The Orioles cut pitchers Andy Mitchell, Steve Green, and Andy Tracy, catchers JR House and Eli Whiteside, infielders Terry Tiffee, Mike Cervenak, and Cesar Crespo, and outfielders Jon Knott and Ruddy Yan.
I would have liked to have seen Knott and House make the team, or at least make it until the final cuts. I have a feeling O’s fans will see them both before the year is up. The rest of the cuts are no big deal.
The Orioles returned rule 5 pick Adam Donachie back to the Royals after they couldn’t reach a deal to keep him in the farm system. But the Orioles did manage to trade for a catcher for minor league depth.
The Orioles traded 28 year old outfielder, and Orioles minor league player of the year, Cory Keylor to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for 37 year old catcher Alberto Castillo. The Orioles will most likely place Castillo in AAA Norfolk. I grade this trade a C because it basically has no bearings on the Orioles for this or any future season. Keylor was an organizational player that had a good year last year. No harm done.
Outfielder Jay Payton strained his hamstring and is going to miss between 1 to 3 weeks of playing time. Payton will most likely either be on the DL or not available for opening day. He had a great spring training and would have been the starting center fielder on Monday. Its not a really bad injury and he shouldn’t miss too much time.