Notes on trade deadline, Wilson, Parra, Jimenez and Garcia (O's lose 6-0)

ARLINGTON, Texas - The next trade deadline arrives on Monday and executive vice president Dan Duquette is engaged in talks in an attempt to add a bat or pitcher. Players must pass through waivers before they can be dealt. They must be in the organization by 11:59 p.m. on Monday for inclusion on the postseason roster.

Manager Buck Showalter said he hasn't heard that the Orioles are close to making a trade.

"No, I haven't had any conversations that would lead me to think that, but Dan is pretty good at stealth, in a good way," Showalter said.

"I focus on the people we have here and the September call-ups we might make. I haven't heard anything. And if I had, I probably wouldn't tell you, but you can tell the way I'm telling you that I haven't."

Got all that?

What about going in the other direction and trading a pending free agent while looking ahead to 2016 and beyond.

"I haven't heard any of that," Showalter said. "The people we have here we think we can make a run at it with. I'm not contemplating or expecting any of that."

The Orioles are preparing for roster expansion on Tuesday.

"I texted Dan," Showalter said. "We're going to have to get some people traveling probably tomorrow from Norfolk to prepare for the 1st. We'll see how many."

Tyler Wilson, on the disabled list with a strained left oblique, will throw a simulated game on Tuesday.

Gerardo Parra is out of the lineup for the second time in three games. The Rangers started three left-handers and Showalter wanted Caleb Joseph and Steve Pearce in the lineup. Also, Showalter mentioned that Parra's had "a stinger" in his right wrist, though he added that the outfielder is fine.

Parra is 9-for-16 as a pinch-hitter this season, another factor in Showalter's decision. He likes Parra's left-handed bat on the bench.

Showalter was asked about Ubaldo Jimenez's pattern of being much better in one half of a season than the other - whether he his more effective in the first or the second. This season, Jimenez is 7-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 17 starts before the break and 2-5 with a 7.50 ERA in nine starts since play resumed.

The Orioles signed Jimenez to a four-year deal after he went 7-4 with a 4.56 ERA in 19 first-half starts with the Indians in 2013 and 6-5 with a 1.82 ERA in 13 second-half starts. Last season, he was 3-8 with a 4.52 ERA in 18 first-half starts and 3-1 with a 5.96 ERA in second second-half appearances, including four starts.

Jimenez was 8-7 with a 4.50 ERA in 17 first-half starts in 2012 and 1-10 with a 6.63 ERA in 14 second-half starts.

"I know there's a pretty large sampling with (Jimenez), so you try to ride the good part of it as long as you can," Showalter said. "I tell guys all the time when things are going well as a hitter or whatever you try to actually make notes about that. What are you feeling? Not physically what I'm doing. What are you feeling? What's the feel of this and that and whatever, so you can reach back for it when there's some challenges.

"Ubaldo went through some sequences in two or three innings there where that was really good, but I think that's why guys are starting pitchers, because they're able to maintain some things over (a period). Their stuff plays three or four times around the order, it's not just a pure stuff thing.

"I think it's more with him because his delivery has some deception in it and there are periods where he gets out of (whack). It's why his work days ... He has such a good feel of his body and where he needs to be and what works. And always trying to get it there. Little bitty things can throw a pitch off this far (one or two inches), which is a difference at this level with this quality of hitters that you'll pay a price for.

"That's why guys who are consistently good as a starting pitcher are in such demand. It's so rare to find that you're able to stay together like that, mechanically and health-wise, for seven or eight months. It's hard. But just because something's hard doesn't mean that you're not always looking for someone that can do it."

Pitcher Jason Garcia is drawing closer to losing his Rule 5 status for next season. He just needs to avoid the disabled list over the final month.

The Orioles must decide whether Garcia stays in the bullpen next season while assigned to a minor league affiliate or returns to a starting role. The Red Sox transitioned him to the bullpen after he underwent ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in May 2013.

Garcia has made 51 starts among his 82 appearances in the minors, but that include nine games this summer at Double-A Bowie on his injury rehab assignment.

Does he start or pitch out of the bullpen next year?

"That's a good question," Showalter said. "I know what I look at him as right now. I don't think there's enough information on him. This is a guy coming out of A ball, basically. To be able to think you're that smart or that smug and say you know what he's going to be a year or so from now ... I know what I think. If someone asked me today, I have to be ready to give that answer.

"There's a lot of talk back and forth about that. That will be something that will happen next spring. I know what player development people think. There's one side that says you keep the ball in his hand and you pitch every fifth day and have work days in between to work on stuff, and there's another one that says that wouldn't be part of his skill set and he'd be a big piece in the bullpen.

"Either way, if you can get through this year, it's nice to have that option."

Garcia is 1-0 with a 4.71 ERA in 13 games with the Orioles, with 14 walks and 11 strikeouts in 21 innings. He missed a significant chunk of the season with right shoulder tendinitis.

"It's a challenge, as you've seen," Showalter said. "Physically, he had some problems, but we were able to take care of it and stay within the timeframe. He had some issues. It wasn't some tomfoolery. We were able to get that behind him and hopefully get the days.

"I asked our guys below when he was in rehab, do we have guys like that in the system? And every club would tell you not enough. Nobody's got enough of them. Boston had too many of them. It's kind of a difference in their depth level, because when you sign that many free agents, you have a lot of those guys down in the minor leagues that don't have room at the inn. Look at where these guys are getting drafted from - the Astros, the Red Sox, teams that have a lot of players they have to protect."

Update: Miguel Gonzalez loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first inning and gave up two runs to put the Orioles in an early hole. He threw 24 pitches.

The Rangers strung together three consecutive singles. Adrian Beltre lifted a sacrifice fly and another run scored on a wild pitch.

Update II: Gonzalez retired the first two batters in the third inning and allowed three straight hits, including an infield single by Elvis Andrus that increased the Rangers' lead to 3-0. Gonzalez has thrown 56 pitches.

Update III: Gonzalez was charged with four runs in 5 1/3 innings after Jason Garcia let an inherited runner score on Hanser Alberto's RBI single. Gonzalez hasn't exceeded 5 1/3 innings in 11 of his last 14 starts - including an injury-shortened start on June 6.

Gonzalez allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings, with two walks, three strikeouts, a wild pitch and a hit batter. He threw 103 pitches, 68 for strikes.

The Orioles are down 4-0 and have been held to three hits in six innings.

Update III: The Orioles end their road trip with a thud, losing to the Rangers 6-0 at Globe Life Park.

Zach Britton gave up two runs in the bottom of the eighth, the second scoring on Steve Pearce's error.

The Orioles go 1-6 on the trip. They've lost four games in a row, 10 of 11 and 11 of 13 to fall four games below .500 for the first time since June 7.

The Orioles (63-67) are 11 games out of first place in the division and 5 1/2 behind the Rangers for the second wild card. They're now in fourth place and only three games ahead of the last-place Red Sox.

The offense remains a major liability. The Orioles have been held to three runs or fewer in 10 of their last 11 games. They've been shut out nine times this season - Derek Holland went the distance today and held them to three hits - and are 0-59 when trailing after the eighth inning.

The Orioles have exceeded their loss total from last season.