The Orioles have placed 41-year old lefty swinging DH Jim Thome on the 15-day disabled list due to a herniated disk. Thome has played in 18 games for the O’s so far this year and he is 18 of 69 (.261 avg, .746 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs. He has now played in 48 games overall for the Phillies and Orioles so far this year and he is 33 of 131 (.252 avg, .797 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 7 homers and 21 RBIs. This is a bad break for both Thome and the Orioles as he was adding some pop to the offense.

26-year old lefty swinging Chris Davis have been giving LF a try to the Orioles lately. While he’s not too good defensively in the outfield, this move allowed Mark Reynolds to move to 1B and Wilson Betemit to play 3B. While the Orioles lose a lot defensively at all three of those positions, it is nice to get all three of those guys into the starting lineup. Davis has played in 86 games for the O’s so far this year and he is 82 of 314 (.261 avg, .776 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 17 homers and 49 RBIs. His average is pretty impressive this year when you consider that he has whiffed 99 times while only walking 19 times so far this year. The Orioles hope that Davis can improve defensively, so that they can leave him in LF for a while.

The Baltimore Orioles really need to get a 1B or 3B in the trade market that can make an impact with the bat. Top targets should include Justin Morneau (Twins), Carlos Lee (Marlins), Chase Headley (Padres) and Aramis Ramirez (Brewers). Of those four players, Carlos Lee would likely come the cheapest in terms of prospects, so that would be the direction I would head in. The Orioles are also likely going to be scouring the market for starting pitchers. I think they should stay out of the bidding for Zack Greinke, James Shields, Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza and Josh Johnson. There’s two reasons for that line of thinking. One, it would cost the Orioles a lot of quality prospects for any of those five pitchers. Secondly, the Orioles need to trade for more than one starting pitcher. With that in mind, they will likely be looking at guys like Francisco Liriano, Bartolo Colon, Jason Vargas, Kevin Correia, Lucas Harrell, Clayton Richard, Carlos Zambrano, Randy Wolf, Joe Blanton and Paul Maholm. Of that bunch, I think Jason Vargas and Joe Blanton make the most sense. They also need a lefty reliever to help out Troy Patton. They should be after Jose Mijares, Manny Parra and Joe Thatcher. I think Mijares should be the target here. In summation, I think trades adding Carlos Lee, Jason Vargas, Joe Blanton and Jose Mijares would keep the Orioles in the hunt for a playoff spot in 2012. They can’t stay pat.

25-year old lefty swinging infielder Ryan Flaherty is heating up with the bat so far in July. He has played in 14 games so far in July and he is 8 for 30 (.267 avg, .879 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 3 homers and 6 RBIs. He has now played in 58 games for the Orioles this year and he is 24 for 115 (.209 avg, .559 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Flaherty hasn’t shown much discipline so far this year at the plate as he has whiffed 34 times while walking only 3 times. The Orioles hope that Flaherty stays hot with the bat, as they need someone to fill the black hole they now have at 2B with Robert Andino and Brian Roberts injured.

The Orioles have lost 33-year old righty starting pitcher Joel Pineiro as he needs surgery to repair a tear in his right labrum. Pineiro pitched in 5 games (all starts) in Rookie+AAA-ball last year and he was 1-0 with a 2.96 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. He has pitched in 335 games (263 starts) in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 104-93 with 2 saves, a 4.41 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Orioles were likely going to give Pineiro a shot to resume his major league career later on in 2012, if he could have just stayed healthy.

The Orioles have designated 29-year old righty swinging 1B/OF Steve Pearce for assignment. Pearce played in 28 games for the Orioles this year and he was 18 of 71 (.254 avg, .758 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 homers and 14 RBIs. He has now played in 213 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 126 of 536 (.235 avg, .679 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 12 homers, 66 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. It’s very unlikely that Pearce will accept an outright assignment to AAA if he clears waivers, so the Orioles should try to deal him.

UPDATE: (7/28/2012) - The Orioles have lost Steve Pearce on waivers to the Houston Astros.

The Orioles have acquired 30-year old righty swinging SS/2B Omar Quintanilla from the Mets for cash considerations. Quintanilla played in 29 games for the Mets this year and he was 18 of 70 (.257 avg, .721 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. He has now played in 256 games in his first seven years in the majors and he is 129 of 592 (.218 avg, .572 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 3 homers, 38 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Orioles hope that Quintanilla will help them fill the void at 2B while Robert Andino is out of action.

26-year old lefty Troy Patton is finally healthy and the results have been rock solid for him in 2012. Patton has pitched in 17 games (0 starts) in June and July so far and he is 0-0 with a 2.33 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He has given up 15 hits while whiffing 17 batters in his 19 1/3 innings in June and July. Patton has now pitched in 37 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. The Orioles should be on the hunt for a second lefty reliever to team with Patton late in games.

The Orioles have designated 26-year old righty reliever/starter Brad Bergesen for assignment. Bergesen pitched in 22 games (10 starts) in AAA-ball this year for the Orioles and he was 4-3 with 1 save, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He pitched in 83 games (59 starts) in his three years with the Orioles and he was 17-24 with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. The Orioles probably hope he clears waivers so they can keep him around for a while.

UPDATE: (7/20/2012) - The Orioles have lost Brad Bergesen on waivers to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Orioles have placed 28-year old righty swinging infielder Robert Andino on the 15-day disabled list due to a left shoulder sprain. His injury will cause him to miss the next 3-4 weeks. Andino has played in 79 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 63 of 274 (.230 avg, .617 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 5 homers, 21 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. With Andino and Brian Roberts out for an extended period of time, the door might be opening for 25-year old lefty swinging Ryan Flaherty to get a shot to start at 2B. He has played in 51 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 20 of 95 (.211 avg, .514 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Flahery has walked 2 times while whiffing 29 times so far this year, so he has had some issues at the plate this year.