The Orioles today announced that they have placed RHP Jason Berken on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 13, with right shoulder inflammation. RHP Rick Vandenhurk has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to take Berken's place on the roster. Berken was 3-3 with a 3.03 ERA (62.1IP, 21ER) in 41 games for the Orioles this season. His 62.1 innings pitched leads American League relievers. Acquired from the Florida Marlins in exchange for LHP Will Ohman on July 31, VandenHurk was 1-1...

The Orioles have now confirmed that they have come to terms with pitcher Matt Bywater, their seventh-round draft pick out of Pepperdine. The 6'3", 195-pound lefty went 6-5, 2.40 as a junior this past season. Over 97 2/3 innings, he allowed 88 hits with 30 walks and 83 strikeouts. The 21-year-old Bywater, from Thousand Oaks, California, pitched five complete games for Pepperdine with four shutouts. Early last season, he pitched a four-hit shutout with ten strikeouts vs. then 4th-rated...

The news on Jason Berken is more discouraging than we believed. Berken told reporters that the MRI revealed a tear in his labrum and some inflammation in his rotator cuff. Surgery still hasn't been considered and Berken didn't completely dismiss the possibility of pitching again this season, but it seems more unlikely. "There's time enough for some good rest, and hopefully that kind of calms everything down, and at some point start a rehab process," he said. "It could have been a lot...

On the challenges associated with losing David Hernandez and Jason Berken in the bullpen: "It's probably not something that's foreign here. This year's been a challenge physically, and I look at it as an opportunity to see some other people and see them rise to the occasion. (Armando) Gabino, we've heard so much about his slider and we've gotten to see that through necessity some. We've got other people. As the old scouts say, 'Never overlook an orchid while searching for a rose.' I...

As the O's return home for the start of a seven-game homestand, the Players Trust's annual Buses for Baseball program will visit the ballpark tonight to host children with cancer. Young O's fans from the Cool Kids Campaign will meet O's players Jeremy Guthrie, Ty Wigginton, Luke Scott, Brian Matusz, and Corey Patterson. Buses for Baseball provides the kids with roundtrip transportation to Major League ballparks, and once there, the kids receive free tickets, food, beverages, and...

The Orioles are making the expected move and placing Jason Berken on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right shoulder. Rick VandenHurk is joining the club from Triple-A Norfolk and will be available tonight. Manager Buck Showalter didn't want to discuss the MRI results until the doctor met with Berken, but he said it isn't a surgery situation. The Orioles are hoping that Berken can pitch again this season. Berken's DL assignment is retroactive to Friday. He's eligible to return on Aug....

Pepperdine pitcher Matt Bywater, the Orioles seventh-round draft pick, said he has had some phone conversations with club officials today, but he still does not have an agreement with the team as of a little after four this afternoon. "Not so much progress at this point," Bywater said. "I'd like to be optimistic, I guess we are kind of at a standstill," he said. The 21-year-old lefty went 6-5, 2.40 in college this year with five complete games and four shutouts. He fanned 83 in 97 2/3...

Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton 1B Luke Scott DH Adam Jones CF Felix Pie LF Matt Wieters C Cesar Izturis SS Josh Bell 3B Brad Bergesen RHP Update: Jason Berken is still awaiting the results of his MRI, but pitcher Rick VandenHurk appears among the relievers on the magnetic board outside the clubhouse.

Nationals right-handed starter Jordan Zimmermann had another successful outing for Syracuse at Indianapolis as he prepares to return to the big club, which could be as early as August 25. Zimmermann threw 73 pitches (43 strikes) over five innings, scattering six hits, allowing one run, one walk and striking out three. He is 0-0 with a 0.75 ERA in three starts for Syracuse, a span of 12 innings. Zimmermann said "everything is good. All my pitches are working well. I am especially pleased...

While awaiting tonight's draft developments... The Orioles are excited that their third-round draft pick, pitcher Dan Klein of UCLA, should be pitching sometime soon for the Aberdeen IronBirds. Klein was 6-1, 1.90 with ten saves for the Bruins team this year that made the College World Series. It was a big year for Klein as he showed the scouts he was healthy after he took a redshirt year and didn't pitch for UCLA in 2009. Klein missed some time the previous season as well due to shoulder...