Orioles outright Phelps, Yoon off 40-man roster

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

August 30, 2014, 12:15pm

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The Orioles continue to tinker with the 40-man roster. This afternoon, they outrighted infielder Cord Phelps and left-hander Suk-min Yoon off the 40-man and assigned them to Triple-A Norfolk, opening up two spots.

Phelps, who was designated for assignment earlier this week when the Orioles recalled Miguel Gonzalez, hit .258 with seven homers and 49 RBIs in 97 games at Norfolk. He was 0-for-3 as a pinch-hitter with the Orioles.

The Orioles signed Yoon to a three-year, $5.575 million deal in February, but he has yet to pitch in the majors. He is 3-8 with a 5.56 ERA in 22 games, including 17 starts, for Norfolk.

Yoon's agreement included a stipulation that the Orioles couldn't option him over the last two years of the deal without his permission. But that's no longer the case now that he's off the 40-man roster.

The Orioles now have 38 players on the 40-man roster, a hint that executive vice president Dan Duquette might be close to an acquisition before the Aug. 31 deadline to set postseason rosters. But they're also creating spots for non-roster call-ups.

They can create another opening by moving third baseman Manny Machado from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.