Garrett Atkins, whom the Orioles signed to a $4.5 million, one-year deal to be their starting first baseman this offseason, has been designated for assignment.
The Orioles will have 10 days to trade, release or ask waivers on Atkins, who had 14 hits in 140 at-bats with the Orioles (.214 average). He had just one homer and nine RBIs this season and had been relegated to the bench.
He had just 14 at-bats and 18 plate appearances in June.
While designating Atkins, the Orioles activated relief pitcher Koji Uehara from the 15-day disabled list. He will be available to pitch today, according to interim manager Juan Samuel.
"That was the decision that was made. Unfortunately things did not work out for him here," Samuel said. "It was getting kind of tough trying to get Atkins some at-bats. We just wish him luck. Sometimes these things work, will help these players."
Needing right-handed power at the corner infield positions, and hoping that Atkins could rekindle his 2006-2008 years in Colorado, where he had at least 21 homers and 99 RBIs each season, the Orioles signed Atkins, who had been non-tendered by the Rockies after hitting just .226 with nine homers in 2009.
"I think we used the term that we had to take some chances and sometimes you have to swing for the fences," MacPhail said. "We knew, obviously, that (Atkins') 2009 performance was not nearly what it had been in 08 and 07. We were gambling we could measure up to that, which we couldn't do. We gambled and we lost."
Atkins, 30, lost his starting first baseman's spot to Ty Wigginton, who moved over from second base. With the addition of infielders Jake Fox and Scott Moore to the roster, Atkins wasn't even being used off the bench much.
"The opportunity for him was going to start to dwindle because we have Jake Fox, we have Scott Moore, and neither one of them started the year on our 25-man roster," MacPhail said. "They make more sense for us as extra guys because they have more flexibility. Jake can catch and play left and first and third and Scott can play second and third and first. So when he didn't produce offensively, he wasn't as valuable to us as the other guys and it was time to admit that it didn't work and move on."
Assuming the Orioles cannot trade Atkins in the next 10 days, they will be forced to release him or put him on waivers. If he is not claimed, the Orioles would have to eat the remainder of his 2010 salary -- which, with the buyout -- is about $2.5 million.
MacPhail said the club is willing to live with that reality.
"Economically, in our game, it was not a huge gamble," MacPhail said. "I have a saying, there's no such thing as a bad one year deal because then you are out of it. So we had to take a chance. "
Atkins left before commenting to reporters, but he said this week that if he leaves the Orioles, he would want to continue his career elsewhere and would consider a minor league deal in the right situation.
Said Wigginton about the move: "I think any time you see a player get sent out or get designated, you obviously feel for him. Hopefully he gets another opportunity somewhere. I'll be checking the papers every day to see if he signs somewhere else. Or goes somewhere else, and hopefully he comes out raking."