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Orioles

Orioles sign former All-Star closer Perez to minor-league deal

Luke Jones

BALTIMORE — Though still needing to serve a 50-game suspension, former All-Star relief pitcher Chris Perez agreed to a minor-league deal with the Orioles on Thursday. The 30-year-old will report to Sarasota while serving the ban for a second offense of using a drug of abuse. Perez had posted a 9.39 ERA in 7 2/3 innings for Triple-A Colorado Springs in the Milwaukee Brewers organization this season before opting out of his deal in late April to become a free agent. “That doesn’t affect us right now, obviously, for 50 games,” said manager Buck Showalter, who learned of the signing Thursday afternoon. “We all makes some changes in our life and get better. I don’t know much at all about what’s been going on with him. “I do know there are some other variables there that figure into it, I think.” A two-time All-Star closer for the Cleveland Indians in 2011 and 2012 — he collected a combined 75 saves in those seasons — the right-hander and his wife were arrested for marijuana possession in 2013 after a package with nine ounces of marijuana was delivered to his home in their dog’s name. Perez’s career has declined since then as

Terps’ Wells untaken, Orioles prospect Connaughton selected in NBA draft

Luke Jones

Two prospects of local interest saw mixed results during Thursday’s NBA draft as Maryland forward Dez Wells went unselected while Orioles pitching prospected Pat Connaughton was taken in the second round. Despite going undrafted after a strong senior season in which he averaged 15.1 points per game, Wells is expected to join an NBA summer league team and will be given an opportunity to make a roster. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Wells lacks the ideal size to play forward and will need to continue developing his perimeter ability to make it as a guard at the NBA level, but his athleticism and competitive drive still figure to attract a potential suitor for summer workouts. (Update: Wells has agreed to join the Wizards’ summer league roster, according to Comcast SportsNet.) Connaughton’s story is more intriguing as he was selected by the Brooklyn Nets before his draft rights were sent to the Portland Trailblazers in a deal that also involved former Maryland point guard Steve Blake. After being taken by the Orioles in the fourth round of last year’s MLB amateur draft and reportedly receiving a $428,000 signing bonus, Connaughton appeared set to pursue a career as a top 10 pitching prospect in

Orioles activate Gonzalez from DL, option Givens to Bowie

Luke Jones

The Orioles welcomed back one of their most dependable pieces of the starting rotation Thursday by activating right-handed pitcher Miguel Gonzalez from the 15-day disabled list. Making the start in the series finale against Boston, Gonzalez hadn’t pitched for Baltimore since injuring his right groin in a June 9 start against the Red Sox. The 31-year-old made one rehab start for Double-A Bowie, allowing two runs on four hits over five innings of work on Saturday. In his first 12 starts of the season, Gonzalez was 5-4 with a 3.33 ERA in 73 innings of work. To make room for Gonzalez on the active roster, the Orioles optioned right-handed relief pitcher Mychal Givens back to Bowie. The 25-year-old made his major league debut on Wednesday night, striking out one in a scoreless inning of work in a 5-1 loss at Fenway Park. Givens became the 999th player to appear in a game for the Orioles since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954. With lefty Wei-Yin Chen scheduled to be recalled to make the series-opening start against the Cleveland Indians at Camden Yards, the Orioles will need to make another roster move on Friday. Seven outfielders remain on the current

Orioles recall McFarland; Jones sits again on Wednesday

Luke Jones

The Orioles tinkered with their bullpen yet again prior to Wednesday’s game in Boston by recalling left-handed pitcher T.J. McFarland and optioning right-hander Oliver Drake to Triple-A Norfolk. After spending the required 10 days with the Tides upon being sent down on June 14, McFarland brings more length to a bullpen that’s worked hard in recent weeks. Drake was recalled from Norfolk on Sunday but did not appear in a game in his latest stint with the Orioles. McFarland sports a 1.93 ERA in 9 1/3 innings for the Orioles this season, but that mark is deceiving as the 26-year-old southpaw has allowed 12 hits and issued eight walks, numbers that have earned him a 4.71 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) mark. The former Rule 5 pick settled into a long relief role last season while posting a 2.76 ERA in 58 2/3 innings of work, but his control issues have been problematic in 2015. The Orioles will need to make another roster move on Thursday with starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez scheduled to return from the disabled list to start against the Red Sox. Right-handed pitcher Mychal Givens is expected to be sent back to the minors to make room, returning

Jones falls, Machado climbs in latest All-Star voting update

Luke Jones

While the Kansas City Royals continue to dominate the All-Star voting in the American League, the Orioles’ chances of securing a starter appear bleaker. In the latest AL voting update released on Monday, four-time All-Star selection Adam Jones fell to seventh among outfielders and trails the third-place Alex Gordon by nearly 3 million votes. The 29-year-old center fielder ranked fifth among outfielders in last week’s update. In the midst of his best season, the 22-year-old Manny Machado climbed to fourth among AL third baseman but trails the first-place Mike Moustakas by nearly 8 million votes. While seven Kansas City players are currently slated to be starters — Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout are the only non-Royals — the Orioles had no other players appear among the leaders. Voting concludes on July 2 with the 2015 All-Star Game set for July 14 in Cincinnati. Here is the latest AL voting update for the #ASG: pic.twitter.com/AcT8hF7krb — MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) June 22, 2015 Let’s just take a moment to remember we’re living in a world in which 6,521,733 votes have been cast for a second baseman rocking a .549 OPS. As Buck Showalter put it, Royals second

Webb aiming to put difficult 2014 campaign behind him

Luke Jones

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb knows this is a critical season for his NFL future. Though he restructured the remaining three years of his current contract to provide the organization extra cap space earlier this offseason, the 29-year-old knows he probably won’t survive a repeat of last year when he missed training camp and three of the first four games of the regular season due to a lower back injury. When he did play, Webb appeared slow and struggled in pass coverage for much of the season as the Ravens were dealt a plethora of injuries at cornerback and finished 23rd in the league in pass defense. Reporting for this week’s mandatory minicamp, Webb appears slimmer and had a strong practice on Wednesday, breaking up several passes and playing tight coverage in 11-on-11 drills. Entering his seventh season in Baltimore, the 2009 third-round pick isn’t taking his newfound health for granted. “It feels good just to be able to run around and [not] have any pain,” Webb said. “But right now, we’re just working on the secondary [and] just putting the work in to get us back to where we’re supposed to be.” The healthy returns of

Gausman to start for Orioles on Saturday

Luke Jones

After beginning the season in the bullpen and spending the last six weeks on the disabled list, Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman will make his first start of the season in Toronto on Saturday. The 24-year-old will slide into the rotation spot previously occupied by lefty Wei-Yin Chen, who was temporarily optioned to Single-A Frederick to make room on the 25-man roster for outfielder Chris Parmelee on Tuesday. Gausman has been on the 15-day DL since May 8 while dealing with right shoulder tendinitis, but the Orioles have used the last couple weeks to once again stretch him out as a starter. On Tuesday, Gausman pitched two innings for Frederick, allowing a solo homer on the first pitch of the game and striking out two while walking none. The right-hander threw 29 pitches and equated the abbreviated outing to a glorified bullpen session he would normally complete between starts. When asked Tuesday if he had been stretched out enough to start, Gausman estimated that he should be ready to throw 80 or 85 pitches at this point after following the work routine of a starter for a few weeks. In 12 innings in relief earlier this season, Gausman posted a 4.50

Jones sits out Tuesday’s game with shoulder issue

Luke Jones

BALTIMORE — You wouldn’t know it by simply viewing the final score, but the Orioles were without their best player in Tuesday’s 19-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Center fielder Adam Jones was out of the lineup with a right shoulder injury suffered when the 29-year-old was diving headfirst for a ball late in Monday’s 4-0 victory. Manager Buck Showalter said Jones underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam, but it didn’t reveal anything too concerning moving forward. “Everything is serious when Adam Jones misses a game, but nothing structurally that he shouldn’t be able to come back from,” Showalter said. “The question is when, whether it’s tomorrow or the next day or in Toronto. But I feel confident it will be one of those three days.” David Lough took over in center field and hit one of eight Orioles home runs to set a new single-game franchise record on Tuesday. The 29-year-old Jones missed only his third contest of the season as Baltimore wrapped up a 7-1 homestand to climb to two games above .500 for the first time since April 19. Jones sat out two games in late May after spraining his ankle in the first game of a

Orioles release infielder Everth Cabrera

Luke Jones

BALTIMORE — After designating veteran Everth Cabrera for assignment last week, the Orioles officially announced his release prior to Saturday’s game against the New York Yankees. In 29 games this season, Cabrera batted .208 with two doubles, four RBIs, two stolen bases, and a .479 on-base plus slugging percentage. The 28-year-old was signed to a one-year, $2.4 million contract in late February and filled in for the injured J.J. Hardy for the first month of the season. The Orioles hoped that Cabrera might provide an upgrade as a utility infielder or potential competition for the 23-year-old Jonathan Schoop at second base, but the former San Diego Padre struggled immensely at the plate and didn’t provide as much defensive versatility as utility man Ryan Flaherty. On the hook for the remainder of Cabrera’s 2015 salary, the Orioles have now parted ways with their second veteran player this month after trading outfielder Alejandro De Aza to the Boston Red Sox on June 3. Manager Buck Showalter expects Cabrera to draw plenty of interest from other clubs as a free agent. The infielder had a minor-league option at the beginning of the season but had since accrued his fifth full year of service

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