Orioles release Connor Narron, Aaron Laffey and three others from minor league camp

The Orioles today released five players from minor league camp, bringing the total number to 13 minor league players released since spring training started. The club released infielder Connor Narron, right-handed pitchers Luis Vizcaino, Eric Beaulac and Juan Guzman and left-handed pitcher Aaron Laffey, a Cumberland, Md., native. Narron, the Orioles' fifth-round pick in 2010, hit just .211 in four seasons with the club and had not advanced past the Single-A level. The 22-year-old Narron hit .174 last year in 48 games between Single-A Delmarva and Single-A Frederick. The 28-year-old Laffey is a 2003 graduate of Allegany High School in Cumberland. Laffey, Cleveland's 16th-round pick in 2003, has pitched seven seasons in the major leagues, going 25-29 with a 4.45 ERA in 153 games, including 68 starts. Laffey posted a 7.11 ERA in five games (three starts) in 12 2/3 innings last season with the Mets and Blue Jays. He also pitched for Triple-A Albuquerque and Nashville, going 6-8 with a 6.34 ERA in 23 games. Vizcaino was signed to a minor league deal in January. Vizcaino, 39, pitched in Mexico last year, posting a 1.40 ERA with 25 saves with Yucatan, and hasn't been in the majors since 2009 with the Indians. He's 35-30 with a 4.33 ERA in 11 big league seasons and 543 games. The 23-year-old Guzman had pitched in the O's organization since 2010. Last season, he went 6-6 with an ERA of 4.70 in 111 innings for Delmarva. The 27-year-old Beaulac was drafted in the ninth round by the New York Mets in 2008. He went 2-0 with an ERA of 1.96 over 18 1/3 innings last season between Frederick and Double-A Bowie. The Orioles signed him as a minor league free agent in May 2012. Four days ago, the Orioles released position players Jack Cust, Matt LaPorta and Nik Balog, along with pitchers Zach Staniewicz, Casey Upperman, Julio Rodriguez and Harry Marino. Yesterday, outfielder Steven Bumbry was released from minor league camp. Right-handed pitcher Jacob Bray is going to miss the entire 2014 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in early March in Sarasota, Fla. Bray was selected in Round 12 last summer out of Feather River (Calif.) College. Last season in the Gulf Coast League, Bray went 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA over 12 innings with no walks and 13 strikeouts. The O's minor league rosters for Delmarva, Frederick, Bowie and Norfolk are still not set and no players have been told their season assignments yet, but that should happen over the next few days. One of the most competitive areas in minor league camp has been for roster spots on the Delmarva pitching staff where 19 players have been competing for 12 spots. Right-hander Hunter Harvey, the club's 2013 first-round pick, is pretty much assured of a spot on that Shorebirds staff, but the battle for the rest of the staff has been quite competitive at camp.