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.

The Orioles have sent 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Brian Matusz to AAA. In his last four starts for the Orioles, Matusz was 0-4 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.59 WHIP. He has started 6 games for the O’s so far this year and he is 1-4 with a 8.77 ERA and a 1.99 WHIP. The Orioles have to be very disappointed with how poorly Matusz has pitched this year as they had high hopes for him. Matusz started 32 games for the Orioles last year and he was 10-12 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He pitched especially well last year after Buck Showalter took over as the manager. The Orioles hope that Matusz gets straightened out in AAA, so that he can get back to Baltimore.

The Orioles have designated 28-year old righty swinging C/1B Jake Fox for assignment. Fox played in 19 games for the Orioles earlier this year and he was 9 for 48 (.188 avg, .646 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Fox has now played in 185 games in the majors in his first four years and he is 110 for 476 (.231 avg, .701 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 20 homers and 71 RBIs. The Orioles are trying to deal him before they lose him for nothing.

UPDATE: (6/10/2011) - Jake Fox has accepted an outright assignment to AAA after he cleared waivers. The Orioles tried to deal him but couldn’t find any takers.

23-year old lefty starting pitcher Zach Britton came into this season as the Orioles’ #2 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Britton has pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the O’s so far this year and he is 5-2 with a 2.14 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He has only given up 43 hits in his first 59 innings of his major league career, which is pretty impressive. But, in his last two games, Britton has gotten no help from the offense. In his last two games, Britton has pitched 16 innings in which he has allowed 9 hits, 1 unearned run and 3 walks but he didn’t get the win in either game. Britton pitches like a 10-year veteran already as he has a very impressive arsenal of pitches and he has great command of his pitches. He is going to be a big time winner for the Orioles.