The Orioles have signed 33-year old lefty swinging outfielder Endy Chavez to a 1-year deal. Chavez played in 83 games for the Rangers last year and he was 77 for 256 (.301 avg, .749 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 5 homers, 27 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He has now played in 910 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 682 of 2,493 (.274 avg, .686 OPS) with 326 runs scored, 24 homers, 217 RBIs and 97 stolen bases. Chavez will probably be platooning in LF with Nolan Reimold and I really like this pickup for the Orioles. Chavez has a good bat and he can play all three outfield positions well defensively.

The Orioles have signed 27-year old righty reliever Jon Link to a minor league deal. Link pitched in 54 games (1 start) in AAA-ball for the Dodgers last year and he was 2-2 with 11 saves, a 4.24 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. His only major league experience came back in 2010 with the Dodgers. Link pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers in 2010 and he was 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Link will have a decent shot this spring to win a job in the Orioles’ bullpen.

The Orioles have signed 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Lee Cruz to a minor league deal. Cruz played in Independent ball last year. In 2010, Cruz played in 106 games in four levels of the minors for the White Sox & Astros and he was 140 of 408 (.343 avg, .950 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 19 homers, 90 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 489 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 512 of 1,825 (.281 avg, .778 OPS) with 251 runs scored, 55 homers, 287 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He could win a job on the Orioles’ bench in 2012 with a strong spring training.

The Orioles have signed 28-year old switch-hitting outfielder Antoan Richardson to a minor league deal. Richardson played in his first 9 games in the majors last year (for the Atlanta Braves) and he was 2 for 4 (.500 avg, 1.000 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 stolen base. He also played in 93 games in AA+AAA ball for the Braves last year and he was 78 of 275 (.284 avg, .758 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 1 homer, 21 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Richardson could get a shot next spring to win a job on the Orioles’ bench in 2012.

The Orioles have signed 26-year old righty starter/reliever Kyler Newby to a minor league deal. Newby pitched in 38 games (16 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he worked in 38 games (16 starts) in which he was 10-5 with 1 save, a 4.26 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has now pitched in 218 games (29 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 28-15 with 36 saves, a 3.32 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Newby will probably start the 2012 season in AAA-ball, but if he pitches well, he could get promoted quickly as the Orioles need help in the bullpen.