The Orioles Saturday announced that they have selected the contract of OF NATE McLOUTH from Triple-A Norfolk.

McLouth batted .244 (44-180) with five doubles, two triples, 10 homers, 29 runs scored and 33 RBI in 47 games for Norfolk after opening the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he batted .140 (8-57) with two doubles, four runs scored and two RBI in 34 games.

In 2008, he was a National League All-Star, won a Gold Glove and led the NL with 46 doubles.

In 765 major league games with the Pirates and Braves, McLouth is a career .246 hitter (586-2378) with 142 doubles, 14 triples, 81 homers and 272 RBI.

McLouth will wear #48.

Chavez batted .190 (23-121) with two homers and eight RBI in 47 games for the Orioles.

It was definitely a good and bad weekend for the Orioles. The Birds signed their #1 draft pick right before the deadline and won one of the most exciting games of the year. On the down side they dropped two of three to the Detroit Tigers and lost their best starting pitcher to a knee injury to start the second half of the season. This weekend showed a lot of things. The Orioles are definitely going in the right direction for their future, they are still contenders, but ultimately aren’t ready to run with the big boys. Here’s why summed up with my top three events of the weekend.

#3

Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Tigers showed the Orioles everything that they covet to be a contender in the American League. The Tigers may trail the Orioles in the Wildcard hunt but they are much more prepared to make a run down the stretch. It all starts with the guy that made the start for Detroit on Sunday. Justin Verlander was everything that a #1 starter was supposed to be. He walked out to the mound on Sunday and dominated the Oriole line-up. He not only dominated but he went deep into the game, pitching eight shut-out innings to get the Tigers to their closer and give their bullpen a much need rest after Saturday’s 13 inning marathon. The Tigers started the game with another big weapon, their lead-off hitter. Austin Jackson hit Miguel Gonzalez’s second pitch of the game out of the park to give the Tigers a lead they never relinquished. Until the Orioles find a legitimate lead-off hitter their offense will continue to struggle. Nick Markakis may be the best option right now, but in the long run he is not the answer.

#2

For the second straight year the Orioles signed their top right handed starting pitcher #1 pick right before the signing deadline.

This year’s #1 pick Kevin Gausman signed on the dotted line just minutes before the 5 pm deadline on Friday afternoon.  Oriole fans can gleam hope from the fact that Dylan Bundy and Gausman could be anchoring the rotation in the next couple of years. Gausman is a lanky right hander that has a great fastball and change-up. He has already pitched a lot this year so don’t expect much from him for the rest of this season. It will be interesting to see where he starts the year next year. There was speculation that Gausman would go back to LSU after the Tigers lost to Stony Brook in the College World Series. Former Orioles Pitcher Ben McDonald is close to Gausman and he told us on our show last week that he expected Gausman to sign and he was correct. Although the decision was not a slam dunk for Gausman, “It was a difficult decision, said Gausman. “I love LSU. I think I always will. Baton Rouge will always be a second home to me.” Kevin was 11-1 with a 2.72 ERA for the Tigers with 128 strikeouts in 115 2/3 innings. Gausman was drafted by the Dodgers in 2010 and turned down the Dodgers to go to LSU.

The Orioles Thursday night announced that they have optioned outfielder Xavier Avery to Triple-A Norfolk. Avery has batted .233/.317/.356 in 24 games over three stints with Baltimore.

While no corresponding roster move was announced, the club is expected to activate outfielder Endy Chavez from the 15-day disabled list.

After recognizing the biggest individual surprises of the Orioles’ first half, it’s strange finding a large number of individual disappointments despite the club’s 45-40 start.

Amazingly, the Orioles have managed to find so much success despite their obvious flaws as a number of individuals have failed to meet expectations and others have been injured, leaving major holes and question marks as the club begins the second half on Friday. Even though they currently hold the second wild card position in the American League, the club’s minus-36 run differential (12th in the AL) is indicative of a group due for a substantial market correction in terms of wins and losses.

Many wonder how much longer the Orioles will remain afloat — in terms of staying in the wild card race, at least — after losing 13 of their last 19 game and scoring only 61 runs in their last 22 contests. In addition to their recent offensive struggles, three-fifths of the starting rotation entering the season was recently demoted to Triple-A Norfolk, putting an even greater strain on the Orioles’ dominating bullpen to keep them in games.

Regardless of how optimistic or pessimistic you might be about the Orioles’ chances, the next two weeks of baseball will go a long way in determining how active the club will be at the trade deadline.

Here are my five biggest individual disappointments of the Orioles’ first half:

Not-so-honorable mention: Tommy Hunter, Kevin Gregg, Nolan Reimold’s neck injury, Tsuyoshi Wada’s elbow injury, Brian Roberts’ hip injury

5. Endy Chavez

The 34-year-old wasn’t signed to be a full-time starter, but the Orioles figured they were getting a decent insurance policy for Opening Day left fielder Nolan Reimold when Chavez inked a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. Instead, the 170-pound outfielder hasn’t even hit his weight in an injury-plagued, miserable first half.

While Chavez has made two different trips to the disabled list with intercostal and hamstring injuries, his abysmal .162 average in 105 at-bats makes him fortunate to even have a job at this point. Chavez figured to become the default left fielder when Reimold went down with a herniated disc in his neck, but his poor play has created a colossal hole in left field that manager Buck Showalter has attempted to fill with converted infielders (Steve Tolleson and Ryan Flaherty), journeymen veterans (Steve Pearce and Bill Hall), and a raw rookie (Xavier Avery).

Having completed his minor league rehab assignment over the All-Star break, Chavez is expected to rejoin the club on Friday, but his .402 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) must climb immediately for the organization to justify keeping him around much longer. The left-hander has a career .269 average over 11 major league seasons and hit .301 over 256 at-bats in a part-time role with Texas last year, making his horrendous first half even more shocking.

4. J.J. Hardy

Coming off a tremendous year in his first season in Baltimore, the shortstop has dealt with a tender shoulder since spring training and his production at the plate has dropped dramatically in 2012.

Hardy has never been a great hitter for average (.259 in eight seasons), but his .224 mark at the break reflects the horrendous slump he’s endured since late May. In his last 37 games, the 29-year-old is hitting .172 with two home runs and nine runs batted in.

The club’s widespread struggles at the plate and injuries to Nolan Reimold and Nick Markakis have limited questions about Hardy remaining in the No. 2 spot in the order, but Showalter will have no choice but to drop Hardy in the order if his .262 on-base percentage doesn’t improve soon. Even if Hardy’s production reflected his career numbers, he’s more suited to hit in the No. 6 or 7 spot to drive in more runs with his above-average power at the shortstop position.

Hardy’s defense is still a major asset for a defensively-challenged club, but the Orioles desperately need him to look more like the hitter he was in 2011 if they’re going to remain in the playoff hunt in the second half.

Continue >>>