Josh Rupe designated for assignment (updated)

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

May 10, 2011, 10:37am

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The Orioles activated shortstop J.J. Hardy from the disabled list earlier today. To make room on the 25-man roster, the club has designated long reliever Josh Rupe for assignment. Rupe allowed nine earned runs and 16 hits in 14 1/3 innings for a 5.65 ERA. In his last outing, he held Kansas City to one hit in 3 2/3 scoreless innings. The Orioles decided to keep two left-handers in their bullpen. Jason Berken is the only long reliever. The two moves leave the Orioles with a 12-man pitching staff and four-man bench. The Orioles have 39 players on their 40-man roster. They will get back to capacity when Alfredo Simon is removed from the restricted list. I wanted to add that the Orioles have 10 days to trade, release or pass Rupe through waivers. If he clears, they would outright him to Triple-A Norfolk. Rupe is currently on the field in jeans and a T-shirt, shaking hands and hugging his former teammates, while catchers Matt Wieters and Jake Fox take part in early drills with third base coach John Russell.