Birds Watcher
Fansided

Baltimore Orioles Claim Jack Reinheimer Off Waivers From Texas

ByNick Stevens|
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 20: Jack Reinheimer #72 of the New York Mets out runs the ball and makes it safely to first base in the third inning against the San Francisco Giants on August 20, 2018 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 20: Jack Reinheimer #72 of the New York Mets out runs the ball and makes it safely to first base in the third inning against the San Francisco Giants on August 20, 2018 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

The Baltimore Orioles have added utility man Jack Reinheimer off waivers from the Texas Rangers.

General manager Mike Elias continues to tweak his roster ahead of spring training, set to begin just two weeks from now. In his latest minor roster move, the Baltimore Orioles have claimed utility man Jack Reinheimer off waivers from the Texas Rangers and designated right-handed pitcher Austin Brice for assignment. Brice was claimed off waivers from the Angels back on January 4th.

Reinheimer was a 5th-round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners out of East Carolina University back in 2013. The Mariners traded him away two years later, along with former Baltimore Orioles catcher Welington Castillo and two other players to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for relief arm Vidal Nuno (also a former Oriole) and current Baltimore outfielder/DH Mark Trumbo.

Just this year, Reinheimer has bounced around between the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers. Now a member of the Baltimore Orioles, Reinheimer joins his third organization since November 2nd.

What does Jack Reinheimer bring to the Baltimore Orioles?

Appearing in 21 games last season with the Mets, Reinheimer slashed .167/.286/.167 and played four different positions, including second base, shortstop, third base, and left field.

Looking over his minor league numbers, it is clear that Reinheimer doesn’t bring a lot of power to the plate (21 home runs in 650 career minor league games), but he does bring the ability to draw his fair share of walks while keeping his strikeout numbers on the lower end. He has a career .343 on-base percentage in the minors and has racked up 123 stolen bases, successfully swiping a bag 73% of the time.

Without having seen Reinheimer play, I revert to Bobby DeMuro of Baseball Census for a few words on the type of player Reinheimer is. From a DeMuro report written back in mid-2017,

“Well-balanced and compact at the plate, Jack Reinheimer’s swing is designed to spray line drives line to line. He does a decent job of going the other way as he’s pitched, and he has enough bat speed and pitch recognition to turn on stuff inside on his hands (though I wouldn’t consider his bat speed above average)” writes Demuro.

More from Birds Watcher

“A decent athlete with OK footwork and an above-average arm, he’s an ideal candidate to play across the diamond as a utility infielder off the bench. Adding outfield work to his resumé ought to only improve his versatility, too—especially on a National League roster.” He may not be the type of player you want playing for every day, but as a Quad-A type player, the Orioles have used less desirable options over the past few seasons.

As for Austin Brice, hopefully, he is able to pass through waivers and the Baltimore Orioles can keep him in the organization. Like many of the recent pickups/claims made by Elias, Brice brought with him tools to work with and hope that the new staff put in place could unlock those tools and turn him into a major league contributor.

One thing is for sure, there will be a hefty amount of competition in spring for the middle infield spots with Reinheimer, Hanser Alberto, Steve Wilkerson, Chris Bostick, Jace Peterson, Zach Vincej, Richie Martin, Drew Jackson,  and Jonathan Villar all on the 40-man roster or invited to spring training.

Home/Orioles News

Schedule