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 Baltimore Orioles have placed righty reliever Greg Aquino on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. Aquino has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) this season for the Orioles and he is 0-0 with a 12.54 ERA and a 2.79 WHIP. The Orioles have activated righty reliever Randon Bierd off the D.L. to replace Aquino in the bullpen. Bierd has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this season and he is 0-1 with a 2.03 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

Jeremy Guthrie has been the only consistent starting pitcher for the Orioles this season. He is 5-7 despite having a 3.49 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP which is pretty darn good. But, either the offense doesn’t score for him or the bullpen blows it for him as he hasn’t had much luck this season. Daniel Cabrera started the season well but he’s back to his old tricks of not throwing strikes. He is 6-5 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP this year. Lefties Brian Burress (7-5, 5.02 ERA) and Garrett Olson (6-4, 5.65 ERA) have both been off more than on this season. Rookie righty Radhames Liz is a lot like Daniel Cabrera as he has great stuff but can’t throw a strike when he needs to. Liz is 3-2 with a 7.57 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP this year for the Orioles. If the rotation doesn’t improve soon the Orioles will have to being in some young pitching in trades for some veteran hitters.

The Baltimore Orioles are 45-48 this season which has them in last place in the American League East, 10 games behind the Red Sox. They are also 9.5 games behind the Rays for the Wild Card in the American League. Nick Markakis (.299 avg, 14 homers, 50 RBIs) and Brian Roberts (.296 avg, 62 runs scored, 27 stolen bases) have given the Orioles what they expect out of them. But, Aubrey Huff and Adam Jones have both played above expectations so far this season. Huff is known as a slow starter but he is batting .284 with 53 runs scored, 18 homers and 59 RBIs this season. Look for him to post the best numbers of his major league career in 2008 as long as he can just stay healthy. Adam Jones has not displayed the power the Orioles’ were hoping for this season but he’s still hitting the ball well. Jones is hitting .281 this year with 5 homers, 41 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Despite not hitting for good averages Luke Scott (14 homers), Kevin Millar (12 homers), Melvin Mora (11 homers) and Ramon Hernandez (8 homers) have all provided some punch in the lineup. The Orioles have a good enough offense to fight for the playoffs but the pitching will definately hurt them in the end….especially the starters.

24-year old righty swinging outfielder Nolan Reimold is climbing up the organizational depth chart this season. He was the #4 prospect in the Orioles’ minor league system heading into this season according to Baseball America and he’s showing why now. Reimold has played in 94 games in AA-Ball this season and he is 101 for 348 (.290 avg, .859 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 15 homers, 48 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. If the Orioles continue to slump and trade some outfielders Reimold might get his big chance at the major leagues later this year.