The Orioles have signed 31-year old righty swinging catcher Michel Hernandez to a minor league deal. He played in 35 games for the Rays last season and he was 24 for 99 (.242 avg, .625 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Hernandez will probably be stashed at AAA to start the season as the Orioles should bring in a veteran with more major league experience than him to mentor Matt Wieters. Hernandez has now played in 45 games in which he is 28 for 118 (.237 avg, .591 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This was a good depth signing for the Orioles.

The Orioles have claimed 26-year old righty reliever/starter Armando Gabino off waivers from the Twins. Gabino pitched in 2 games (1 start) for the Twins this season and he was 0-0 with a 17.18 ERA and a 4.91 WHIP. He allowed 9 hits and walked 5 batters in only 3 2/3 innings for the Twins. The Orioles are thinking probably that Gabino was just a tad nervous as he pitched well in AAA last season. Gabino pitched in 38 games (7 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 6-4 with 1 save, a 2.94 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. This was a nice low risk move for the Orioles as Gabino appears to have some talent based on his minor league numbers.

UPDATE: The Orioles have designated Gabino for assignment to make room on the roster for Mark Hendrickson.

26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jeff Fiorentino, 31-year old righty swinging catcher Guillermo Rodriguez and 29-year old lefty starting pitcher Rich Hill all have rejected outright assignments to the minors thus becoming free agents. Fiorentino played in 24 games for the Orioles last season and he was 18 for 64 (.281 avg, .658 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 8 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. In parts of four years in the majors, Fiorentino is 40 for 148 (.270 avg, .665 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 1 homer, 21 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He should be able to get a minor league deal with another team over the winter. Guillermo Rodriguez played in 7 games last season for the Orioles and he was 0 for 5 (.000 avg, .286 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 89 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 73 for 299 (.244 avg, .647 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 5 homers, 30 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Rodriguez should be able to get a spring training invite as teams always need extra catchers around. Rich Hill pitched in 14 games (13 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 3-3 with a 7.80 ERA and a 1.87 WHIP. Despite pitching horrible for the Orioles Hill will definately get signed by a team over the winter and he is still young enough to turn things around with a pitching coach who can get him to throw strikes. Hill has now pitched in 78 games (70 starts) in his major league career and he is 21-20 with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Hill is the only one of these guys who could come back to haunt the Orioles down the road.