The Orioles have given 26-year old righty reliever Jim Johnson the closer’s job with George Sherrill now pitching for the Dodgers. Johnson will have to pitch well the rest of the season before the Orioles feel safe about using him in this role. After all, they still have former closer Chris Ray on the roster and he has better stuff than Johnson. Johnson has pitched in 53 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this season and he is 3-5 with 7 saves, a 3.12 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.

The Orioles have traded 28-year old lefty swinging outfielder Joey Gathright to the Red Sox for either a player to be named later or cash. Gathright played in 80 games in AAA-ball this season for the Orioles and he was 106 for 322 (.329 avg, .762 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 20 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. The Orioles didn’t have a place for Gathright on the roster so this was a move that will help him but also likely the Red Sox next month.

The Orioles have claimed 26-year old righty pitcher Chris Lambert off waivers from the Tigers. Lambert pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Tigers this season and he was 0-1 with a 14.85 ERA and a 2.70 WHIP. He has now pitched in 10 games (3 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-3 with a 7.90 ERA and a 2.05 WHIP. Lambert has pitched batting practice to this point in his major league career allowing 43 hits (6 of which were homers) in only 27 1/3 innings. There’s really not much risk in giving Lambert a audition as he is young and has a good arm.

The Orioles have traded 1B/OF/DH Aubrey Huff to the Tigers for 22-year old righty reliever Brett Jacobson. The 32-year old lefty swinging Huff played in 110 games this season for the Orioles and he was 109 for 430 (.253 avg, .725 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 13 homers and 72 RBIs. In three seasons with the Orioles, Huff played in 415 games in which he was 445 for 1,578 (.282 avg, .815 OPS) with 215 runs scored, 60 homers and 252 RBIs. The Orioles got a nice prospect for Huff in Brett Jacobson. Jacobson was the Tigers’ #10 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He pitched in 35 games (0 starts) in A-ball prior to coming to the Orioles and he was 1-3 with 6 saves, a 3.74 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. This was another solid trade for the Orioles who are trying to build organizational depth in the pitching staff.

The Orioles have signed 28-year old switch hitting outfielder Freddy Guzman to a minor league deal. Guzman has played in 76 games in AAA-ball before signing with the Orioles and he was 58 for 260 (.223 avg, .566 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He has also played in 37 games in his major league career in which he was 19 for 89 (.213 avg, .544 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Don’t expect much out of him.

The Orioles have traded 38-year old switch hitting catcher Gregg Zaun to the Rays for 25-year old lefty swinging 1B Rhyne Hughes. Zaun played in 56 games for the Orioles this season and he was 41 for 168 (.244 avg, .730 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 4 homers and 13 RBIs. With Matt Wieters playing most of the time behind the plate this move made a lot of sense for the Orioles. Hughes played in 114 games in AA+AAA ball for the Rays this season and he was 124 for 440 (.282 avg, .866 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 22 homers, 72 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Look for the Orioles to call up Hughes when rosters expand next week.

The Orioles have traded 32-year old lefty reliever George Sherrill to the Dodgers for 22-year old lefty swinging 3B Josh Bell and 21-year old righty starting pitcher Steve Johnson. Sherrill pitched in 42 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this season and he was 0-1 with 20 saves, a 2.40 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. The Orioles did a good job of extracting two good prospects out of the Dodgers for Sherrill. Bell was the Dodgers’ #8 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Bell played in 94 games in AA-ball for the Dodgers this season and he was 99 for 334 (.296 avg, .883 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 11 homers, 52 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Steve Johnson was the Dodgers’ #15 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He pitched in 20 games (18 starts) in A+AA ball for the Dodgers this season and he was 9-5 with 1 save, a 3.61 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. But the numbers that really caught the Orioles’ front office’s eyes for was the fact that Johnson struck out 117 batters in only 107 1/3 innings. This was a nice haul for the Orioles as Bell and Johnson should help them in the near future.

This site has been down for awhile and the Orioles were very busy in making trades and adding quality prospects. I’m hoping to catch all the way up today for you Orioles fans out there. Thanks for your patience.