Orioles add Berry, Gamboa and Ohlman to 40-man roster

The Orioles have added left-hander Tim Berry, knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa and catcher Michael Ohlman to their 40-man roster, raising the total to 36. No other players may be added to the roster before the Dec. 12 Rule 5 draft unless they're acquired from outside the organization. Berry, 22, went 11-7 with a 3.85 ERA in 27 starts at Single-A Frederick. He walked 40 and struck out 119 in 152 innings. Berry finished second in the Carolina League in wins, starts and innings. He also went 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA in seven games (two starts) for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League. The Orioles selected Berry in the 50th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of San Marcos (Calif.) High School. He's never pitched beyond the Carolina League, but he's emerged as one of the better prospects in the organization and the Orioles aren't taking any chances with him. Berry likely will begin the 2014 season at Double-A Bowie and would be just a phone call away from the majors. Quite the success story, given his draft status and the ligament-reconstructive surgery on his elbow in high school that caused him to plummet in the draft. Gamboa, who turns 29 in December, went a combined 6-11 with a 4.43 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 142 1/3 innings for Double-A Bowie (4-6, 3.64 in 16 starts) and Triple-A Norfolk (2-5, 6.23 in nine starts). In six minor league seasons since being drafted by the Orioles in the 21st round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, Gamboa has gone 37-34 with a 3.37 ERA in 164 games and 584 1/3 innings, averaging 7.1 strikeouts and 3.2 walks per nine innings. Ohlman, 23, spent the 2013 season at Frederick and was named the Topps Player of the Year in the Carolina League after batting .313/.410/.524 with 29 doubles, four triples, 13 homers and 53 RBIs in 100 games. He went 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts. Ohlman was named a Carolina League All-Star, won two Player of the Week awards, led the league in OPS and won the batting title. The Orioles selected Ohlman in the 11th round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft out of Lakewood Ranch (Fla.) High School. He's hit .260/.357/.394 in five seasons. The Orioles didn't protect Double-A Bowie catcher Caleb Joseph, 27, who was named the Topps Player of the Year in the Eastern League after batting .299/.346/.494 with 31 doubles, two triples, 22 homers and 97 RBIs in 135 games. Others left unprotected include pitchers Jason Gurka and Oliver Drake (Navy). The Orioles debated on both of them. Top pitching prospects Mike Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez didn't need to be protected this year. My colleague, Steve Melewski, will have more information at MASNsports.com. Check it out.