The Orioles will all but complete their September roster expansion before Tuesday night's game at Yankee Stadium, bringing back Chris Davis from the 15-day disabled list and calling up four more players from the minor leagues.
President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail confirmed that Davis will rejoin the team after rehabbing his sore shoulder. The Orioles will call up Clay Rapada, Josh Bell, Jeremy Accardo and Pedro Florimon, Jr.
Florimon apparently was a late addition when veteran infielder Cesar Izturis suffered another setback in his recovery from a severe groin injury.
MacPhail said that would be the extent of the roster expansion, except for the likely return of Jason Berken from the disabled list in the next week or so — and the increasingly unlikely return of Izturis.
Since Rapada and Accardo are not on the 40-man roster, there will have to be reciprocal moves to make room for them before they are eligible to rejoin the major league team.
Davis probably will play third base when he gets back so Mark Reynolds can remain at first, but Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he also wants to evaluate Davis in left and right field to get a better idea of how he will fit into the picture next year.
"I think it's a health issue,'' Showalter said. "We want to make sure we have our arms around if his shoulder is going to hold up over a long season. We would like to familiarize ourselves with where he could fit defensively, too. "
No start scheduled for Johnson … yet
There has been talk throughout the summer about the possibility of Jim Johnson getting some starts in September, but no decision has been made. Showalter said that it's still a possibility, but also said he can find other opportunities to see Johnson in multiple-inning situations. Then he found one Monday and pitched Johnson in long relief.
The arrival of Tommy Hunter and Jo-Jo Reyes obviously lessened the urgency to develop more starting candidates, at least over the remainder of this season.
Izturis on hold
Though Izturis still is hampered by a groin strain that has kept him sidelined for much of the season, the club is not totally ruling out the possibility that he'll come up before the end of the season.
"I don't want to say it was a setback,'' Showalter said, "but he hasn't healed real well. He's still got some discomfort going on there. He had a couple really good days, thought he was ready to go out, but had a little setback. There's nothing imminent with Cesar."
Around the horn
Reyes has rejoined the team after rushing back to California over the weekend to be present for the birth of his second child. Hudson Joseph Reyes was born Saturday. Mother and child are doing fine. ... The Yankees will hold a special ceremony Wednesday night to honor the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11. They could not schedule the commemoration on Sept. 11 because they will be playing on the road at that time. … New York's Alex Rodriguez scored two runs on Monday to move ahead of Carl Yastrzemski and into sole possession of 15th place on the all-time list with 1,818.
peter.schmuck@baltsun.com
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