Ex-Oriole update

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

December 20, 2010, 9:16am

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The Nationals signed first baseman Michael Aubrey to a minor league deal, according to this tweet from the team. And yes, I just wrote "this tweet from the team." Aubrey made a pretty good impression on the club late in the 2009 season, but he was hurt in spring training and recovering from a minor medical procedure that required stitches in his back. He fell behind the other first basemen in camp, hit .235 in Triple-A (though a power surge raised his home run total to 22, fifth-best in the International League), and was gone. Hard to believe Aubrey was the 11th overall pick in the 2003 draft. Did Tim Lincecum go 12th? But seriously, folks... Former Orioles farmhand and minor league instructor Julio Vinas has been named manager at Single-A Winston-Salem. Gary Ward will serve as his hitting coach, and Bobby Thigpen returns as pitching coach. Vinas could rake in the minors - he hit .352 and .312 in consecutive seasons at Triple-A Rochester - but the Orioles never called him up. He didn't really have a position and was probably labeled a 4A player. According to the media guide, the Orioles had nine players whose last names began with the letter V (including two who debuted with them this year.) I'll be impressed if you can name all nine without looking it up.