With Chris Ray and Danys Baez out for most if not all of the 2008 season the Orioles felt they needed to bring in reinforcements for the 2008 season. 31-year old lefty George Sherrill will take over as the closer for the Orioles this season after coming over from Seattle in the Erik Bedard trade. He pitched in 73 games (0 starts) for the Mariners last season and he was 2-0 with 3 saves, a 2.36 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He also whiffed 56 batters in only 45.2 innings last season which shows what kind of stuff he has.

33-year old righty Chad Bradford will be the right-handed half of the set-up crew. He pitched in 78 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 4-7 with 2 saves, a 3.34 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He will have to miss more bats this season if he is to remain and effective reliever.

36-year old lefty Jamie Walker will be the left-handed set-up man this season for the Orioles. He pitched in 81 games (# in A.L. last year) for the Orioles and he was 3-2 with 7 saves, a 3.23 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Walker will do a good job again for the Orioles in 2008.

27-year old righty Dennis Sarfate was brought in from the Astros in the Miguel Tejada trade in the off-season. He pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Astros last season and he was 1-0 with a 1.08 ERA and a 0.72 WHIP. Sarfate also whiffed 14 batters in 8.1 innings which shows how dominant his stuff can be at times. He also pitched in 45 games (1 start) in AAA-ball last season and he was 2-7 with a 4.52 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. Sarfate also whiffed 68 batters in only 61.2 innings in AAA last year.

30-year old righty Greg Aquino is another pitcher the Orioles brought in this season that has some closing experience. He pitched in 15 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last season and he was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Aquino has pitched in 126 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-4 with 17 saves, a 4.88 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.

24-year old righty Randor Bierd made the Opening Day Roster for the Orioles. He was a Rule 5 Pick from the Tigers in the off season. Bierd has pitched in 101 games (30 starts) in his minor league career and he has a 18-18 record with a 4.21 ERA. But, he has whiffed 280 batters in 271 innings so he could help them a bit.

25-year old righty Jim Hoey will likely get another chance at some point this season for the Orioles. He pitched in 23 games (0 starts) last season for the Orioles and he was 3-4 with a 7.30 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. Hoey was dominant however in the minors last season. He pitched in 40 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 3-0 with 16 saves, a 0.79 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP.

28-year old righty Rock Cherry will also get another chance at some point in 2008 for the Orioles. He pitched in 22 games (0 starts) for the Cubs & Orioles and he was 1-1 with a 5.46 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.

30-year old righty Ryan Bukvich also might pitch for the Orioles this season. He pitched in 45 games for the White Sox last season and he was 1-0 with a 5.05 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP.

26-year old righty Fernando Cabrera is starting the season on the D.L. but the Orioles like his potential despite a rough 2007 season. He pitched in 33 games (0 starts) for the Orioles & Indians last season and he was 1-2 with 1 save, a 7.21 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Cabrera did whiff 48 batters in only 43.2 innings which shows that he indeed has good stuff.

26-year old righty Chris Ray wants to return at some point this season, but he’s recovering from surgery so it’s up in the air right now as to whether he will pitch in the big leagues this year. He pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 5-6 with 16 saves, a 4.43 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has now pitched in 145 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 10-13 with 49 saves, a 3.19 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

30-year old righty Danys Baez will miss the whole 2008 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. He pitched in 53 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 0-6 with a 6.44 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C

The Baltimore Orioles are in rebuilding mode and that’s not a good thing in the American League East where every team is better than the O’s heading into the 2008 season. Every veteran on the roster that someone else wants will likely be traded during this season. With that in mind I think it would be a miracle for the Orioles to win more than 65 games this season. Be smart, and take the under.

With the exception of Steve Trachsel the Orioles will be going with young pitchers in the starting rotation. The “#1″ starter will be 29-year old righty Jeremy Guthrie who was saved off the Indians junk heap in 2007. He pitched in 32 games (26 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 7-5 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Guthrie has good stuff so he’s the Orioles starting pitcher with the best chance of having a win/loss record over .500 this season.

27-year old righty Daniel Cabrera has the most talent of anyone on the entire Orioles’ pitching staff but he has never really learned how too pitch. The Orioles should consider moving Cabrera to the bullpen where he wouldn’t have to concentrate over 5-6 innings and he could just let the ball fly for an inning. But, the Orioles don’t have that luxury this season. Cabrera started 34 games for the Orioles last season and he was 9-18 with a 5.55 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. He whiffed 166 batters and walked 108 in 204.1 innings last season. Look for more of the same in 2008.

Ancient 37-year old righty Steve Trachsel is back for a return engagement in the Orioles’ rotation. He started 29 games for the Orioles & Cubs last season and he was 7-11 with a 4.90 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. The Orioles hope that Trachsel can pitch well enough to net them a couple of prospects at either the end of July or August like he did last season when the Orioles got Scott Moore and Rock Cherry from the Cubs for him.

24-year old lefty Adam Loewen will be the #4 starter and he has a very solid upside. He started only 6 games last season before suffering a broken elbow. He was 2-0 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP last year for the Orioles. He needs to throw more strikes however as he walked 26 batters in only 30.1 innings last season.

27-year old lefty Brian Burres will be the #5 starter when the season starts. He pitched in 37 games (17 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 6-8 with a 5.95 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. Don’t expect him to keep a starting job all season long.

24-year old lefty Garrett Olson is one of the better prospects that the Orioles have and he will be a chance in the rotation at some point this season. He looked overmatched in his first taste of the majors last season. He started 7 games for the Orioles last season and he was 1-3 with a 7.79 ERA and a 2.16 WHIP. Olson was outstanding in AAA last season however as he started 22 games and he was 9-7 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.

23-year old Hayden Penn might also get a chance to realize his potential this season. He only started 10 games last season in Rookie+A+AAA ball last season and he was 2-2 with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.

25-year old righty Matt Albers was part of the Miguel Tejada haul from the Astros last season and he could start at some point this season but he will open the year in the bullpen. He pitched in 31 games (18 starts) for the Astros last season and he was 4-11 with a 5.86 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.

25-year old righty Radhames Liz is another prospect with a good arm. He pitched in 9 games (4 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 0-2 with a 6.93 ERA and a 1.95 WHIP. He did pitch pretty well in AA-ball last season as he started 25 games and was 11-4 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He also whiffed 161 batters in 137 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: D

24-year old lefty swinging Nick Markakis had a breakout season in 2007. It will be interesting to see how he does this season as he won’t have as much help as he had last season with Miguel Tejada gone. Markakis played in 161 games for the Orioles last season and he was 191 for 637 (.300 avg, .847 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 23 homers, 112 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Markakis only made 2 errors in 161 games in RF last season and he had 13 assists while showing average range. The sky is the limit for Markakis.

31-year old lefty swinging Jay Gibbons is still around but he likely won’t get much playing time. He will miss the first 15 games of the season due to a league suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. He played in 84 games for the Orioles last season and he was 62 for 270 (.230 avg, .620 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 6 homers and 28 RBIs. Gibbons’ best days are behind him because he can’t cheat any more.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A

The key to the trade of Erik Bedard over the winter was 22-year old righty swinging CF Adam Jones. Jones played in 41 games last season for the Mariners and he was 16 for 65 (.246 avg, .700 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He also played in 101 games in AAA where he was 132 for 420 (.314 avg, .968 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 25 homers, 84 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Jones is also an above average defender in CF so he should be quite a player for the Orioles starting in 2008.

31-year old lefty swinging Tike Redman was a sparkplug for the Orioles last season. He played in 40 games for the Orioles last season and he was 42 for 132 (.318 avg, .803 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 2 homers, 16 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Redman played in 28 games in CF for the Orioles and he only made 1 error there while showing outstanding range. He should win a spot on the bench after his play for the Orioles last season.

28-year old switch hitting Chris Roberson was also acquired in the off-season to provide depth. He played in 28 games for the Phillies last season and he was 8 for 28 (.286 avg, .596 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 RBI and 2 stolen bases. Roberson played in 113 games in AAA last season and he was 123 for 463 (.266 avg, .663 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 4 homers, 48 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He will have a hard time making the team.

Jay Payton also could get some time in CF. He played in 17 games there last season for the Orioles and he made 2 errors while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C