Goodbye Lombardozzi, Ohlman and welcome back Nolan Reimold

Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, February 3rd, the Baltimore Orioles made some moves to their roster. Infielder Steve Lombardozzi was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations. Michael Ohlman was also traded for cash considerations to the St. Louis Cardinals. In addition to letting these two minor leaguers  go, Baltimore also signed former Oriole Nolan Reimold to a minor league contract.

Lombardozzi was traded to Baltimore on March 24 from the Tigers for infielder Alex Gonzalez. In 20 games with the Orioles in 2014, he batted .288/.297/.329 with a double, a triple and two RBIs. He was then optioned down to Triple-A Norfolk on May 1st and – besides being called up for a single day later in the month – Lombardozzi spent the rest of the season in the minors.

In 78 games with Norfolk, Lombardozzi batted .270/.307/.311 with nine doubles, a triple and 30 RBIs.

Ohlman was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 11th round of the 2009 MLB Draft. He struggled in his first couple of years in Baltimore’s farm system, but in 2012 his batting numbers jumped up.

In 2012, between the GCL Orioles and Single-A Delmarva, Ohlman batted .300/.400/.460 with 19 doubles, three home runs and 31 RBIs.

He had another successful minor league campaign in 2013 where he batted .313/.410/.524 with the High-A Frederick Keys. Unfortunately, his bat was silenced in 2014; hitting only .236/.310/.318 with two home runs and 33 RBIs in Double-A Bowie.

Ohlman’s power numbers were not where the Orioles wanted them to be and his defense behind the plate was not outstanding either.

With these exits comes an arrival. Nolan Reimold was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2nd round of the 2005 MLB Draft.

After four seasons in the minors, Reimold made his major league debut on May 14, 2009. While he was up and down between the majors and minors, in 286 games played with the Orioles, Reimold batted .252/.327/.439 with 41 home runs and 126 RBIs.

Reimold’s brightest moment in his playing career in Baltimore came in the final game of the 2011 regular season where he helped spark the 4-3 comeback against the Red Sox, subsequently “sparking” the Orioles Magic that is still running strong today.

However, injuries plagued Reimold’s career in Baltimore and the Birds designated him for assignment on July 1 last season. The Blue Jays claimed him off of waivers from there.

In 22 games played with Toronto, Reimold batted .212/.283/.404 with two home runs and nine RBIs. He closed out the 2014 season with playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Multiple teams this off-season were inquiring about Reimold and interested in signing him to a minor league deal, including the White Sox, Giants and Phillies.

Reimold, however, loved his time with the Orioles and wanted to rejoin the ball club. As long as he stays away from the disabled list, he will be able to make it back up to the majors in 2015 and dawn the orange and black once again.