Orioles Finalize 25-man Roster

Originally posted at the Orioles Evaluation:

The Orioles finalized their opening day roster today with a couple of surprises.

Nick Markakis (pictured left), the organization's best prospect, made the 25-man roster and appears to be the everyday starter in LF. This will make things interesting this season as Luis Matos and Corey Patterson will now compete for one spot at centerfield. Jeff Conine, Kevin Millar and Javy Lopez will now battle for two spots, at DH and at 1B.

Sendy Rleal (pronounced Rey-ahl) made the last spot in the 'pen. He beat out other veterans such as John Halama and Eddy Rodriguez. Earlier in the week, Jim Brower was added to the 40-man roster and will work with Leo Mazzone for the second straight season.

On the bench, Raul Chavez beat out youngster Eli Whiteside as the team's third catcher. No arguments there. I'm sure Whiteside will be up later in the year following a DFA notice for Mr. Chavez.

In troubling and yet unsurprising news, David Newhan is still on our roster. He's not a very good fielder, hitter and is no longer the best pinch running option now that Patterson/Matos is on the bench. What's going on here? I think Brandon Fahey might see time once we cut ties with Newhan for good mid-season.

Verdict: 2/5 stars

I'm not a big fan of rushing prospects when it means that they will be completely skipping a level in the minors. I think it would be better for Markakis, and for Rleal, to spend two weeks in Ottawa before making it to the show. All it does is prove that they do belong in the Majors and that guys like Matos, Patterson and Halama don't.

This isn't exactly a bad decision, but I would have handled it differently. I can't exactly be annoyed to watch Markakis bat everyday for the O's.