Spring Training Autographs- Non-Prospects

Here are (almost) the rest of the autographs I got on my spring training trip. Most of these guys are off-season minor league free agent signings or from the lower levels of the minor league system. I don't mean any offense by labeling them non-prospects, but I don't think you would find many people that would include them among the organization's top talent. 

Travis is the son of Orioles' pitching coach, Rick Adair. I'm sure that was at least part of the reason he came here this past off-season. 

Thanks for these Aldridge cards, Paul! I especially like your '88 Donruss inspired creation!

Actually- I have heard David Baker's name included in O's top 30 prospects, so maybe he should have been in yesterday's post. Oh well.

The O's signed Josh Banks, who is a local Baltimore guy, about a week before my trip. 

I had purchased this Greg Burke card online and it arrived the day before I left for the trip. I'm glad it did!

My dad and I were standing with another gentlemen who was from Illinois, where Adam apparently had gone to college, and the guy told us a lot about Adam and the Illinois baseball team. He mentioned that the O's made a mistake in letting Kyle Hudson, another Illini Alumni, get away.

I kept just missing Allan as he walked past; it must have happened two or three times. As you fellow graphers know, that can be quite frustrating, but at least I finally got my card signed.

Yoshihiro Doi has one of the more enjoyable names to say that I've ever come across. It just brings a smile to my face to say it. Go ahead, you try. And Yoshihiro was happy to see this old card of his.

FYI-Casey Fossum does NOT look like this anymore. His hair is pretty long and really sticks out around his cap. It was an interesting look, and I barely recognized him.

Chris George was nice enough to sign for me after throwing a quick bullpen session following one of the O's games at Ed Smith Stadium.

Kyle Hoppy, your name makes me think of beer.

Riley Hornback would be a pretty solid name for a dragon, if they existed. Sidenote-my dog's name is Riley.

Antoan Richardson is a pretty intriguing signing, and will provide some improved depth at AAA.

It was hard to recognize Wynston Sawyer since this is the only picture I had of him. Luckily, they have these things called uniform numbers that also help with identifying players.

Scott Thomas seemed pleasantly surprised that I had a card of his, but he didn't know that I come prepared.

Chris Tremblay seemed like a pretty nice guy, and he will likely start the season with Frederick or Bowie. Neither team has a logo nearly as awesome as the Lake Elsinore Storm.

Aaron Wirsch's autograph doesn't consist of much, which is a surprise for such a young player.

Ross Wolf is back in the organization, and he did not seem too excited about signing when I asked. But at least he did it.

This Week's Orioles Minor League Moves

My intent was to show off my FanFest pictures today but I ran out of time to scan everything yesterday. Hopefully, I will be displaying my haul tomorrow.

Every few weeks this offseason, I have been trying to list the O's minor league transactions. From what I can tell, here is what the O's have done since I last wrote about these moves.


They once again re-signed a few of their own minor league free agents, re-inking catcher Zach Booker, and pitcher, Will Startup.

I was happy to see they are bringing back Startup who was a fan favorite in Frederick. He also has a very comical, karate-like, leg kick during his delivery (which he was not using at the time the above picture was taken) which makes him one of the more entertaining pitchers to watch in the organization.

The team also re-signed one-time Oriole reliever, Winston Abreu, who appeared in 7 games for the 2006 Birds;

Ross Wolf, who the O's sent to the A's in early 2010 in the infamous (Jake) Fox-Wolf trade;

and Francis Beltran, a member of the 2007 Tides.

They signed a bevy of minor league free agents from other organizations. I know nothing about these guys, but will pass along what I've read. They inked 2B Travis Adair (Rangers), C Allen De San Miguel (Twins), 2B Tom DiBenedetto (Independent), 2B Peter Fatse (Independent), and OF Edgardo Baez (Nationals).

A few better known pitchers also signed with the organization. Armando Galarraga, who nearly threw a perfect game in 2010 for the Tigers, longtime journeyman reliever Dennys Reyes, and sometime Major Leaguer Oscar Villarreal all signed deals.


And as will be the case every year, some of the O's free agents signed with other teams. This week's highlight (or lowlight if you will) was Miguel Abreu's signing a deal with the Phillies.

Miggy has been a favorite of Kalina and mine over our past few years of going to various Orioles' affiliates minor league games. He has spent the majority of the past four years with the hi-A Frederick Keys and AA Bowie Baysox, which are the affiliates whose games we attend the most. He always seemed like a nice guy and never turned down an autograph request. Good luck next year, Miguel!

Jeremy Accardo split the 2011 season between Baltimore and AAA Norfolk, so this only half counts as minor league news, but he signed with the Indians. 

Trading a Wolf for a Fox

According to reports from the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles traded AAA pitcher Ross Wolf to the Oakland A's for Jake Fox, who had been designated for assignment by the A's just over a week ago. I had the chance to briefly talk to Ross this spring training and he seemed like a great guy. He's never appeared in the Major Leagues, but has had a solid year for the Tides and I would guess that he will make his MLB debut for the A's sometime this year. I hope that he has a good future in Oakland.

Jake Fox has appeared in big league games for the Cubs in '07 & '09 and the A's this season. He showed some decent pop in '09 when he hit 11 HR in 82 games, but was struggling at the plate this year. My guess is that his arrival in Baltimore spells the end of Garrett Atkins' miserable stay in Birdland. Fox has some versatility as he can play both corner outfield and infield positions, DH, and catch. It will be nice to have a super utility player who can also catch in emergencies and I have to say that it's not too surprising to see MacPhail bring another former Cubbie into the organization.

Jake has cards in the '09 & '10 Topps Heritage, '10 UD & '09 Topps Updates sets. I'm hoping that I have at least one of those cards around the house for him to sign. According to SCN, he signs at a 53% return rate, but many of those were early in his career while he was still in the minors, so I hope to get him at the ballpark sometime soon.

I would guess that this is the first of many trades that the Orioles will be making over the next month or so, but only time will tell.

Spring Training Successes- Non Roster Invitee Autographs

Some of you particularly astute Orioles fans might note that a few of the autographs that I showcased yesterday are also non-roster invitees in the O's camp. But the difference between them and these guys is that I don't have Orioles cards of anyone in this post. Some of them have been featured in various Orioles Minor League releases but none of them yet have an Orioles card, outside of possibly Jake Arrieta.


And speaking of Jake, here is the card he signed. Kalina also got a card signed by him and he was definitely the first player she noticed shagging fly balls at the first game we went to. That's weird, since it's not like he is her favorite prospect or anything (he unequivocally is).


Armando Gabino was, by far, the most excited I have ever seen a player to see a card of his. I asked if he would sign and tossed this card to him, which he excitedly showed off to Alberto Castillo and Frank Mata. He was speaking in Spanish but seemed to be saying something like "See I told you that I actually have a baseball card!".
When the Orioles selected Gabino off of waivers from the Twins in the offseason, I searched online and found literally 2 cards of his for sale anywhere. They were both Twins Minor League cards and this one looked like it would look better signed. I know that he now has a card in the 2010 UD set, but I wasn't able to get it before my trip.


I don't know much about Chris, but I know that the combination of this card, his uni in the shot, and his autograph look pretty good together.


Caleb is now my mom's favorite player. In full disclosure, I'm not positive that she has had a favorite to replace, at least since Cal was around, but she was standing next to me when Caleb signed this card and he said something about it being the first card he had signed at Spring Training. She liked that, and thinks that he seems like a nice guy. I agree, Caleb seems pretty cool.


Frank is another player that I know little about, other than that he clearly spent time in the Twins organization. I guess it really doesn't Mata what I know about him. And you know I just had to go there, it was way too easy.


I saw Josh pitch at Bowie last season, and I believe he spent part of the season as the Baysox' closer. His last name is pronounced Per-oh, as opposed to how it looks, Per-alt.


Tuck is one of my favorite Minor Leaguers. He has always been a great signer, he hustles on every play, and I have seen him make a few outstanding catches. He also plays multiple positions, which is backed up by the card listing his position as INF/OF, and has spent most of his time in LF and at 3B. Scrappy is also a pretty small guy for a baseball player and is listed at 5'8'' which either means the he is actually 5'7'' or that he's one of the few honest players about his height. Either way, he is having a good Spring Training and I know that he has caught Trembley's eye once or twice.


On my trip to Norfolk last year, I incorrectly thought that Ross was Bob McCrory. While they do look a little bit alike, I'm normally good with faces, so I felt bad when I handed Ross the wrong card. I finally made up for it this spring when I boldly called out his name and he came over to sign. Again in full disclosure, McCrory is no longer with the O's so that boosted my confidence level.