O’s Promote Wilson, Say Goodbye to Delmon Young

The Orioles, with a short bullpen thanks to two straight days of starter ineffectiveness, made a move to add a reliever today, promoting Tyler Wilson from Norfolk.

To make room for Wilson, the O’s have DFA’d Delmon Young, though Dan Duquette says they are trying to work out a trade, per Roch Kubatko.

Thus likely ends the Orioles tenure of Young, who will be most remembered for his pinch hitting prowess in 2014, which culminated in his ALDS Game 2 bases-clearing double. For all his faults, the fact remains that Orioles fans will forever – FOREVER – get a chill down our spines when we hear the name Delmon Young.

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I happened to be in the car during the lunch hour to hear Buck Showalter on the team’s flagship station, 105.7 the Fan, chatting with Rob Long. Buck said during that interview that the team was possibly about to get rid of someone “who will break your heart.”

I tweeted that quote, and set off a bunch of speculation (oops) about who it may be, with guesses ranging from Young to Steve Pearce or Nolan Reimold to Wayne Kirby or even Manny Machado being traded.

Obviously, some of those were tongue-in-cheek, but the Birdland Twitterverse was abuzz, especially once Roch Kubatko tweeted that Wilson had been scratched from his scheduled Norfolk start, with a corresponding move to come.

The Birds signed Young this offseason for $2.25 million, and while he played an adequate – yet adventurous – outfield when called upon, even racking up a bunch of assists, his bat just didn’t justify keeping him around this year. He has just two home runs in 180 PA, and his .628 OPS is the lowest of his career.