' lineup last night went a combined 11-for-19 with a double, two home runs and six RBIs. If I'm Showalter, I'm going with Brian Roberts, J.J. Hardy, Chris Davis and Adam Jones again tonight. No sense tampering with it.
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