Jimmy Paredes has been out of sight and out of mind for the Orioles since the end of spring training, when he went on the disabled list with a sprained left wrist. He will now be off the roster as well. MASN's Roch Kubatko reported on Monday afternoon that Paredes has been claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays.
It was not a surprise that Paredes ended up on waivers. That became known yesterday, the final day of his rehab assignment with Norfolk. That news was not a surprise either. Paredes is not a guy who there's any room for on the current roster. Between Pedro Alvarez and Mark Trumbo, there are already two guys who should really be the designated hitter and nothing else.
This is not the first time in recent years that the Jays have picked up an Orioles castoff. During the 2014 season, the O's pulled basically the same move with Nolan Reimold - stash on the DL, then designate him for assignment at the last possible minute of his rehab - and Reimold ended up being claimed by Toronto. He did not play well there and was on waivers again within two months.
The Blue Jays also tried to get their hands on Steve Pearce during the brief period that he was a free agent in 2014. Fortunately for the Orioles, Pearce chose to remain with them and went on to be one of the surprise players of the division-winning club.
The switch-hitting Paredes, 27, has appeared in parts of five big league seasons, batting .257/.293/.369. His short 2014 appearance and longer 2015 time with the O's went a bit better, as he batted .279/.312/.425. Maybe if he had the defensive versatility of Ryan Flaherty, they'd have activated Paredes and optioned Flaherty, but if he could play a position he'd have probably never ended up here in the first place.
Thanks for everything, Jimmy - whatever that may have been.