The Orioles have signed 28-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Craig Brazell to a minor league deal. Brazell played in 130 games in Japan last season and he was 110 for 471 (.234 avg, .740 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 27 homers and 87 RBIs. He has also played in 29 games in his major league career in which he is 10 for 38 (.263 avg, .695 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. He will likely start the season in AAA and get a chance in Baltimore if the Orioles suffer a few injuries.

The Orioles have signed 37-year old switch hitting catcher Gregg Zaun to a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar deal. Zaun played in 86 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 58 for 245 (.237 avg, .699 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 6 homers and 30 RBIs. He has now played in 1,114 games in his major league career and he is 783 for 3,125 (.251 avg, .730 OPS) with 392 runs scored, 78 homers and 405 RBIs. Zaun was signed as insurance in case Matt Wieters is not ready at the start of the 2009 season. Even if Wieters is ready to go to start the 2009 season it was a good move to sign Zaun to give him some pointers.

The Baltimore Orioles have signed 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Justin Christian to a minor league deal. He played in 24 games for the Yankees last season and he was 10 for 40 (.250 avg, .627 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Christian also played in 74 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 82 for 268 (.306 avg, .801 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 6 homers, 45 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. This was a good low risk signing for the Orioles who need some help in the outfield.

The Orioles have signed 31-year old righty swinging catcher Robby Hammock and 36-year old infielder/outfielder Jolbert Cabrera to minor league contracts. Hammock played in 18 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 8 for 42 (.190 avg, .506 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He has now played in 180 games in his major league career and he is 122 for 479 (.255 avg, .722 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 12 homers and 48 RBIs. Jolbert Cabrera played in 48 games for the Reds last season and he was 29 for 115 (.252 avg, .710 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 3 homers and 12 RBIs. Cabrera has now played in 609 games in his major league career and he is 362 for 1,406 (.257 avg, .671 OPS) with 189 runs scored, 18 homers, 157 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. These were both decent low risk signings as either of these guys could make the Orioles in 2009.

The Orioles have signed 37-year old righty swinging infielder Chris Gomez to a minor league deal. Gomez played in 90 games for the Pirates last season and he was 50 for 183 (.273 avg, .655 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 1 homer and 20 RBIs. He has now played in 1,515 games in his major league career in which he is 1,206 for 4,604 (.262 avg, .685 OPS) with 517 runs scored, 60 homers and 486 RBIs. Gomez will likely be the top utility infielder for the Orioles this coming season and it was a smart move for them to bring him back to Baltimore.

The Baltimore Orioles have signed 33-year old righty starting pitcher Koji Uehara to a 2-year, $10 million dollar contract with $6 million additional dollars in incentives. He pitched in 28 games (14 starts) in Japan last season and he was 6-5 with 1 save, a 3.81 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Uehara pitched in 276 games (207 starts) in his career in Japan and he was 112-62 with 33 saves, a 3.01 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. This was a solid risk for the Orioles who need all of the pitching help they can get. Uehara will likely slide right into the starting rotation in 2009.

The Baltimore Orioles have not done much to improve the team in 2009. Trading starting catcher Ramon Hernandez to the Reds opened up some cash and playing time for rookie Matt Wieters. Getting Cesar Izturis and Ryan Freel could help out the defense for the Orioles this season but they both have pop gun bats. The Orioles really need help in the starting rotation where Jeremy Guthrie is the only established starter. Adding Mark Hendrickson and Brad Hennessey just is not enough for the Orioles to be anything more than a 5th place team in the American League East again in 2009.

OFF-SEASON GRADE TO DATE: D

The Orioles have signed 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Dave Krynzel to a minor league deal. He played in 4 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 1 for 4 (.250 avg, .821 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Krynzel has also played in 21 games in his major league career and he is 9 for 48 (.188 avg, .486 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 3 RBIs. He has also whiffed an amazing 18 times in his career in the majors! Don’t expect Krynzel to make it to Baltimore in 2009.

The Orioles have signed 34-year old lefty starting pitcher Mark Hendrickson to a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar deal. Hendrickson pitched in 36 games (19 starts) last season for the Marlins and he was 7-8 with a 5.45 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He has now pitched in 215 games (154 starts) in his major league career and he is 50-63 with a 5.07 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Hendrickson will probably be in the Orioles’ starting rotation to start the 2009 season but I have doubts that he will remain in the rotation for the whole season.