26-year old lefty swinging infielder Scott Moore is really playing well for the Baltimore Orioles so far this season. Moore has played in 26 games this season for the Orioles and he is 15 of 54 (.278 avg, .711 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Moore’s versatility will help him continue to get playing time for the O’s as he can handle 1B, 2B or 3B defensively. His emergence likely led to the Orioles getting rid of Garrett Atkins and that’s a good thing. The Orioles hope he can keep up the good work.

The Baltimore Orioles have designated 30-year old righty swinging 1B Garrett Atkins for assignment. He played in 44 games for the O’s this season and he was 30 of 140 (.214 avg, .562 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs. Atkins was a complete bust for the Orioles who gave him a 1-year, $4.5 million dollar deal over last winter. I thought it was foolish to buy on a player like Atkins who never has hit too well away from Coors Field. The Orioles can’t afford to waste money like they did on Atkins if they want to compete in the American League East. The Orioles have activated 35-year old righty reliever Koji Uehara from the D.L. to replace Atkins on the active roster. Uehara has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the O’s this season and he is 0-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Uehara will likely boost the bullpen as he has pitched well for the Orioles when healthy the last two years.

UPDATE: (7/6/2010) - The Orioles have released Garrett Atkins. No loss there.

The Orioles have placed 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Lou Montanez on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique muscle. Montanez has played in 26 games for the Orioles this season and he is 8 of 57 (.140 avg, .296 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He will be replaced on the active roster by 24-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Bergesen who will make the start for the Orioles tonight. Bergesen has pitched in 12 games (10 starts) for the Orioles so far this season and he is 3-4 with a 6.50 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. He has allowed 75 hits in only 54 innings this season and he has only whiffed 14 batters this year. Bergesen needs to start missing more bats soon or he will be right back in the minors.

25-year old righty David Hernandez’ overall numbers are not that impressive. He has pitched in 18 games (8 starts) for the Orioles this season and he is 2-6 with 2 saves, a 4.64 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. But he has taken to his new role in the bullpen where he doesn’t have to pace himself letting him attack batters with his 95+ plus fastball. Hernandez has pitched 10 games out of the pen and he is 1-1 with 2 saves, a 2.25 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He also has whiffed 13 batters in only 12 innings out of the pen. It looks as if the Orioles have found a role that Hernandez can excel in, making the pitching staff as a whole better.

The Orioles have designated 27-year old righty reliever Cla Meredith for assignment to make room on the roster for Jake Fox. Meredith has pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this season and he is 0-2 with 1 save, a 5.40 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. In parts of two years with the Orioles, Meredith has worked in 50 games (0 starts) in which he is 0-2 with 1 save, a 4.33 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Some team that’s hurting for a reliever might give the O’s a little something for Meredith.

The Orioles have acquired 27-year old righty swinigng C/1B/3B/OF Jake Fox from the A’s for 27-year old righty reliever Ross Wolf. Fox played in 39 games for the A’s this year and he was 21 of 98 (.214 avg, .591 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. He has now played in 128 games in his three years in the majors and he is 79 of 328 (.241 avg, .711 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 13 homers and 57 RBIs. Fox has a lot of versatility in the field and he has the reputation of being a good hitter. The more Fox hits the more he will play with the Orioles who need all of the help they can get right now. Ross Wolf pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year for the O’s and he was 0-2 with a 2.11 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. I like this trade for the O’s as Fox could help them out the rest of this year.

This was supposed to be 24-year old switch hitting catcher Matt Wieters’ breakout season for the Orioles but he has looked lost at the plate. Wieters has played in 60 games for the Orioles this year and he is 49 of 213 (.230 avg, .626 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 5 homers and 18 RBIs. This comes on the heels of a rookie season in which Wieters played in 96 games and he was 102 of 354 (.288 avg, .753 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 9 homers and 43 RBIs. The Orioles are going to stick with Wieters no matter how bad he plays but he really needs to start hitting as his defense isn’t quite good enough to make up for his poor bat so far.

26-year old lefty swinging RF Nick Markakis has seen a power outage so far this season for the Orioles. In his first four years of his major league career Markakis averaged 92.3 runs scored, 19.3 homers, 90.5 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. But this season he has played in 63 games so far and he is 70 of 240 (.292 avg, .802 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 3 homers, 21 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He is healthy so maybe it’s all of the losing or a lack of help in the lineup. Regardless of what the problem is the O’s need Markakis to start hitting for power and knocking in some runs.

The Orioles have recalled 24-year old righty starting pitcher Jake Arrieta who will make his major league debut tonight against the New York Yankees. Arrieta was the Orioles’ #4 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 12 games (11 starts) this season in AAA-ball and he is 6-2 with a 1.85 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He only gave up 48 hits in 73 AAA innings this year but he also walked 34 batters so he still has some things to work on. Arrieta has pitched in 60 games (59 starts) in his three years in the minors and he is 23-18 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. This was a move that had to be made as the Orioles have nothing to lose by bringing up their good prospects.

The Orioles have designated 34-year old lefty reliever Alberto Castillo for assignment to make room on the roster for Jake Arrieta. Castillo pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the O’s this season and he was 1-0 with a 10.13 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP. He have up a stunning 5 homers (16 hits overall) in only 10 2/3 innings for the Orioles this year. Castillo has pitched in 62 games (0 starts) in his three years with the O’s and he is 2-0 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. I fully expect Castillo to reject a minor league assignment if he clears waivers which would end his days in Baltimore.