The Orioles have designated 25-year old lefty swinging 1B Joe Mahoney for assignment. Mahoney played in 2 games for the Orioles last year in his first taste of the majors and he was 0 for 4 (.000 avg). He also played in 132 games in AAA-ball for the Orioles last year and he was 130 of 491 (.265 avg, .708 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 10 homers, 56 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. This isn’t much of a loss for the O’s.

UPDATE: (12/1/2012) - The Orioles have lost Joe Mahoney on waivers to the Miami Marlins.

The Orioles have acquired 28-year old righty swinging 3B Danny Valencia from the Red Sox for cash considerations. Valencia played in 44 games for the Twins and Red Sox last year in which he was 29 for 154 (.188 avg, .497 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 3 homers and 21 RBIs. He has now played in 283 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 261 of 1,017 (.257 avg, .686 OPS) with 107 runs scored, 25 homers, 133 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Valencia is going to have a good shot to make the Orioles as a bench player next spring.

The Orioles have signed 24-year old righty reliever Chase Johnson to a minor league deal. Johnson pitched in 44 games (0 starts) in Independent ball last year and he was 5-5 with 11 saves, a 3.66 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has now pitched in 123 games (0 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 10-14 with 27 saves, a 3.83 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Johnson will likely start the 2013 season in A or AA-ball for the O’s.

The Orioles have signed 24-year old lefty reliever Logan Mohan to a minor league deal. Mohan pitched in 33 games (0 starts) in Independent ball last year and he was 2-1 with a 2.52 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He has now pitched in 38 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Mohan will likely start the 2013 season in A or AA-ball for the O’s.

26-year old switch-hitting catcher Matt Wieters finished in 21st place in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award in 2012. Wieters played in 144 games for the Orioles last year and he was 131 of 526 (.249 avg, .764 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 23 homers, 83 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 509 games in his first four years with the Orioles and he is 475 of 1,826 (.260 avg, .749 OPS) with 211 runs scored, 65 homers, 249 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Wieters just keeps getting better, so I expect him to have a good year for the O’s in 2013.

27-year old righty swinging CF Adam Jones finished in 6th place in the A.L. vote in 2012. He played in all 162 games for the Orioles last year and he was 186 of 648 (.287 avg, .839 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 32 homers, 82 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Jones has now played in 713 games in his first five years with the Orioles and he is 770 of 2,746 (.280 avg, .782 OPS) with 391 runs scored, 104 homers, 361 RBIs and 55 stolen bases. Jones just might win an MVP Award in the next couple of years as he is hitting his prime right now.

29-year old righty closer Jim Johnson finished in 7th place in the A.L. Cy Young vote and he also finished #14 in the A.L. MVP voting. Johnson pitched in 71 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last year and he was 2-1 with a major league leading 51 saves, a 2.49 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. Johnson gave up 55 hits and he walked 15 batters while whiffing 41 of them in 68 2/3 innings, which are impressive numbers. Johnson has now pitched in 286 games (1 start) in his first seven years with the O’s and he is 15-18 with 72 saves, a 3.14 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. I see no reason to think that Johnson can’t keep up the good work moving forward.

56-year old manager Buck Showalter finished in 2nd place in the voting for the A.L. Manager of the year to Bob Melvin of the A’s. Both Showalter and Melvin did outstanding jobs with teams with low expectations. Showalter led the O’s to a 93-69 (57.4%) record during the regular season and they were 3-3 in the playoffs. Showalter is now 196-185 (51.4%) in his first three years in charge for the Orioles. Showalter is the right guy to keep the Orioles going in the right direction in the future.

27-year old lefty starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen finished in 4th place in the A.L. Rookie of the Year voting for 2012. Chen pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Orioles last year and he was 12-11 with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He gave up 186 hits and he whiffed 154 batters while walking 57 of them in 192 2/3 innings. Those are pretty good numbers and I think he will improve on them in 2013.

The Baltimore Orioles have acquired 25-year old switch-hitting outfielder Trayvon Robinson from the Mariners for 28-year old righty swinging infielder Robert Andino. Robinson played in 46 games for the Mariners last year and he was 32 for 145 (.221 avg, .618 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 90 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 62 for 288 (.215 avg, .602 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 5 homers, 26 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Robinson will have a good shot of winning a bench job for the Orioles for 2013 as he can play anywhere in the outfield. Robert Andino played in 127 games for the Orioles last year and he was 81 of 384 (.211 avg, .588 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 7 homers, 28 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He played in 360 games in his four years with the Orioles and he was 263 of 1,100 (.239 avg, .629 OPS) with 141 runs scored, 16 homers, 80 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. The Orioles will replace Andino in either free agency or another deal.