27-year old righty swinging LF Nolan Reimold is swinging the ball really well for the Orioles right now. He has played in 8 games so far this year and he is 8 for 23 (.348 avg, 1.206 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 3 homers and 7 RBIs. This is good to see as Reimold suffered a injury filled year in 2010 and it hurt his performance. Reimold played in 39 games last year and he was 24 for 116 (.207 avg, .610 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 14 RBIs. It appears that Reimold is now healthy and back on the right track. In 2009, Reimold broke into the majors with the O’s and he was 100 for 358 (.279 avg, .831 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 15 homers, 45 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Reimold could have a big role with the Orioles moving forward this year.

The Orioles have released 35-year old righty starting pitcher Ryan Drese. Drese pitched in 9 games (6 starts) in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he was 2-3 with a 6.55 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. He gave up 64 hits while only whiffing 11 batters in 44 innings in AAA, so he wasn’t missing many bats. The Orioles did him a favor because he asked for his release. He was quickly signed to a minor league deal by the Astros, who clearly must not have had scouts watching his games in AAA. The Orioles won’t miss Drese at all.

Righty closer Gregg Olson burst onto the scene for the Orioles in 1989 when he won the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award. Olson pitched in 64 games (0 starts) in 1989 for the O’s and he was 5-2 with 27 saves, a 1.69 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He only gave up 57 hits while whiffing 90 batters in his 85 innings pitched in 1989. Olson pitched in 320 games (0 starts) in his six years with the Orioles and he was 17-21 with 160 saves, 2.26 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Olson might be the Orioles’ leading save man for quite some time as no one on the team now is anywear close to him.

The Orioles have designated 25-year old lefty reliever Troy Patton for assignment. Patton pitched in 1 game (0 starts) for the O’s this year and he was 0-0 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He pitched in 2 games (0 starts) in parts of two years with the Orioles and he is 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. Patton was acquired by the Orioles back on December 12th, 2007 along with Mike Costanzo, Dennis Sarfate, Matt Albers and Luke Scott from the Astros for Miguel Tejada. The trade would have been a disaster without Scott.

The Orioles have called up 24-year old righty swinging 2B Ryan Adams to replace Brian Roberts on the active roster. Adams has played in 39 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 46 for 152 (.303 avg, .807 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 458 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 502 for 1,743 (.288 avg, .782 OPS) with 253 runs scored, 36 homers, 192 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. Adams will only likely stick with the Orioles until Roberts is ready to return to action.

The Orioles have placed starting 1B Derrek Lee on the 15-day disabled list due to a left oblique strain. He will likely miss around 3 weeks with this injury. Lee has played in 40 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 36 for 156 (.231 avg, .657 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 4 homers, 14 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Lefty swinging Luke Scott and righty swinging Brandon Snyder will likely platoon at 1B until Lee is ready to return to action. The Orioles will miss Lee’s defense, but Scott & Snyder might do o.k. replacing his bat.

The Orioles have placed 33-year old switch-hitting 2B Brian Roberts on the new 7-day disabled list due to concussion like symptoms. Roberts has played in 39 games for the O’s so far this year and he is 36 for 163 (.221 avg, .604 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers, 19 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. 27-year old righty swinging Robert Andino will take over for Roberts as the starting 2B until Brian Roberts is ready to return to action. Andino has played in 27 games so far this year for the Orioles and he is 22 for 80 (.275 avg, .701 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base.

23-year old lefty starting pitcher Zach Britton came into this season as the Orioles’ #2 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Britton has pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the O’s so far this year and he is 5-2 with a 2.14 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He has only given up 43 hits in his first 59 innings of his major league career, which is pretty impressive. But, in his last two games, Britton has gotten no help from the offense. In his last two games, Britton has pitched 16 innings in which he has allowed 9 hits, 1 unearned run and 3 walks but he didn’t get the win in either game. Britton pitches like a 10-year veteran already as he has a very impressive arsenal of pitches and he has great command of his pitches. He is going to be a big time winner for the Orioles.

The Orioles have called up 24-year old righty swinging 1B Brandon Snyder to replace Cesar Izturis on the active roster. He played in his first game of the year for the Orioles last night and he walked in his only at bat. Snyder came into this season as the Orioles’ #20 prospect according to Baseball America. He has played in 35 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 37 for 134 (.276 avg, .798 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 5 homers and 16 RBIs. Snyder got his first major league action in 2010 with the Orioles. He played in 10 games for the O’s in 2010 and he was 6 for 20 (.300 avg, .700 OPS) with 1 run scored and 3 RBIs.

The Orioles have placed veteran infielder Cesar Izturis on the 15-day disabled list with a case of right elbow nerve irritation. He needs surgery and he could miss up to the next two months. Izturis has played in 16 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 5 for 26 (.192 avg, .442 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers and 1 RBI. Robert Andino will continue to be the top backup infielder with Izturis on the shelf. Andino has played in 26 games so far this year for the Orioles and he is 20 for 75 (.267 avg, .695 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base. The Orioles should be o.k. without Izturis as long as Andino keeps playing well.