Baltimore Orioles Make Roster Changes Ahead of Blue Jays Series

The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays begin a four-game series at the Jays US home in Buffalo tonight.

Ahead of the game, the Baltimore Orioles made a few notable roster moves.

One of the most hopeful announcements was the activation of Jose Iglesias off of the 10-day IL. Before he was moved to the IL to recover from his persistent quad soreness, the Orioles had a winning record and were in the hunt for the lead in the AL East at 12-8.

During his 10-game absence, the Orioles record was a sad 2-8. Granted, this is what the media thought the Orioles would do in 2020. But, after seeing how good the Orioles were in their first 20 games of the 60-game season, the quick turn to a losing record was disappointing  – to say the least.

As the Orioles welcome back the agile shortstop with the consistent bat, they are 14-16 sitting in fourth in the AL East. The Jays are 15-14, only 1.5 games ahead of the Orioles. Hopefully, having Iglesias back in the lineup with help the team swap with their foes to the north.

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In Iglesias’s absence, Andrew Velazquez and Pat Valaika took turns at shortstop. Velazquez turned some noteworthy plays, but only had one hit during Iglesias’s absence. Valaika batted .235/.257/.529 and hit three home runs in the 10-game stretch. Prior to his absence, Iglesias was batting .400 with nine doubles, but he had yet to go yard.

MLB Trade Rumors reported a few other notable moves. The Orioles sent Keegan Akin and Ramon Urias back to the alternate training site. Akin pitched in relief on August 26, getting the final out of the sixth against the Rays. Urias gave Hanser Alberto a bit of rest, filling in at second in two games, and pinching hitting in two others. Unfortunately, he only had one hit in his five plate appearances.

The Orioles brought up pitcher Cesar Valdez. They signed the 35-year-old pitcher back in January. He last pitched in the MLB in 2017 for the Jays and the A’s. Since then, he’s been moving around the minor leagues and playing in the Mexican and Caribbean Leagues.

Dwight Smith Jr.will remain an Oriole for now. The front office DFA’d him a few days ago and he cleared he waiver wire. He’ll spend time at the alternative site until the O’s bring him up again.