The Orioles have sent 31-year old righty swinging catcher Ronny Paulino to AAA-ball. Paulino played in 9 games for the Orioles this year and he was 9 for 30 (.300 avg, .633 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs. Luis Exposito will back up Matt Wieters behind the plate for now. The Orioles have called up 27-year old righty reliever Stu Pomeranz to help out in the bullpen. Pomeranz pitched in 8 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year for the Orioles and he was 0-0 with 2 saves, a 0.00 ERA and a 0.47 WHIP. He has only given up 7 hits in 19 innings pitched while whiffing 32 batters and walking 2. Pomeranz has pitched in 148 games (84 starts) in his nine years in the minors and he is 34-34 with 20 saves, a 4.53 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has yet to pitch in the majors.

The Orioles have sent 25-year old righty starting pitcher Tommy Hunter to AAA-ball. Hunter has started 6 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 5.00 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Hunter gave up a stunning 9 homers in 36 innings of work for the Orioles. The Orioles burned up the bullpen in yesterday’s 17-inning win against the Red Sox, so they have summoned 28-year old righty Jason Berken to replace Hunter on the pitching staff. Berken has pitched in 5 games (all starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he was 0-0 with a 1.23 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He has pitched in 105 games (24 starts) in his first three years with the Orioles and he was 10-17 with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP.

The Orioles have released 27-year old righty reliever Luis Lebron. Lebron pitched in 12 games (0 starts) in Rookie+A-ball last year and he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 5.06 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He pitched in 181 games (7 starts) in six years in the minors for the Orioles and he was 7-13 with 48 saves, a 5.13 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Despite having an outstanding arm, Lebron could never make it to Baltimore to pitch with the Orioles.

The Orioles have released 29-year old righty swinging 2B Josh Barfield. Barfield played in 4 games in AAA-ball for the O’s this year and he was 0 for 8 (.000 avg, .111 OPS). He last played in the majors way back in 2009. Barfield has played in 309 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 267 of 1,013 (.264 avg, .671 OPS) with 133 runs scored, 16 homers, 112 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. The Orioles aren’t going to miss Barfield at all moving forward.

The Orioles have released 28-year old lefty starter/reliever Ryan Edell. Edell didn’t get into any games in the minors for the Orioles this year. He has pitched in 164 games (129 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 46-37 with 1 save, a 3.60 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. The Orioles aren’t going to miss Edell one bit in 2012 or down the road.