Dennys Reyes Still Plans To Pitch For Orioles

The Orioles released reliever Dennys Reyes over the weekend when he didn't report to camp, but the lefty still plans to pitch for the team this season, he told Fernando Ballesteros at Puro Beisbol yesterday (link in Spanish). Reyes says he has a torn tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand, which he suffered in the final game of the Mexican winter league. The 34-year-old is seeing a specialist in Los Angeles today to determine if it will require surgery.

"They had to release me because they couldn't pay my contract with me being here (in Mexico)," Reyes said of the Orioles, adding that he talked with the team's front office to ask permission to continue his rehabilitation in Mexico. "If they hadn't released me, I could have complained to the Player's Union in order to get them to pay me. Unofficially, I still belong to them."

Reyes made just four appearances in 2011 after signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox, and he was placed on the restricted list in May when he needed time at home in Mexico. He told Ballesteros that he still has "important things to do at home with my family," but he's not done with baseball. "I still don't know if I'm going to play this season," he said. "But I'm not going to retire yet, because I feel good and my arm is healthy. I believe I have two or three more years in my career."