The Orioles have re-signed 35-year old lefty starter/reliever Mark Hendrickson to a 1-year, $1.2 million dollar deal with a option for the 2011 season also worth $1.2 million bucks. Hendrickson pitched in 53 games (11 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 6-5 with 1 save, a 4.37 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. The Orioles signed him with the idea of pitching him out of the pen where he was pretty effective in 2009. He only allowed 8 of 36 inherited runners to score (22%) which is pretty darn good. He also had a 3.44 ERA with a reliever and hitters only had a .708 OPS against Hendrickson when he was pitching out of the pen. Hendrickson has pitched in 268 games (165 starts) in his major league career now and he is 56-68 with 1 save, a 5.00 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. I like this signing for the Orioles.

The Orioles have designated 28-year old righty reliever Dennis Sarfate for assignment to make room on the roster for Miguel Tejada. Sarfate pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 0-1 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. He pitched two years for the Orioles appearing in 77 games (4 starts) in which he was 4-4 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Sarfate has good stuff as he only allowed 83 hits in 102 2/3 innings for the Orioles while whiffing 106 batters. But, he didn’t throw enough strikes as he walked 76 batters the last two years and that is way too many. The Orioles will likely find a trade partner for Sarfate because of his stuff.

UPDATE: Sarfate has accepted a outright assignment to the minors by the Orioles and he will be in spring training trying to win a job in the pen with them.

In 1983 and 1984 righty starting pitcher Mike Boddicker was not only the ace of the Baltimore Orioles but he was one of the best pitchers in the major leagues period. In those two years Boddicker pitched in 61 games (60 starts) and he was 36-19 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He never really matched that success in the rest of him time in Baltimore. He pitched 9 years for the Orioles appearing in 190 games (180 starts) in which he was 79-73 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.

Not too long ago the Orioles had a big question mark at 1B but now they boast pretty good depth there. 30-year old righty swinging Garrett Atkins will start at first base for the Orioles. He played in 126 games for the Rockies last season and he was 80 for 354 (.226 avg, .650 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 9 homers and 48 RBIs. The Orioles hope that last year was just a down one for Atkins. They are hoping they get the version of Atkins that hit .301 with a average of 87 runs scored, 36.5 doubles, 22 homers and 104.8 RBIs from the 2005 to 2008 season with the Rockies. Atkins made 1 error in 28 games (11 starts) at first base for the Orioles. They think he will be a decent 1B defensively.

If Atkins isn’t up to the task of being the everyday 1B in 2010 Ty Wigginton will be waiting to replace him on the pine. He played in 122 games for the Orioles last season and he was 112 for 410 (.273 avg, .714 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 11 homers and 41 RBIs. Wigginton made 4 errors in 40 games (38 starts) at 1B for the Orioles last season so he has to improve defensively to keep getting playing time there. Wigginton’s best asset is that he can play a lot of positions so even if he doesn’t have a set position he will still get some playing time.

27-year old lefty swinging Michael Aubrey was a nice find for the O’s last season. He played in 31 games for the Orioles last season and he was 26 for 90 (.289 avg, .826 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 4 homers and 14 RBIs. Aubrey is also pretty slick with the glove as he didn’t make any errors in 25 games (21 starts) at 1B for the Orioles last season. He was once a very highly thought of prospect in the Indians’ organization so maybe the change of scenery has given him the needed jolt to get his career back on track.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: C

The Orioles have signed 35-year old righty swinging Miguel Tejada to a 1-year deal to man 3B in 2010. He played in 158 games for the Astros last season and he was 199 for 635 (.313 avg, .795 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 14 homers, 86 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,871 games in his major league career and he is 2,114 of 7,320 (.289 avg, .810 OPS) with 1,116 runs scored, 285 homers, 1,185 RBIs and 78 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see how well Tejada handles 3B but I think he will do a good job defensively there. The Orioles just traded him two years ago and they got five players from the Astros for him. During those two years with the Astros, Tejada played in 316 games in which he was 378 for 1,267 (.298 avg, .762 OPS) with 175 runs scored, 27 homers, 152 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The five players the Orioles got back from the Astros was led by current DH Luke Scott who has played in 276 games for the Orioles the last two years in which he was 238 for 924 (.258 avg, .817 OPS) with 175 runs scored, 27 homers, 152 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Righty reliever Matt Albers and Dennis Sarfate also came over in this deal. Albers has pitched in 84 games (3 starts) for the Orioles and he is 6-9 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP while Sarfate has pitched in 77 games (4 starts) for the Orioles and he is 4-4 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Lefty starting pitcher Troy Patton was one of the big keys to the trade for the Orioles but he hasn’t pitched for them yet. He missed all of the 2008 season recovering from surgery but he bounced back in the minors last year. He pitched in 20 games (all starts) last season in AA+AAA ball and he was 7-5 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. 3B Mike Costanzo was the final played the O’s got from the Astros and he is beginning to look like a non-prospect. He has played in 211 games in AA+AAA ball the last two years and he is 181 for 755 (.240 avg) with 89 runs scored, 14 homers and 100 RBIs. This trade was a huge win for the Orioles who just rented Tejada to the Astros for a couple of years. Now the Orioles hope that Tejada has a big year for them in 2010. He has played in 619 games in his career with the O’s and he is 768 for 2,469 (.311 avg, .862 OPS) with 367 runs scored, 102 homers, 429 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. The signing of Tejada will allow the Orioles to play Garrett Atkins at 1B which is where they wanted him.