The Orioles have signed 30-year old lefty starting pitcher Tsuyoshi Wade to a 2-year, $8.15 million dollar deal with an option for 2014. Wada started 26 games in Japan last year and he was 16-5 with a 1.51 WHIP. He started 207 games in his nine years in Japan and he was 107-61. He is a soft tossing lefty who will likely get a job in the rotation because of how much the Orioles are paying him. There is a risk here as Kei Igawa was also a soft tossing lefty from Japan who was terrible for the Yankees. This is a very high risk/high reward signing for the Orioles.

The Baltimore Orioles have acquired 28-year old lefty starter/reliever Dana Eveland from the Dodgers for 24-year old righty swinging IF/OF Tyler Henson and 22-year old lefty starter/reliever Jarret Martin. Eveland pitched in 5 games (all starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 3-2 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has now pitched in 100 games (59 starts) in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 19-24 with 1 save, a 5.52 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. The Orioles will give Eveland a chance to win a job in the starting rotation next spring. Tyler Henson came into last season as the Orioles’ #22 prospect. Henson played in 123 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 111 of 449 (.247 avg, .634 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 3 homers, 36 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Jarret Martin pitched in 31 games (18 starts) in A-ball last year for the Orioles last year and he was 5-12 with 1 save, a 4.96 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP.

Major League Baseball has suspended 28-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Rhyne Hughes for 50 games due to him testing positive for an amphetamine. Hughes played in 92 games in AAA-ball this year for the O’s and he was 85 for 342 (.249 avg, .786 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 15 homers, 59 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Hughes got his first taste of the majors in 2010 with the Orioles. He played in 14 games for the Orioles last year and he was 10 for 47 (.213 avg, .530 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 4 RBIs. Hughes didn’t show much discipline last year as he whiffed 19 times while only walking 4 times. He has likely played his last game in the Orioles’ organization due to this suspension.

The Orioles have placed lefty swinging 1B Chris Davis on the 15-day disabled list due to a slight tear in his right shoulder. He will likely miss the rest of the 2011 season. Davis played in 10 games for the Orioles after coming over in a trade deadline deal with the Rangers and he was 9 for 40 (.225 avg, .569 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Davis has played in 38 games overall this year with the Rangers & Orioles and he was 28 for 116 (.241 avg, .658 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers and 9 RBIs. Mark Reynolds will replace Davis at 1B which opens the door for 24-year old switch-hitting Josh Bell at 3B. Bell has played in 14 games for the O’s so far this year and he is 6 for 34 (.176 avg, .420 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 5 RBIs.

UPDATE: (8/20/2011) - Craig Davis has decided against surgery for right now and he’s only hoping to miss a couple of weeks. He will likely have surgery right when the regular season concludes.

The Orioles have lost 23-year old righty reliever Dan Klein for the rest of the 2011 season due to shoulder surgery. Klein came into this season as the Orioles’ #5 prospect according to Baseball America. Klein pitched in 16 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball this year and he was 3-1 with a 1.11 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. He has now pitched in 21 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 4-1 with 1 save, a 0.93 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. He has only given up 24 hits and 7 walks in his first 38 2/3 innings in the minors and he has 47 whiffs and those are impressive numbers. The Orioles hope that Klein can stay healthy in the future because he has a nice upside.