clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Orioles probably won't call up Dylan Bundy after all

Did you want to see Dylan Bundy's stone-faced dominance in an Orioles uniform for the stretch run this year? Sorry, friend, it looks like you're going to have to keep dreaming.  (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
Did you want to see Dylan Bundy's stone-faced dominance in an Orioles uniform for the stretch run this year? Sorry, friend, it looks like you're going to have to keep dreaming. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
Getty Images

There's been a lot of speculation about what the Orioles might or might not do with Dylan Bundy, who is already on the 40-man roster, once September call-ups can happen. Indeed, the most recent specific rumor before today, posted by MASN writers, was that Bundy could be called up on August 31 and start a game on September 6. There was much excitement about this prospect.

However, today there was some cold water thrown on that idea, as that same MASN dynamic duo, Roch Kubatko and Steve Melewski, tweeted some comments from manager Buck Showalter regarding the fate of Bundy. Apparently, the Orioles' current plan is to send Dylan Bundy to instructional league. Buck told reporters that Bundy is "making great progress" but "still has things to work on".

Why did an Orioles source a week ago float a trial balloon through MASN reporters only to come ahead and decide this now? I don't know, man. There is also the outside possibility that even now, Dan Duquette has the organization engaged in some kind of Belichickian subterfuge, as if in an attempt to lull the Orioles' September opponents into a false sense of security and then, whammo, Bundy will stride in to save the day.

EDIT: This tweet from Baltimore Sun reporter Eduardo Encina elaborates on some of the things that they feel Bundy needs to work on before getting big league action:

So, probably it means what they say and we won't see Bundy in the major leagues this year after all. Obviously, after adding a pitcher like Randy Wolf, which they are expected to finalize tonight, there was just no room for the young Bundy. Now we can all go back to freaking out about something else for a while, like the fact that if the Orioles somehow win the next two games against the White Sox, they will begin their weekend series against New York two games back in the American League East.