July 2012 - Baltimore Orioles Wiretap

Jim Thome is headed to the Orioles, whose struggling offense is in dire need of some punch. Thome was traded from the Phillies on Saturday for two minor leaguers, right-hander Kyle Simon and catcher Gabriel Lino.

With a leadoff double against the White Sox on Friday night, Derek Jeter moved past Cal Ripken Jr. and into 13th place on the all-time hits list. The Yankee shortstop now has 3,185 hits in his career. Next up for Jeter on the list is Nap Lajoie, who finished with 3,252 hits. "Derek has been such a special player for such a long time and I am happy to see him continue to play at a high level," Ripken said in a statement. "He represents the game and the Yankees wonderfully, and I hope that he continues to play and continues to give all of us baseball fans great memories."

With his single up the middle in the seventh inning, Derek Jeter of the Yankees is now tied with one of his boyhood idols, Cal Ripken Jr., for 13th place on baseball's all-time hit list, according to an ESPN.com report Thursday night.

The Orioles have placed designated hitter Nick Johnson on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right wrist, according to an ESPN.com report on Thursday.

The Orioles could be buyers next month for the first time in a very long time, according to general manager Dan Duquette. "We are in contention, so we are going to do whatever we can to make the playoffs," he told reporters. Duquette feels the organization has players in the minors that can assist in a playoff push, but that doesn't mean he won't explore all avenues. "We're in contention, and we need to look at all our options to help our team," he said. "We have some pretty good options in our minor league system to bolster the team that we have here." The Orioles entered Sunday's action more than a game behind the Yankees for second place in the American League East.

The Orioles have released Jamie Moyer at the left-hander's request. The 49-year-old had the option to get out of his contract if his contract wasn't selected from Triple-A. He has a 1.69 ERA with a 16K/0BB ratio in three starts for Triple-A Norfolk after being released by Colorado.

Nolan Reimold will have surgery on his neck Monday. The Orioles left-fielder will probably miss the remainder of the 2012 season. Reimold was placed on the disabled list May 4 with a herniated disk. "The best thing to do as far as my career is to get the surgery," he said. The procedure will take place at Johns Hopkins Hospital. "I'm going to have the surgery because I need to take pressure off the disk," Reimold said. "The disk is pushing on the nerve root. The main thing is to get the pressure off the nerve."

R.A. Dickey became the first major leaguer in 24 years to throw consecutive one-hitters and Ike Davis hit a grand slam to lead the Mets past the Orioles 5-0 on Monday night, according to an ESPN.com report.

The Orioles have demoted right-hander Jake Arrieta to the bullpen. He was Baltimore's Opening Day pitcher. Tommy Hunter was promoted from Triple-A Norfolk to start against Philadelphia. Arrieta was pulled from the rotation after losing his sixth straight decision. The Phillies tagged him for career highs of nine runs and 11 hits in four innings Friday night, leaving him at 2-8 with a 6.32 ERA. "Going to the bullpen is going to do a lot of things for me. It's going to allow me to get a lot of the thoughts and emotions out of my head. When I come into the game -- just pitch," Arrieta said. "My thought process has been way too in depth. I've got way too much going on in my head right now, trying to tweak so many things mechanically instead of going out there and feeling comfortable and executing pitches," he added.

The Orioles drafted Ryan Ripken in the 20th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday. He is the son of iconic former Baltimore star Cal Ripken Jr. The younger Ripken is a 6-foot-6, 205-pound first baseman from Gilman School in Baltimore. He is currently committed to play for the University of South Carolina. Ryan Ripken hit .377 with 25 RBIs last season, adding a 4-1 record and 2.30 ERA on the mound.