Why did the Orioles call up Norby instead of Holliday? | MAILBAG

Question: Why do you think Connor Norby was called up instead of Jackson Holliday? From: Charles Lowe

Answer: Charles, Norby replaced another right-handed hitter, Jorge Mateo. Holliday is a left-handed hitter, and that would give the Orioles six pure left-handed hitters, two switch-hitters, and only five right-handed hitters. That includes James McCann and Ramón Urías, who don’t play regularly. Holliday is hitting 7-for-17 (.412) in his last six games, and I think the Orioles would like to see more sustained success, and when he’s called up next, I really don’t think they’ll want to send him back to Norfolk again.

Question: Have you ever asked prospects like Heston Kjerstad, “Would you rather play every day in Norfolk or play irregularly in Baltimore?”  I think it’s better for his development to play. From: Damon Stout

Answer: Damon, everyone wants to play in the major leagues. It’s to their economic benefit to play in the majors. A player makes more money, and even a small amount of time gets them closer to being eligible for arbitration and free agency, where the bigger money is. The travel, food and hotels are so much better in the big leagues that everyone wants to play there, even if it may benefit them to play every day in Norfolk.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.