The Orioles have acquired 35-year old righty swinging shortstop Juan Castro from the Rockies for infielder Mike McCoy. Castro made his debut with the Orioles last night and he whiffed in his only at bat. Castro also played in 7 games for the Rockies this season and he was 0 for 10 with 1 run scored. Castro will be pushing Brandon Fahey for the starting shortstop job on the Orioles but he isn’t much of an upgrade on him as neither of them are good hitters. Castro has now played in 931 games in his major league career and he is 510 for 2,220 (.230 avg, .602 OPS) with 211 runs scored, 33 homers and 195 RBIs.

The Orioles have designated righty reliever Ryan Bukvich for assignment. Bukvich didn’t get much of a chance to show that he belonged with the Orioles as he only pitched in 4 games for them and he was 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA and a 2.81 WHIP. The Orioles have recalled righty reliever Greg Aquino to take over in the bullpen for Bukvich. Aquino was awful early this season for the Orioles working in 6 games in which he was 0-0 with a 14.21 ERA and a 2.84 WHIP. Aquino did turn things around in AAA ball after he was sent down which is why he’s getting another opportunity to show what he’s got. Aquino pitched in 23 games (0 starts) in AAA ball this season and he was 2-2 with 9 saves, a 2.45 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He also whiffed 29 batters in only 25.1 innings in AAA which shows that his stuff is still solid.

The Orioles have seen enough of Steve Trachsel this season so they decided to designate him for assignment. The Orioles were hoping that Trachsel could have pitched well enough this season to net them a couple of prospects at the trade deadline like he did last year, but that was not to be. Trachsel pitched in 10 games (8 starts) for the Orioles this season and he was 2-5 with a 8.39 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. Trachsel’s other numbers were very ugly too as he allowed 53 hits, 10 homers and he walked 23 batters in only 39.2 innings. His major league career is likely over. The Orioles have recalled 29-year old righty swinging infielder Oscar Salazar from AAA ball to replace Trachsel on the roster. Salazar has played in 63 games in AAA ball this season and he is 78 for 251 (.311 avg, .841 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 7 homers, 44 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.

The Orioles have signed 32-year old lefty pitcher Randy Keisler to a minor league contract. He has pitched in 12 games (11 starts) in AAA this season and he is 4-6 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. But, he hasn’t had much success in his major league career to date. Keisler has pitched in 55 games (20 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-4 with a 6.63 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. Don’t look for him to add much to the Orioles’ pitching staff if he gets a chance to pitch for them.

The Orioles have claimed 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jeff Fiorentino off waivers from the A’s as they never really wanted to lose him in the first place. He played in 2 games for the A’s this season and he was 1 for 1 (1.000 avg) with 1 run scored. He also has played in 8 AAA games in which he was 6 for 22 (.273 avg, .630 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen bases. Fiorentino might get an extended look in the majors later this season for the Orioles.