BALTIMORE — The Orioles took advantage of another procedural move Thursday by recalling utility infielder Jimmy Paredes from Triple-A Norfolk to take right-hander pitcher Kevin Gausman’s spot on the 25-man roster.
Just like lefty starter Wei-Yin Chen was optioned to the minors on Wednesday, Gausman was optioned to the Gulf Coast League Orioles but will be eligible to return as early as Friday since the rookie-level league is concluding its season on Thursday. Instead of making a 25-man roster move like they’ll need to do to recall Chen for his Sunday start, the Orioles will simply wait to recall Gausman to make his next scheduled start on Monday when rosters expand for the month of September.
The 25-year-old Paredes can play all four infield positions — though his strongest spots are at third base and second base — and the corner outfield spots while offering a speedy switch-hitting option off the bench. After playing with a three-man bench for several games, the Orioles will now benefit from having five positional reserves with backup catcher Steve Clevenger and Paredes being added in the last two days.
“He was probably coming up Sept. 1, anyway, and it was a way to get him here,” said manager Buck Showalter about Paredes. “It creates more depth. You never know what the game’s going to bring. You just want to be prepared.”
Paredes has been on the Orioles’ radar for a while as the organization initially claimed him off waivers in February. However, they unsuccessfully tried to sneak him through waivers to outright him to the minors, and he was claimed by Kansas City Royals a couple days later. Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette acquired Paredes for cash considerations on July 24 and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.
After spending parts of three seasons with the Houston Astros, Paredes went 2-for-10 in nine games with Kansas City earlier this season. In 140 plate appearances with Norfolk, Paredes was hitting .258 with three home runs and 23 runs batted in.
In four major league season, Paredes has appeared in 54 games in left field, 50 at third base, 10 at second base, and one in right field. He is a career .233 hitter with three homers, 31 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and a .272 on-base percentage in 406 career plate appearances in the majors.
Showalter confirmed he still plans to start Chen and Gausman on Sunday and Monday, respectively. The two starting pitchers are supposed to take work days with GCL pitching coach and former major league hurler Wilson Alvarez, according to the Baltimore skipper.
The Orioles announced Thursday that their Sept. 14 game against the New York Yankees has been moved from 1:35 p.m. to 8:05 p.m. after it was selected by ESPN to be the nationally-televised Sunday night game for the week.
Single-A Aberdeen catcher and Calvert Hall graduate Alex Murphy will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery and miss the organization’s instructional league. However, the 2013 sixth-round pick is expected to be ready to go for the start of spring training, according to Showalter.
Murphy was hitting .277 with three home runs and 25 RBIs for the IronBirds.
Former Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks after being designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays earlier in the week. The 30-year-old hit .212 with two home runs and nine RBIs for Toronto.
