Baltimore Orioles: Who is joining the team with September call-ups?

As September begins, MLB teams including the Baltimore Orioles add players through minor league call-ups.

The Baltimore Orioles will be adding a few top prospects and veterans from the minor leagues to help support the regular 25-man roster.

These players will add their enthusiasm as many of them are hoping to make the Big League roster in the spring and for years to come.

A few of the players who will be called up have already seen some time with the team and have bounced back and forth as needed. But, they will stay with the team for the rest of the season. They’ve had some success and have helped the team get to their 68-66 record. Hopefully, their enthusiasm and youth will add some fire to the team as they work to add to the win column and get into the playoffs.

Let’s take a quick look at the different players being called up and what they bring to the roster. The news was broken by MLB Trade Rumors.

Joey Rickard is back. Earlier in the season, he was performing well with the Orioles, but as soon as Anthony Santander was ready to return from the disabled list, Joey was sent back to the minors. But, when Rickard was up with the team, which was for 94 games, he delivered.

In fact, Rickard hit a slash of .254/.290/.366/.656 with 4 home runs and 18 RBIs. He nearly split his time in half between left and right fields, with a few games played in center field. In the corners, he had a perfect fielding percentage. He’s a speedy outfielder and will be welcome back with open arms.

Like Sisco, Rickard will have difficulty taking time away from Trey Mancini in left and Seth Smith in right. Rickard does have better stats that Anthony Santander, so hopefully he will get time before Santander does. As the Orioles are working to get as many wins as possible, it is not the time for the team to give tryouts to the newbies.

Unless the Orioles begin to pull ahead of the competition or if they fall way behind, Rickard will see more time on the bench than he will on the field.

At one time, Pedro Alvarez was a force as an All-Star short stop with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately, life got in the way and his defense began to falter. He was given his walking papers when he reached free agency and the Orioles signed him in 2016. The guy can clearly still hit, but his defensive work continues to be poor. So, the Orioles signed him to a minor league contract where he only has to hit.

With the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, Alvarez hit 26 home runs and 89 RBIs. Unfortunately, he did strike out 137 times.

He will be playing with Orioles and is listed on the roster as an infielder. If he does see time in a game, it will most likely be at first base or as the designated hitter. With Mark Trumbo not hitting like he did in 2016, Alvarez could see time as the designed hitter. And, with Chris Davis batting .228, maybe Alvarez could see time at first.

Even though Alvarez has a minor league contract with the Orioles, being called back up could be a big opportunity for him. Big hitters like Alvarez are still desirable and he could treat his time like a tryout to revive his career.

Two pitchers, Richard Rodriguez and Jimmy Yacabonis are both coming up to Baltimore. The pair have been pitching with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, but Yacabonis has pitched with the Orioles where he earned an ERA of 6.75 in 6.2 relief innings.

This will be Rodriguez’s first time in the Big Leagues after spending seven years in various minor league systems. He finished his 2017 season with an ERA of 2.42 in relief innings.

In the minor leagues, Yacabonis’s numbers were outstanding. In 41 games, he has an ERA of 1.32. He recorded 11 saves in his 61 innings pitched.

While the Orioles really need another solid starting pitcher, adding a few arms to the bullpen won’t hurt. These two could see some time in games with low-leverage situations. Like the other call ups, it is unlikely that Rodriguez and Yacabonis will see much time – especially with the power in the bullpen already.

Next: Orioles Adam Jones hits his 250th career home run

The Orioles need to keep their winning ways and hopefully, these call ups will help get those wins.