10:28am: The Blue Jays have officially announced the moves, via press release.
10:00am: The Blue Jays have designated Nolan Reimold for assignment, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweeted this morning. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi writes that outfielder Kevin Pillar will be recalled from Triple-A to take his roster spot.
Toronto claimed the 30-year-old Reimold off waivers from the division-rival Orioles earlier this summer, hoping that the injury-prone slugger could provide an upgrade to their offense. Reimold struggled in 22 games with the Jays, however, posting a .212/.283/.404 batting line in 60 plate appearances.
The Orioles long thought Reimold to be capable of providing some production either in left field or from the DH spot, but his growing list of injuries eventually led to a DFA earlier this season. Reimold has undergone two neck surgeries and an ankle operation in his career, and he’s also spent time on the disabled list for calf and hamstring injuries in the past two seasons.
Still, the former second-round pick owns a lifetime batting line of .250/.324/.437 and an isolated power mark (slugging minus batting average) of .187, suggesting that he can indeed provide some offensive benefit when healthy. As Davidi notes, Reimold would have been a non-tender candidate following the season, though I’d imagine that the raise on his $1.03MM salary wouldn’t have been too substantial. Davidi also points out that by clearing a 40-man roster space without immediately filling it (Pillar is on the 40-man roster), the team creates room to add either Brandon Morrow or Daniel Norris in September. Morrow is said to be nearing a return from the 60-day disabled list and could work as a reliever, while Norris, Toronto’s top pitching prospect, could make his big league debut next month when rosters expand.
Tough breaks for Nolan all around after all of the injuries. Perhaps an off season not having to rehabilitate something will help him?
Nolan will catch on somewhere.