The Orioles have lost 28-year old righty swinging catcher Craig Tatum on waivers to the Houston Astros. Tatum played in 31 games for the Orioles this year and he was 17 of 87 (.195 avg, .475 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He played in 74 games in his two years with the Orioles and he was 49 for 201 (.244 avg, .583 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 0 homers, 16 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Orioles won’t miss Tatum too much as they should be able to bring in a better catcher to back up Matt Wieters next year and beyond.

29-year old righty reliever Jeremy Accardo has elected to leave the Baltimore Orioles by becoming a free agent. He pitched in 31 games (0 starts) for the Orioles in 2011 and he was 3-3 with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Accardo has now pitched in 235 games (0 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 10-20 with 38 saves, a 4.20 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Accardo is going to hook on with another team over the winter on a minor league deal, but the Orioles aren’t going to miss him based on the way he pitched in 2011.

26-year old righty relief pitcher Mitch Atkins has elected free agency over a return to the O’s in 2012. He pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the Orioles last year and he was 0-0 with a 8.44 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. Atkins has now pitched in 10 games (3 starts) in parts of three years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. This is no loss to the Orioles going forward.

The Baltimore Orioles only have two impending free agents after the World Series. Here’s what I think about them staying or going:

Vladimir Guerrero: 36-year old righty swinging DH Vladimir Guerrero played in 145 games for the Orioles last year and he was 163 of 562 (.290 avg, .733 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 13 homers, 63 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He can still hit, but the power has left his bat. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Cesar Izturis: 31-year old switch-hitting shortstop Cesar Izturis only played in 18 games for the Orioles last year and he was 6 for 30 (.200 avg, .450 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers and 1 RBI. Robert Andino took his job while he was injured. PREDICTION: LEAVING

26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Felix Pie was rejected an outright assignment to AAA to become a free agent. Pie played in 85 games for the Orioles last year and he was 36 for 164 (.220 avg, .545 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He played in 268 games in his three years with the Orioles and he was 182 for 704 (.259 avg, .694 OPS) with 92 runs scored, 14 homers, 67 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Pie is going to get a chance with another team over the winter, but the Orioles are ready to move on from him.