Omar

Quintanilla

Quintanilla is still playing regularly, but he hit eighth today after opening his Rockies career at the top of the order. If he keeps struggling, the Rockies could play Luis Gonzalez at shortstop and give Aaron Miles more time at second.

Quintanilla should have been in Triple-A all along. Before getting hurt in mid-July, he had a .176 average in 34 at-bats during his month and a half on the Rockies’ roster.

There might not be room for Quintanilla on the major league roster when he’s ready to come off the disabled list next week. The Rockies now have Luis Gonzalez and Jason Smith serving as backup infielders.

Quintanilla was making just his second appearance in six days since being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Unless he’s going to get more at-bats than this, he might as well be in Triple-A. It’s possible that the Rockies will send him down to make room for Luis Gonzalez before the end of next week.

Baker also left the game an inning later. Quintanilla, who had been playing well of late, walked in his only plate appearance before departing. He’s batting .293/.359/.391 while playing mostly shortstop.

Odd timing, what with Clint Barmes coming up with five hits and three homers the last three days. Manager Clint Hurdle said Barmes will remain his shortstop, but the Rockies wouldn’t recall Quintanilla unless they intended him to play. He might get most of the starts at second over Jamey Carroll, giving him some short-term value in NL-only leagues. Quintanilla was hitting just .286/.351/.381 in Triple-A, but he was pretty hot lately.

Quintanilla should get a healthy dose of starts at second base, but he’s going to need to look much better than he did today. He wasn’t hitting very well in Triple-A, but he’s still worth a look in NL-only formats.

Quintanilla went 1-for-22 with two RBI and nine strikeouts last season for the Rangers. He’s capable of playing decent defense all over the infield, but the 30-year-old is far from a lock to make the Mets’ Opening Day roster.

Quintanilla has played well in limited duty for the Mets this season, but he was cleared to make room for Jason Bay’s return from the disabled list. The veteran infielder could draw interest on waivers.

Hardy is just 2-for-27 lifetime against Ryan Dempster, so Orioles manager Buck Showalter will use Monday’s game as an opportunity to give him the night off. Omar Quintanilla will make the start at shortstop while Robert Andino plays second. Manny Machado will remain at third base.