The Orioles have suspended two minor leaguers

Two players on the Orioles Gulf Coast League team, third baseman Hector Veloz and right-handed pitcher Jhondaniel Medina have been suspended by the team. The suspensions began a few days ago and could end sometime next week. They were suspended for disciplinary reasons, a team official confirmed, but would not say what exactly had happened. Veloz was signed out of the Dominican to a $300,000 bonus in July of 2010, which is believed to be the largest bonus ever given to a Dominican amateur to this point by the club. Veloz, who turned 18 in February, was batting .264 with one homer, six RBIs and a .707 OPS in 15 GCL games. He was batting .359 at one point but was 0-for-14 over a five-game stretch at the time of the suspension. His last game was July 11. Last season, in the Dominican Summer League, Veloz hit .225 with two homers, 31 RBIs and a .666 OPS. Medina is a 19-year-old from Venezuela, and was 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA and two saves over 14 innings for the GCL Orioles. His last outing was July 9. Meanwhile, the Orioles are moving pitcher Tim Bascom back to Triple-A Norfolk from Double-A Bowie. He started one game for the Tides, giving up four runs in four innings July 2. This year at Bowie, Bascom is 5-5 with a 4.25 ERA in 18 games, 16 starts. Brian Matusz is expected to start for the Tides tonight and to be followed by Jake Arrieta, Dana Eveland, Steve Johnson and Jason Berken in the rotation. But, with all the pitching moves the past few days and with the Tides having played 15 innings on Wednesday, they could use some arms with innings available, and Bascom last pitched for the Baysox on Monday.