After months of talking about the Orioles' need to improve their starting pitching, it was surprising to see the team almost pull off a trade for Padres outfielder Melvin Upton. While the Toronto Blue Jays may have landed Upton, it doesn't mean the window has closed on the Orioles' pursuit of an outfielder before the MLB trade deadline -- such as Seattle's left-handed hitter Seth Smith.
Recent injuries to Hyun Soo Kim and Joey Rickard highlighted Baltimore's need for outfield help. While Kim returned July 26, Rickard could be out until September. The team's in-house options for outfield help are essentially Nolan Reimold, Dariel Alvarez and Julio Borbon. It's not exactly a murderers' row of guys off the bench, although it is ironic Reimold and Alvarez delivered two of the team's biggest hits during recent wins against the Indians July 24 and Rockies July 25.
But with Alvarez sent back to Triple-A Norfolk to make room on the roster for righty Ubaldo Jimenez's return from paternity leave, and with Reimold seemingly having lost some of his early season luster, the Orioles might be well served to look outside for outfield depth.
