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Nolan Reimold could get lost on the Orioles. Most talk of the outfield centers around Nick Markakis in right or Adam Jones in center and when it comes to rookies on the club last year it was Matt Wieters catching all the headlines.

Oh but with a name like Nolan you know this has to be good. Last season as a rookie Reimold put together a pretty good run before having to undergo Achilles tendon surgery in September. On the year he finished with a .279/.365/.466 line along with 15 homers, 45 RBI and eight stolen bases in 358 at-bats.

Throw in another 150 at-bats or so and it’s easy to imagine the outfielder reaching 20-plus homers and double digit steals.

Through his climb though the minors Reimold showed a knack for drawling walks, hitting for good average and did himself some good by finding some power in his swing. As it stands now Reimold is the kind of player that fantasy players like to see, throw in a few more steals and he’ll be considered one of the better draft day picks this year.

Reimold says he’ll be ready for the start of the year and if that’s true watch out. The biggest obsticle for him to overcome may be where manager Dave Trembley opts to place him in the lineup. Last year he was hitting in the bottom half of the order. Below is a breakdown of his at-bats by spot in the order.

#2 – 46
#3 – 29
#4 – 15
#5 – 133
#6 – 48
#7 – 64
#8 – 19
#9 -4

His numbers were close no matter where he hit and despite the fact he hit .400 as the four hitter you have to note that was in 15 at-bats.  His 133 at-bats as the fifth place hitter was two times the amount he got as the seventh, and three times the amount he gathered at second and sixth.

The Orioles addition of Miguel Tejada may move Reimold down a spot as may the signing of Garret Atkins.

Brian Roberts will again lead off the club and Adam Jones who hit an eye popping .305/.362/.520 will bat second. Markakis shall continue to hit third and then things get a little dicey for the Orioles. Luke Scott played mostly in the sixth spot last year but that was because the Orioles had the under performing Aubrey Huff batting fourth and Melim Mora batting fifth most of the year ahead of him.

Will the Orioles move up Scott or give Tejada a better spot in the order since he’s a veteran? Will Atkins get similar treatment?

Here’s what I would roughly guess the Orioles lineup to be.

Roberts
Jones
Markakis
Scott
Tejada
Reimold
Atkins
Wieters
Isturis

Though this is the Orioles so I’m not sure I’d be surprised if Tejada some how came out of camp hitting third. I’d guess Wieters to hit eighth to keep the pressure off of him.

If the lineup above is correct Miguel Tejada and Garret Atkins would likely have the biggest impact on Reimold’s season. Tejada has shown that his on base percentage can change upwards of 30 points from one year to the next. Last season it was .340 which is what you’d have to guess the Orioles are expecting to get out of him this year. As for Atkins it’s unclear if he has anything left but considering the money the Orioles are paying him they will have to keep trotting him out much the same way they did with Aubrey Huff last year. If that turns out to be true Reimold will likely be pitched around a lot which will ultimately see his RBI and run totals down.

Last year based on 550 at-bats Reimold was on pace for 70 RBI and 75 runs scored. With some luck from the guys around him in the lineup should cross into the 20 homer, 75 RBI, 85 run category. Of course those numbers may be exceeded should he find his way up the lineup.

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Call it another one of them deals you knew would happen but didn’t think would take so long.

The Baltimore Orioles have signed Miguel Tejada with the intention of playing him at third base this year.

Garret Atkins will move across the diamond to first base.

Last season as the short stop in Houston he hit .313/.340/.455 with 46 doubles and 14 home runs.

Tejada, 35, was traded to Houston in December of 2007 a day before he was named in the Mitchell Report as a steroid user. The news wasn’t exactly surprising as former teammate Rafael Palmerio had said the two used to inject each other while on the Orioles.

There’s also the chance Tejada could see some playing time at shortstop but the O’s thus far seem alright with Cesar Izturis starting at the position.

The terms of the deal are unknown and while Tejada may be a polarizing figure based on his first stint with the O’s he does upgrade the offense. Ty Wiggington figures to now be used primarily as a corner infield replacement.

Make no mistake of it. This signing helps the Orioles continue to move in the right direction. You can only market the idea that the club is young for so long. It’s time the Orioles started to win some games and you need guys who can play baseball well to do that.

Baltimore won 64 games last year and 68 the year before. The last time they won more then 70 games came in 2007 when Tejada was still with the club.

Tejada can still hit, his defense at third may be a little shaky to start the year but the Orioles haven’t locked themselves into anything long term here. Tejada will get to play daily and the Orioles won’t be locked into anything long term at third like they were in previous years with Melvin Mora.

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While the names haven’t fallen in their column the last two winters you have to give the Baltimore Orioles credit for at-least making strong efforts to bring quality players to their organization.

Today the club announced they had finalized a deal for reliever Mike Gonzalez worth $12 million over the next two seasons. With incentives the deal could be worth as much as $14 million.

While he began the season as the Atlanta Braves closer he eventually settled into an eighth inning role for the club and finished with a 2.42 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 90/33 K/BB  while converting 10 of 17 save chances. The Orioles will hope Gonzalez is ready to take on their closers role for a full season.

The risk with Gonzalez is that least season was his first full season of work since 2006 and of course he’s coming off a season of a career high 80 appearances. Gonzalez underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2007 season.

Thus far this winter the Orioles have addressed a need at the top of their rotation and at the back end of their bullpen. Kevin Millwood being acquired from the Texas Rangers and now signing Gonzalez both add players who had fine 2009 seasons but could either regress significantly or even miss a large part of the season with injury.

I wondered for a bit if the Orioles were better off taking their lumps again in 2010 or if perhaps acquiring these players made the team better. Considering the club was a disappointing 64-98 last season and the seats are becoming emptier and emptier by the year the Orioles owe it to their fans to at-least try to put a contending club on the field again.

Obviously the club can’t financially compete with New York or Boston, but then again few can. Baltimore isn’t too bad off economically and with a decent core of players and some positive things happening in 2010 they could find themselves back to being a contender as early as 2011.Contrary to belief you can’t keep losing games and get better, the Orioles finishing in the 65-70 win range again this coming season does little to create confidence in the players or the coaches. Another coaching change isn’t the answer here.

Millwood and Gonzalez could push the teams win total to 70 alone if nothing changed from last season. The earlier signing of Garret Atkins should improve the production at third base and of course adding another season of big league experience to their core of young position players and with some help from the back end of the rotation, a full season out of Brian Bergesen and you have to start to think that the Orioles aren’t too bad of a team.

I could be making a bold statement here but I don’t see any reason even in the AL East that this Oriole team could reach for 78-to-82 wins this season. Avoiding a late season meltdown will likely be the difference in this club being over or under .500 on the year. They probably won’t have enough to keep the fans excited about a Wild Card chance this season but they should do their best to give the rest of the AL East fits.

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For a moment I have to wonder if Rich Harden had or has any interest in pitching in Baltimore? The reason I ask is the 28 year old right hander signed a contract with the Texas Rangers worth $6.5 million. Harden, who may be the most talented free agent pitcher on the market, has had a history of arm troubles but at $6.5 million would be worth the risk for most teams.Apparently there is another $3.5 million that Harden can earn in incentives.

Harden’s contract also includes an option for 2011 worth $11.5 million.

All this was made possible by the Rangers trade of Kevin Millwood to Baltimore.

Desperate for some type of stability at the top of the rotation the Orioles have been linked to all sorts of free agent options not named John Lackey. Then today the team agreed on a deal with the Texas Rangers in which Chris Ray leaves town in return for Kevin Millwood and $3 million. Millwood has a salary of $12 million in 2010, of which the Orioles will be responsible for $9 million.

After struggeling for most of 2007 and 2008, Millwood had a bounce back 2009 that saw him pitch 198.2 innings while posting a impressive 3.67 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.

Millwood who will be 35 by the start of spring training is in the final season of a 5 year $60 million contract he signed back in the winter of 2005.

The Rangers have floated around the thought that they’d trade Millwood this off-season but looking at their current options on the mound no one could truly believe that unless they got someone else to head up the staff.

Obviously the Rangers felt that negotiations with Harden were going well and with them being comfortable in him heading up their rotation they went ahead and dropped Millwood right in the lap of one of the teams desperately seeking a veteran starter.

Sure Harden’s injury concerns are pretty obvious but it’s not like Kevin Millwood doesn’t offer his own as well.

Chris Ray being involved in the trade doesn’t really change much for the Orioles. There was a 50/50 chance the team would non-tender him and even with his struggles to come back from Tommy John surgery he probably was in line to receive a raise from the $850,000 he made last season. The Orioles could just as well held on to him and saw if he returned to his 2007 form that saw him pick up 33 saves with a 2.73 ERA after all the club is still looking for an option at closer. The trade simply removes any decision on Ray by the Orioles.

It’d be interesting to ask the Orioles front office if they’d of preferred Harden over Millwood. Likely you’d publicly get the reaction that Millwood is a very good pitcher and they were happy to have him. Though I have to suspect that privately they are a little jolted after hearing the Rangers next transaction.

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