Mark Reynolds

The Orioles are opening their three-city, nine-game, 11-day road trip in Toronto tonight, beginning their three-game series against the Blue Jays here at the Rogers Centre. Earlier today, the Orioles activated infielder Mark Reynolds from the disabled list and sent right-handed reliever Stu Pomeranz to the DL with a left oblique strain. Reynolds flew to Toronto today and arrived around 1 p.m. Today was scheduled to be his final day of a minor league rehab assignment with Double-A Bowie, but “it's a lot better playing here,” Reynolds said.

When a reporter began a question after Friday's game asking Orioles first baseman Mark Reynolds what it was like to help his team win with his glove and his bat, Reynolds interrupted the inquiry to offer some self-deprecating humor. "First person that's ever said that," Reynolds said, biting on the notion that his actually was actually being recognized. Reynolds played a major part in the Orioles' 6-1 win over the Yankees Friday night. His two-run homer off Hiroki Kuroda in the second inning was a towering blast that silenced the home crowd as it landed in the stadium's second deck.

The Orioles revolving door kept spinning again on Saturday afternoon. Veteran Bill Hall has been called up from Triple-A Norfolk and is in the lineup batting seventh and playing left field Saturday night. Meanwhile, third baseman Mark Reynolds is heading to the disabled list for the first time in his career. He said he suffered an oblique injury making a throw during batting practice Friday. He said it's not severe, but he doesn't want to keep playing and let it get worse. “I hurt my oblique yesterday, and it's not too bad, but it's one of those things where if I push it, it'll get worse, so we're going to get it better before anything else happens," said Reynolds, who has hit .191 with two homers and nine RBIs in 27 games.

In the midst of a streak of 16 hitless at-bats, which included nine strikeouts, third baseman Mark Reynolds found himself on the bench Tuesday, the night after a scheduled off day for the club. "I just want him to take a breather mentally and let him focus on some things he wants to get better at," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter . Reynolds, who is hitting .125 with 22 strikeouts in 48 at-bats this season, was replaced in the lineup and at third base by rookie Ryan Flaherty . Showalter said getting some playing time for Flaherty, who has one start and has played in four games, also had something to do with the lineup decision.

Mark Reynolds, who spent the past two seasons as a starting corner infielder with the Orioles, has agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $6 million plus incentives with the Cleveland Indians, according to an industry source. Reynolds, 29, hit .221 with 23 homers and 69 RBIs in 135 games last year after a 2011 season in which he hit a team-leading 37 homers in 155 games. The Orioles held an $11 million option on Reynolds for 2013 that the club declined this offseason, preferring instead to buy it out for $500,000.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter expressed faith in slumping first baseman Mark Reynolds , saying he will continue to put Reynolds in the lineup despite his struggles. Reynolds is hitting .191 (18-for-94) since the beginning of July and was hitless in nine official at-bats with six strikeouts during the Orioles' three-game weekend series against the Rays. "Mark is playing a good first base for us," Showalter said. "He's contributing there. It seems like he gets a walk a game.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said the club tried to find a way to figure Mark Reynolds' impending 2013 salary into its budget, but couldn't. So instead of paying him roughly $9 million in arbitration, the Orioles did not tender the first baseman a contract Friday night, allowing him to be a free agent. "We had determined that his value in arbitration was beyond our resources to bring him back to the team," Duquette said. "We like Mark and he gave a good effort for the team, so we certainly appreciated that.

Mark Reynolds entered Wednesday night's game hitting .206 with just eight homers this season. The corner infielder has homered at least 30 times each of the last three years and had a team-high 37 in 2011. But right now he is tied with Nick Markakis for sixth on the club. He's hit two since June 23. “I can't put a finger on it. I work in the cage, my swing feels good, I feel comfortable at the plate and then it just doesn't translate,” Reynolds said. “It's tough being counted on to do something and you're not doing it.” Reynolds has been maligned much of his career for shaky defense and his massive strikeout totals.

Major League Baseball has not made an official ruling regarding Mark Reynolds' umpire-bashing comments in Detroit as of early this afternoon. A decision should come today or tomorrow. It is expected that Reynolds will be fined but not suspended. Reynolds went off on the umpires following Friday's game after he was ejected for tossing his glove to the ground when an out call at first was overturned. To paraphrase, he said there should be more accountability from umpires, that they didn't take their mistakes seriously enough and that he felt, at times, they were purposely against the Orioles.

Mark Reynolds hit a grand slam in his first at-bat with the Orioles on Sunday. Sure, it came in a meaningless intrasquad scrimmage, but Orioles fans are hoping his home run was a sign of things to come once Opening Day rolls around in April. The Orioles third baseman, acquired from the Diamondbacks in an offseason trade, put 76 long balls into the bleachers the past two seasons, including a career-high 44 in 2009. Meanwhile, Luke Scott led the Orioles with 27 home runs last season, and Ty Wigginton was the only other Orioles hitter to top 20 home runs (Wiggy had 22)