O's add another reinforcement; Eloy optioned, Kimbrel released
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NEW YORK -- Yet another reinforcement has arrived for the Orioles.
On Tuesday, Baltimore reinstated first baseman Ryan Mountcastle from the 10-day injured list prior to its series opener at Yankee Stadium. The 27-year-old had been on the IL since Aug. 26 (retroactive to Aug. 23) due to a left wrist sprain sustained in an Aug. 22 game vs. Houston.
Mountcastle joins right-handed reliever Jacob Webb (Sept. 15), outfielder Heston Kjerstad (Sept. 15), top lefty reliever Danny Coulombe (Friday) and infielders Jordan Westburg (Sunday) and Ram¨®n Ur¨ªas (Sunday) as players who have returned for the O¡¯s over the past 10 days.
In order to make room for Mountcastle on the active 28-man roster, the Orioles optioned designated hitter Eloy Jiménez to Triple-A Norfolk. Because of his service time, the 27-year-old had the choice to reject the assignment, but he accepted it.
Jim¨¦nez was acquired by the O¡¯s on July 30 in a deal with the White Sox, one of several moves made by Baltimore shortly ahead of the Trade Deadline. The right-handed hitter got off to a strong start with the Orioles, hitting .296 (21-for-71) with five doubles, one home run and seven RBIs over 23 games in August.
However, September did not go nearly as well for Jim¨¦nez, who was 1-for-24 (.042) this month and was hitless over his past 18 plate appearances.
¡°I don¡¯t think the sporadic playing time helped him. You¡¯ve got a guy that was used to playing every day for the first four or five years of his career,¡± manager Brandon Hyde said. ¡°Tough to get his rhythm and timing kind of going after being hurt a lot the first half, also. ... We just felt like this was going to make our roster a little more versatile when we added all three of those guys [Mountcastle, Ur¨ªas, Westburg].¡±
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Mountcastle could provide an offensive boost for Baltimore. He slashed .265/.305/.425 with 29 doubles, 13 home runs and 61 RBIs in 118 games prior to his IL stint. However, he went 1-for-11 during his three-game rehab assignment with Norfolk.
¡°We¡¯re excited to have Mounty back,¡± Hyde said. ¡°Just adds another really good right-handed hitter for us, a guy that has got the ability to hit for power as well as a good hitter.¡±
The Orioles also announced Tuesday that they released right-hander Craig Kimbrel, who was designated for assignment last Wednesday. The 36-year-old struggled during his lone year in Baltimore, posting a 5.33 ERA over 57 appearances.
After making the flurry of roster moves, the O¡¯s had a chance to clinch a postseason berth later Tuesday night. They needed a win over the Yankees and a loss by either the Royals (at Washington) or the Twins (vs. Miami) to punch a ticket to October.