O's minor league pitcher Sean Gleason is heading to the Mexican League

The Orioles' roster crunch of pitchers at the higher levels of their minor leagues has led to right-hander Sean Gleason basically being loaned to Cancun of the Mexican League for the rest of this season. Gleason was removed from the Double-A Bowie roster last night when outfielder Jai Miller was officially added to the Baysox. He was 2-1 with a 5.97 ERA in 17 games, including four starts, for the Baysox. In 37 2/3 innings, Gleason gave up 50 hits with 12 walks and 30 strikeouts. As a player loaned to the Mexican League, he will remain a member of the Orioles organization and that should continue into next season as Gleason is not a minor league free agent after this year. Last year, Gleason, a 20th-round draft pick in 2007, went 1-3 with an ERA of 4.53 for Single-A Frederick. He set a Keys team record with 32 saves and added three more in the playoffs. Gleason has pitched in Mexico before. He pitched in winter ball there last offseason, going 1-0 with a 2.20 ERA and eight saves. This was after he struggled with an ERA of 16.62 in 12 games last October and November for Mesa in the Arizona Fall League. The O's pitching staffs at Triple-A Norfolk and Bowie are getting crowded and Dontrelle Willis is expected to make a start for Norfolk tonight at Toledo and Joel Pineiro could also soon join that rotation. With Jamie Moyer and Miguel Gonzalez moving recently into the Tides' rotation, pitchers like Steve Johnson and Brad Bergesen that were starting for the Tides, are now pitching out of the bullpen.