The Orioles have designated 29-year old righty reliever/starter Zach Clark for assignment.  Clark pitched in 1 game out of the pen for the Orioles earlier this year and he was 0-0 with a 16.20 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP.  Clark also pitched in 5 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he was 1-2 with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.  The Orioles won’t miss Clark too much if he gets claimed on waivers (which he probably won’t).

UPDATE:  (5/6/2013) - The Baltimore Orioles have outrighted Zach Clark to AA.

31-year old lefty swinging LF Nate McLouth was on the downside of his career until the Orioles signed him to a minor league deal last year.  It looks like he’s found a home in Baltimore.  McLouth has played in 24 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 27 for 82 (.329 avg, .921 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  McLouth has walked 15 times while only whiffing 9 times so far this year as he is locked in at the plate.  McLouth has now played in 79 games in his first two years with the O’s and he is 83 of 291 (.285 avg, .819 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 9 homers, 26 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.

36-year old righty starting pitcher Freddy Garcia is looking good in AAA-ball for the Orioles so far this year.  He has pitched in 5 games (all starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP.  He has given up 31 hits and he has walked 2 batters while whiffing 21 in his first 33 2/3 innings so far this year.  Garcia pitched in 30 games (17 starts) for the Yankees last year and he was 7-6 with a 5.20 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP.  Garcia has now pitched in 359 games (344 starts) in his first fourteen years in the majors and he is 152-101 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.  Garcia could get back to the majors with the O’s in the near future if he keeps pitching well.

The Orioles have acquired 32-year old righty swinging catcher Chris Snyder from the Angels for 28-year old righty reliever Rob Delaney.  Snyder played in 21 games in AAA-ball for the D-Backs this year and he was 27 for 79 (.342 avg, 1.072 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 7 homers and 21 RBIs.  He has played in 706 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 465 of 2,067 (.225 avg, .714 OPS) with 227 runs scored, 77 homers and 297 RBIs.  Delaney pitched in 3 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he was 0-1 with a 10.12 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP.  He has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 10.50 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP.  This was a great move for the Orioles as Snyder will be Matt Wieters’ new backup.  Snyder will get the chance to keep the backup job if he plays well while Taylor Teagarden is out of action.

The Baltimore Orioles are going to place 29-year old righty swinging catcher Taylor Teagarden on the 15-day disabled list due to a dislocated left thumb, which will keep him out of action for the next 3-4 weeks.  Teagarden has played in 4 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 0 for 13 (.000 avg) with 0 walks and 5 whiffs.  The Orioles will call up 26-year old righty swinging catcher Luis Exposito.  He has played in 16 games in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he was 12 for 55 (.218 avg, .527 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers and 6 RBIs.  He got his first taste of the majors for the Orioles last year and he was 1 for 18 (.056 avg, .246 OPS) with 2 runs scored.

UPDATE:  (4/30/2013) - The Orioles have designated Luis Exposito for assignment to make room on the roster for Chris Snyder.

UPDATE II:  (5/4/2013) - The Orioles have outrighted Luis Exposito to AAA.

The Orioles have released 36-year old righty reliever Scott Proctor.  Proctor pitched in 6 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 8.59 ERA and a 2.73 WHIP.  Proctor has pitched in 307 games (1 start) in his seven years in the majors and he is 18-16 with 1 save, a 4.78 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.  Proctor won’t be missed at all for the Orioles moving forward.

The Orioles have signed 23-year old righty swinging outfielder Delvi Cid to a minor league deal.  Cid played in 9 games earlier this year in AA-ball for the Indians and he is 4 for 28 (.143 avg, .440 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 1 stolen base.  Cid has now played in 508 games in his first seven years in the minors and he is 472 of 1,800 (.262 avg, .666 OPS) with 277 runs scored, 12 homers, 133 RBIs and 200 stolen bases.  Cid will likely start his career in AA-ball for the Orioles.

It might be time for the Orioles to let 26-year old lefty swinging 2B Ryan Flaherty to grab some pine while 28-year old switch-hitting Alexi Casilla takes over at 2B while Brian Roberts is out of action.  Flahery has played in 12 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is only 3 for 36 (.083 avg, .342 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer, 2 RBIs and 13 whiffs.  Casilla has played in 12 games for the O’s so far this year and he is 7 for 26 (.269 avg, .642 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 2 stolen bases.  Flaherty needs to sit until he starts to hit better.

26-year old lefty reliever Brian Matusz started his major league career as a starting pitcher.  He started 68 games for the Orioles and he was 21-33 with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.  So late last year, manager Buck Showalter decided to try him in the bullpen and he has looked like a different pitcher ever since.  He has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.53 WHIP.  Matusz has now pitched in 24 games in relief so far in his career and he is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA and a 0.58 WHIP.  He has only given up 7 hits and 4 walks while whiffing 24 batters in his first 19 innings as a reliever in his major league career.  Matusz might just be the latest failed starting pitcher to become a dominating reliever.

The Orioles have signed 30-year old righty swinging 2B Paco Rodriguez to a minor league deal.  He played in 69 games in Independent ball last year and he was 71 for 269 (.264 avg, .679 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 2 homers, 29 RBIs and 7 stolen bases.  He has now played in 580 games in his first 8 years in the minors and he is 583 of 2,067 (.282 avg, .729 OPS) with 318 runs scored, 10 homers, 184 RBIs and 85 stolen bases.  He will have a hard time getting to Baltimore at any point of the 2013 season.