Baltimore Orioles: Injuries Could Stifle Breakthrough Season

Ever since Andy McPhail took over as General Manager, Baltimore Orioles fans have had this year circled.

This is supposed to be the year that we saw signs that all of the waiting and developing of prospects was going to show itself.

However, as Spring Training is three-quarters done, it seems that something unforeseen could stand in the way—injuries.

Every manager in baseball will say the same thing about his team's record in Spring Training: It doesn’t matter.

While I agree that your record doesn’t matter, what happens there is crucial.

Coming into the spring, the Orioles had four major players that either used the offseason as time to heal or were still injured coming in: Nolan Reimold (Achilles), Brad Bergesen (shin and shoulder), Adam Jones (ankle), and Brian Roberts (back).

While Roberts’ injury has been the most publicized, all of these should be concerns.

Brian Roberts

Since Roberts has missed the most time this spring, I will start with him.

While not the most talked about player anymore, Roberts is as critical to the Orioles' success this season as anyone.

Though the Orioles have said he should return to the lineup in a few days, consider this a warning.

Back injuries like this don’t just go away. They linger, and sometimes they end careers abruptly.

If he can’t consistently be in the lineup, the leadoff spot changes from an asset to a question mark.

Andino would take his spot in the field, but who bats leadoff?

Izturis doesn’t have the speed or the average, and Jones has the power to be more of a two or three. When Felix Pie is in, the spot could go to him, but he isn't a projected starter.

Roberts being healthy is perhaps the biggest asset the Orioles can have. After all, Jones and Markakis can't drive him in if he isn't there to get on base.

Brad Bergesen

If you saw Brad Bergesen take that line drive to the shin from Billy Butler, you would know why I’m still concerned.

When he got struck, Orioles fans everywhere flashed back to when Mike Mussina got hit in the face by a Sandy Alomar, Jr. line drive. It was that gruesome.

Before getting injured, Bergesen was a candidate for Rookie of the Year and had racked up 11 quality starts in his last 12 starts.

If he can return to that form this season, he is probably the staff’s most consistent pitcher.

My issue isn’t so much the shin, but the shoulder injury he got while idiotically shooting a commercial for MASN.

Shoulder injuries on a pitcher are never minor…ever. They can cause accidental change in a pitcher's delivery, a decrease in velocity, and a loss of movement on the breaking ball.

If I’m right and the shoulder is a bigger issue than Dave Trembley is letting us know, this could go down as the most irresponsible thing the team has ever done with a player.

Adam Jones

If healthy, Adam Jones is the team's most talented player.

An amazing combination of speed, contact, power, and fielding give this guy endless potential.

The biggest part of that sentence is “if healthy.”

Jones’ 2009 was outstanding when he was able to play, but he saw stints on the DL because of hamstring and ankle problems.

Centerfielders have a knack for pulling muscles because of the amount of ground they cover, and Jones might not be an exception to this rule.

Look what happened to Ken Griffey, Jr.

Jones may be the team’s best player, but at least he has a solid back up. Having Pie as a fourth outfielder will be invaluable if Jones can’t go the distance.

Nolan Reimold

Finally, we get to the player I least suspected would be an issue, Nolan Reimold.

We knew of Reimold’s achilles injury early in the season last year, but it was so downplayed, no one spent much thought on it.

When he was shut down, it was done quietly and his surgery made very few headlines.

Here we are on March 22, and it is still a major obstacle for Reimold.

As a result of his heel, Reimold has been prevented from playing as much and caused Trembley to keep him from playing back-to-back games too often.

That lack of playing time and number of at bats is proving to be a challenge.

Reimold is just 1-23 with a measly single this spring. While he is working diligently with hitting coach Terry Crowley, the heel still worries me.