The most important new player for the Baltimore Orioles might just be a player who isn't new at all. It's been so long since Brian Roberts played a meaningful role for the Orioles that many have assumed he retired. Fact is, he is 35, and while some players have peaked by that age, others are still going strong. Fans will forgive Roberts if Derek Jeter is one of his heroes. There is legitimate hope that Roberts will return to the big leagues with a bang this season. The reason for the hope is his health. On Monday, Roberts told MASN - the Orioles' cable channel - that this is the first spring in a long time that he feels good and is participating in drills and calisthenics pain free.
The fact is - as Roberts recalled in the interview - that the Orioles made their incredible run last season without three key players. Nick Markakis missed two large chunks of the season with injuries, including the last two months of the regular season and all of the playoffs. There was some hope that he could have been activated for the World Series had Baltimore survived until then. Nolan Reimold started last season as the Orioles everyday left fielder. In the first 16 games he hit .313, drove in ten runs and bashed five homers. Then his back gave up and he underwent season-ending surgery. And finally, there was Roberts. He has played very little in the last three seasons. Before that, he was the Orioles best player, always hitting around .300, hitting a dozen or more homeruns, and driving in sixty or more runs while hitting leadoff.
Add to that the fact that the Orioles only had Nate McClouth for the second half of the season - Roberts noted that, too - and you have the making for a huge helping of new offensive firepower. If it pans out, it will be awfully hard to stop the Orioles from being a huge contender in the AL East. Again.
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