The Orioles have showed faith in Nolan Reimold throughout his career and in 2013 it is finally time for Reimold to reward the organization that drafted him in the second round in the 2005 draft.
Reimold will tell you that he is not injury prone.
Evidence suggests otherwise.
He has failed to finish two of his four years in the majors due to season ending Achilles and neck surgeries. In the minors, he fought an oblique, foot, and a back injury that limited his games played.
Even when he is not physically injured, personal issues seemed to distract him from his on field performance.
All of this has led to an up-and-down career for a guy who has yet to establish himself as an everyday major leaguer at the age of 29, which happens to be older than Nick Markakis (by a month), Adam Jones, and Matt Wieters, all of whom have become consistent performers for the organization the last few years.
Here is what we do now about Reimold, which is why the Orioles have not given up on him: he can flat out hit.
In the minors, Reimold averaged a homerun every 20.9 at bats. In comparison, slugger Ryan Howard averaged a home run every 16.7 at bats. That is not much separation from Reimold and a former NL MVP as they moved up through the minor league system.
Moving on to the majors, Reimold has not only showed great plate discipline, but his ability to hit the home run translated to the bigs. He has averaged a homerun every 22.4 at bats. If that is prorated for an entire season and roughly 550 at bats, Reimold would end up with 24-25 homeruns in a season. That would be great production for a guy that could hit anywhere in the lineup and draw walks along with hitting for a solid average.
That is why the Orioles have been so reluctant to give up on him and listened to Brady Anderson a couple of years ago when a trade was imminent with the Tampa Bay Rays. Reimold can provide that extra presence in a lineup that was exposed last October.
However, eventually “can” has to turn into “does” and right now Reimold has struggled to make that happen.
Even this spring, Reimold has dealt with a shoulder injury. It doesn’t appear to be anything that will hinder him throughout the season, but it is just another issue that has become all too familiar for a player that has been held back numerous times throughout his career. The shoulder injury, along with his return from neck surgery, and the Orioles making sure they have Reimold for the entire season, will probably lead him to being the everyday DH with Nate McLouth handling the majority of the left field duties. The team needs his bat, and if that means being overly cautious with him, then so be it.
The Orioles are banking on Reimold to provide what Mark Reynolds, Jim Thome, and Wilson Betemit could not; the combination of plate discipline, average, and the ability to hit the home run.
The Orioles know Reimold can do it, and it is finally time for Reimold to reward the only organization he has ever known over the course of an entire season.
