The Orioles have placed utility man Ryan Freel on the 15-day disabled list with a head injury which happened when he was hit by a thrown ball on a pickoff attempt. Freel has played in 9 games for the Orioles this season and he is 2 for 15 (.133 avg, .483 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. This is a bad break for Freel who was about to get increased playing time. The Orioles have recalled outfielder Luis Montanez from AAA-ball to replace Freel on the roster. He has now played in 2 games for the Orioles this season and he is 1 for 9 (.111 avg, .333 OPS) with a double and a RBI. Montanez has also played in 10 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 18 for 42 (.429 avg, 1.000 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Montanez could possibly keep the starting job in LF when Melvin Mora returns from the D.L. if he does a good job while he is out.

The Orioles have placed 27-year old righty starting pitcher Alfredo Simon on the 15-day disabled list with discomfort in his right elbow. Simon has started 2 games thus far for the Orioles this season and he is 0-1 with a 9.95 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. He has allowed a stunning 5 homers in 6.1 innings so far this season. The Orioles have called up 25-year old righty Radhames Liz to replace Simon on the pitching staff. He has pitched in 1 game for the Orioles so far this season and he is 0-0 with a 36.00 ERA and a 6.00 WHIP. Things are lining up for the Orioles to likely recall 23-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Bergesen to replace Simon in the starting rotation. He is the Orioles #18 prospect according to Baseball America. In two starts this season in AA-ball Bergesen is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. In his previous 5 minor league seasons Bergesen has pitched in 91 games (80 starts) in which he is 32-23 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Bergesen projects to have a much higher upside than Simon does so this is a positive for the Orioles.

The Orioles have placed starting 3B Melvin Mora on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring problem. Mora was off to a good start this season for the Orioles. He has played in 5 games for the Orioles this season and he is 5 for 16 (.313 avg, .921 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. Mora will be replaced at 3B by veteran righty swinging Ty Wigginton. Wigginton has played in 8 games this season and he is 7 for 29 (.243 avg, .574 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He should do a good job replacing Mora in the lineup. Felix Pie and Ryan Freel will now likely platoon in LF while Mora is out and they should also be productive.

The Orioles have to be very pleased with the performance of righty reliever Danys Baez. He has pitched in 2 games covering 3 2/3 innings in which he hasn’t allowed a base runner. He has also whiffed 5 batters this season showing that his arm is getting back to where it was before the Orioles signed him and they are starting to get excited about him.

Chris Ray has been pitching batting practice this season for the Orioles. He has pitched in 2 games out of the bullpen and he has a 0-0 record with a 27.00 ERA and a 4.50 WHIP. He has allowed a stunning 5 hits and he’s walked a batter in only 1 1/3 innings this season. The more troubling stat is that Ray hasn’t whiffed anyone yet this season and that’s usually one of his strong points.