The Giants have returned 22-year old righty starting Steve Johnson to the Orioles. He was a Rule 5 Draft Pick for the Giants last winter, so the Orioles made $25,000 bucks on the deal. Johnson pitched in 27 games (25 starts) in A+AA-ball last season in which he was 12-7 with 1 save, a 3.41 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has now pitched in 91 games (82 starts) in his minor league career and he is 33-28 with 1 save, a 4.13 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. The Orioles are glad to get Johnson back.

The Orioles have lost catcher Michel Hernandez for the next 4-6 weeks due to a fractured right index finger. This cuts the competition for the backup catcher job down to Chad Moeller vs. Craig Tatum. My money would be on Moeller who did a decent job for them last year. Hernandez will start the 2010 season in AAA after he recovers from his injury.

26-year old lefty swinging Nick Markakis is one of the best right fielders in all of baseball. He played in 161 games for the Orioles last season and he was 188 of 642 (.293 avg, .801 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 18 homers, 101 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Markakis made 6 errors in 161 games in RF last season while showing slightly below average range. But, Markakis had 13 assists in RF showing off a great throwing arm. Look for Markakis to hit around .300 with 100+ runs scored, 25+ homers and 100+ RBIs in 2010 if he stays healthy.

26-year old righty swinging Nolan Reimold (LF) and 31-year old lefty swinging Luke Scott (DH) both have starting jobs but they can handle RF in a pinch if something were to happen to Markakis.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: A

24-year old righty swinging Adam Jones was having an outstanding season before it ended due to injury. Jones played in 119 games for the Orioles last season and he was 131 of 473 (.277 avg, .792 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 19 homers, 70 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The sky is the limit for Jones as a hitter as he could have a monster year for the Orioles in 2010 if he can stay healthy. Jones made 5 errors in 118 games in CF last season while showing outstanding range. Jones also had 9 assists out of CF which shows that he has a howitzer attached to his right shoulder. If Jones cuts down on the errors he will be a Gold Glove candidate soon.

25-year old lefty swinging Felix Pie is the top backup in CF for the Orioles. Pie played in 101 games for the Orioles last season and he was 67 of 252 (.266 avg, .763 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 9 homers and 29 RBIs. Pie only made 1 error in 42 games in CF last season while showing outstanding range. He had 2 assists out of CF last season showing off a good throwing arm. Pie was once a top prospect and he started to show why last season for the Orioles and they hope he keeps up the good work in 2010 and beyond.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: B+

26-year old righty swinging Nolan Reimold will be the Orioles’ starting LF in 2010. He played in 104 games for the Orioles last season and he was 100 of 358 (.279 avg, .831 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 15 homers, 45 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Reimold made 5 errors in 88 games in LF last season while showing good range. He had 7 assists from LF as he showed off a very strong throwing arm in 2009. Reimold needs to cut down on his errors in 2010 but other than that he is all systems go.

25-year old lefty swinging Felix Pie could get a lot of playing time in LF in 2010 especially as a defensive replacement late in games. Pie played in 44 games in LF last season and he made 1 error while showing out of this world range. He also had 3 assists from LF showing a solid throwing arm.

31-year old lefty swinging Luke Scott will be the starting DH for the Orioles but he can fill in at LF if the need arises. He played 26 error-free games in LF last season while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2010: B