Orioles release 11 minor leaguers

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

February 02, 2011, 8:44am

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The Orioles recently released 11 more minor league players, bringing the total number of players released to 33 since the end of last season. The club has two fewer minor league teams now after dropping its Bluefield affiliate and cutting back to one team in the Dominican Summer League. Probably the most well-known of the latest group of players released were infielder Tyler Stampone and pitcher Mick Mattaliano. The 23-year-old Stampone played two seasons for the club and batted .247 with 30 RBIs last summer with Delmarva. The 26-year-old Mattaliano saved 27 games for Delmarva in 2008 but had injury problems in recent seasons and did not pitch at all during the 2010 season. The club also released right-handed pitcher Jose Barajas, a 26th-round pick in 2008, right-hander Brian Parker, a 19th-round selection from 2007 and lefty Justin Anderson, a 24th-round pick in 2009. The Orioles also released pitchers Cory Ast, Andy Deain and Luiyi Batista, along with catchers Xavier Lopez, Greyson Schram and Janensis Guerrero. In November the club released players that we reported on here and here. Between players leaving through minor league free agency and those let go, there are about 55 players gone that were in the Orioles' organization last season.