The Orioles have dealt 33-year old lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez to the Rangers for a player to be named later. Gonzalez pitched in 49 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this year and he was 2-2 with 1 save, a 4.27 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He pitched in 78 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Orioles and he was 3-5 with 2 saves, a 4.18 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Gonzalez was a huge disappointment for the Orioles as they signed him a couple of winters ago with the idea of him being the closer.

UPDATE: The Orioles are going to get 26-year old righty reliever Pedro Strop from the Rangers to complete this deal. Strop pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this year and he was 0-1 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He also pitched in 39 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Rangers and he was 4-4 with 11 saves, a 3.59 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Strop has pitched in 33 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 0-1 with a 7.24 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. Strop has walked 22 batters while whiffing 29 of them in his first 27 1/3 innings in the majors. He has a good arm and if the Orioles can straighten out his control issues, this trade might look really good for them down the road.

The Orioles have designated 37-year old lefty reliever Mark Hendrickson for assignment. Hendrickson pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this year and he was 1-0 with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. He pitched in 113 games (12 starts) in his three years with the Orioles and he was 8-11 with 1 save, a 4.80 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Orioles shouldn’t miss Hendrickson as he just wasn’t much of a pitcher with them.

UPDATE: (9/14/2011) - The Orioles have released Mark Hendrickson.

25-year old switch-hitting catcher Matt Wieters has been hot with the bat for the Orioles so far in August. He has played in 22 games in August for the O’s and he is 24 for 79 (.304 avg, .932 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 4 homers and 13 RBIs. Wieters has now played in 114 games overall this year for the Orioles and he is 108 for 408 (.265 avg, .753 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 14 homers, 50 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Orioles have to be pleased with Wieters so far this year as he has bounced back from a rough year in 2010.

The Baltimore Orioles have designated 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Felix Pie for assignment. Pie played in 85 games for the Orioles this year and he was 36 for 164 (.220 avg, .545 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He played in 268 games in his three years with the Orioles and he was 182 for 704 (.259 avg, .694 OPS) with 92 runs scored, 14 homers, 67 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. The Orioles should be able to find a team that will deal for Pie.

UPDATE: (8/26/2011) - Felix Pie has cleared waivers and he has accepted an outright assignment to AAA. That is smart on his part as he will receive his full salary while playing in AAA.

33-year old righty closer Kevin Gregg has been putrid lately for the Orioles. In his last five games, Gregg is 0-1 with 1 save, a 21.00 ERA and a 4.00 WHIP. He has given up a stunning 9 hits while also walking 3 batters in his last 3 innings pitched! Gregg has pitched in 51 games (0 starts) overall this year for the Orioles and he is 0-2 with 18 saves, a 4.50 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP as he has walking an amazingly bad 31 batters in his first 48 innings this year. Don’t be surprised if the O’s take Gregg out of his closer role and replace him with Jim Johnson in the near future.

The Orioles have placed 27-year old righty reliever Jason Berken on the 15-day disabled list due to a right forearm strain. Berken has pitched in 35 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 5.80 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. He has given up 56 hits (9 homers) in only 40 1/3 innings so far this year, so he has gotten hit really hard. The Orioles won’t miss him while he is out of action because he just hasn’t pitched that well this year.

Injuries have given 27-year old righty swinging OF/1B Nolan Reimold a chance at full-time P.T. in which he was expected to take advantage of. But he hasn’t. Reimold has played in 15 games so far in August and he is 10 for 53 (.189 avg, .548 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He has now played in 54 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 35 for 162 (.216 avg, .686 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 7 homers, 20 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Reimold is starting to fall out of the good graces of the Orioles. If he doesn’t straighten out soon the Orioles might not be depending on him much…if at all…..in the future.

The Orioles have placed lefty swinging 1B Chris Davis on the 15-day disabled list due to a slight tear in his right shoulder. He will likely miss the rest of the 2011 season. Davis played in 10 games for the Orioles after coming over in a trade deadline deal with the Rangers and he was 9 for 40 (.225 avg, .569 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Davis has played in 38 games overall this year with the Rangers & Orioles and he was 28 for 116 (.241 avg, .658 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers and 9 RBIs. Mark Reynolds will replace Davis at 1B which opens the door for 24-year old switch-hitting Josh Bell at 3B. Bell has played in 14 games for the O’s so far this year and he is 6 for 34 (.176 avg, .420 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 5 RBIs.

UPDATE: (8/20/2011) - Craig Davis has decided against surgery for right now and he’s only hoping to miss a couple of weeks. He will likely have surgery right when the regular season concludes.

The Orioles have designated 26-year old righty reliever Luis Lebron for assignment. Lebron pitched in 8 games (0 starts) in Rookie+A-ball this year and he was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA and a 0.63 WHIP. He pitched in 177 games (7 starts) in his six years in the minors for the Orioles and he was 7-13 with 47 saves, a 5.06 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Lebron was just taking up roster space with the Orioles and he won’t be missed.

UPDATE: (8/20/2011) - Luis Lebron has cleared waivers and he has been outrighted to AAA by the Orioles.

27-year old righty swinging Robert Andino is getting most of the P.T. at 2B for the Orioles right now. He has played in 13 games so far in August and he is 11 for 46 (.239 avg, .612 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 0 homers, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Andino has now played in 96 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 76 for 291 (.261 avg, .658 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Andino is getting to showcase his talents as he hasn’t played much in his major league career until 2011.