Dane

Sardinha

Sardinha, expected to start off in Double-A, won’t need surgery, but he will miss 3-4 weeks.

Sardinha, who was given a major league contract when he was drafted four years ago, has finally started to hit this year, batting .338/.365/.692. He could be the long-term backup for Jason LaRue in Cincinnati.

Sardinha batted .219 with a .669 OPS in 43 plate appearances for the Phillies this season and didn’t fare much better in the minors. The 32-year-old will likely be on the lookout for a minor league contract.

Sardinha inked a minor league contract earlier this month but was revealed to have lingering medical problems when he arrived at spring camp. The Orioles have removed him from the roster and will soon make a move to ensure that they have enough catching depth.

Sardinha, 32, batted just .219 with a .669 OPS in 43 plate appearances last season for the Phillies. But he’s always been a pretty solid defender and will operate as organizational catching depth in 2012 for the Orioles.

Sardinha, who was called up from Triple-A Sunday, will replace Javier Valentin behind the plate.

Sardinha went 0-for-3 last night in his one start while Jason LaRue was out.

Sardinha will spend the next three to seven days backing up Javier Valentin.

Sardinha is still getting paid according to the terms of the major league contract he signed after he was drafted in 2000, so he accepted the assignment. It doesn’t look like Sardinha is ever going to hit enough to be a regular in the majors, but the 24-year-old could improve enough to become a quality backup by 2005 or 2006.