Video: Baltimore Orioles Must Make Decision on Tsuyoshi Wada

During the 2011 offseason, the Baltimore Orioles signed a couple of lefties from the Pacific Rim in Wei-Yin Chen and Tsuyoshi Wada. They have been pleasantly surprised in what they got out of Chen. A decision looms for the Orioles in regards to Wada and what they will do when his 30-day rehab stint is complete.

Wada, who was considered the better pitcher of the two coming in, has yet to throw a pitch for Baltimore in the regular season. He underwent Tommy John surgery last May and has begun his rehab assignment with the AAA Norfolk Tides.

The issue with Wada is that once his 30-day rehab assignment is completed, the Orioles will have to make a tough decision. Wada has a stipulation in his contract that the Orioles can’t option him to the minors without his consent. If he declines the Orioles’ request to option him, Baltimore will have to activate him. So they must decide which direction is best for the organization and do their best to make it happen.

So what is the timeline? Wada made his first rehab start with the Tides on May 16, and has since made a second start. Within the 30 days, he should be able to make 5 starts. Executive Vice President and General Manager Dan Duquette and Manager Buck Showalter still have 2-3 weeks before they will have to make the decision, and it’s likely that they’ve already run through several scenarios…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7OG7mL7vor4]

Wada has not been impressive in his first two rehab starts for the Tides as he is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in eight innings. He has allowed five earned runs on nine hits (two of which were home runs), four walks, a hit batsman and six strikeouts. 

via Baltimore Orioles Must Make Decision on Tsuyoshi Wada | Orioles 101 | Sports Media 101.