Calvin Maduro underwent surgery to remove a fractured bone spur and bone chips from his right elbow on Friday. The Orioles placed Maduro on the DL June 7th due to continued soreness in his pitching elbow. An MRI revealed the fractured spur and bone chips.

Maduro had the option of attempting to allow the fracture to heal naturally with rest, which likely would have meant two weeks less on the DL but may not have corrected the problem. The surgery means he'll miss the next two and possibly up to three months.

He has struggled all season after starting the season on the DL with a strained forearm. The Orioles hope that this procedure will correct some of the problems he's experienced. In 56.2 IP this season, Maduro has allowed 64 H and 12 HR with a 29:22 K:BB.

Baltimore activated Jason Johnson from the disabled list to fill Maduro's roster spot. Johnson, who fractured his finger during an odd bullpen workout in which he hit his hand on the dirt of the mound, spent his rehab time in similarly unconventional manner. According to an article in the Baltimore Sun written by Roch Kubatko, former Oriole Mike Mussina demonstrated his knuckle curve to Johnson while still with Baltimore.

Johnson wanted an out pitch and chose to use his time on the disabled list to practice the knuckle curve. So far he's seen a lot of success with the pitch, though only time will tell if teams will begin to make adjustments based on videotape of his new arsenal. Johnson had some problems with a dead arm before his trip to the DL and still doesn't feel that his fastball is at full speed, so I don't expect him to mow down the opposition. However, he may be able to benefit from one strong trip through the league before batters pick up on the new curve, and if thrown effectively it should help his performances to a lesser extent whenever he uses it.

Baltimore placed Jeff Conine on the DL Saturday with a strained right hamstring. Conine injured his leg in the eighth inning of Friday's game in Philadelphia when he reportedly lunged awkwardly towards second base while running the bases on a two run triple hit off of Ricky Bottalico.

The Orioles haven't determined whether the injury is overly serious but they didn't want to be short a bench player while playing in National League parks. Conine will likely rejoin the team when he's eligible to return from the DL.

Jose Leon replaced Conine on the roster. The 25-year-old third baseman split last season between AA Bowie in the Eastern League and AAA Rochester in the International League. He needs to work on his plate discipline but has some power potential and a little bit of speed.

The Orioles promoted Leon from AAA Rochester where he was hitting .300 with a .338 OBP and .462 SLG in 247 AB on 74 H, 14 2B, 1 3B, and 8 HR with a 14:41 BB:K. Leon will probably serve as a corner infielder off the bench for the Orioles while he's in the majors. He's unlikely to remain with the club after Conine returns, which is good as he should really spend the rest of the season in AAA working on his strike zone judgment.

Baltimore plans to use Jay Gibbons at first base in Conine's absence. Gibbons has played right field against right-handers while sitting against lefties. However, the Orioles plan to play him full-time at first base. With Gibbons covering first, the additional outfield playing time will likely go to Gary Matthews, Jr.

The Orioles demoted Luis Garcia in early June in order to clear a roster spot for Chris Brock when he returned from the DL. Garcia was receiving hardly any playing time in Baltimore's overcrowded outfield, so he's likely better off working on his plate discipline in the minors.

Chris Brock was on the DL with shoulder stiffness from mid-April to early June. The Orioles acquired Brock in a swap with Philadelphia for John Wasdin in the off-season, but even though Philly non-tendered John Wasdin, allowing him to go play in Japan, Baltimore lost this deal since they're stuck paying Brock a guaranteed $1M this year. Philadelphia was able to replace Brock with the cheaper and more effective Carlos Silva. Brock's likely on the bottom of the Baltimore food chain, and he should head to the minors if the Orioles decide to cut back to 11 pitchers at any point.

The Orioles signed a few players to minor league contracts over the last few weeks. Baltimore signed Mike Mohler to a minor league deal at the end of May. The 33-year-old lefty reliever still can pitch in the majors and might be useful to Baltimore if they lose Buddy Groom or B.J. Ryan.

Former Oriole prospect Ntema Ndungidi returned to the organization in early June. Baltimore drafted Ndungidi out of Edouard Montpetit High School in Montreal with their first round pick of the 1997 draft. Unfortunately, drug-related problems caused him to leave the Arizona Fall League in 2000. Seattle selected him in the minor league portion of this off-season's Rule 5 draft but released him after a short time in AA.

He signed a minor league deal with the Orioles and now is playing for A+ Frederick in the Carolina League. Aside from last season at AA Bowie in the Eastern League, Ndungidi has shown good plate discipline in his minor league at-bats, and he has mild amounts of both speed and power. His personal problems seem to have slowed down his career, but if he can focus on baseball, the 23-year-old could still be a fairly good outfielder.

Most recently, the Orioles signed Kennie Steenstra to a minor league deal. The 31-year-old RHP has spent most of the last seven years in AAA aside from one brief call up by the Chicago Cubs in 1998. He became a free agent after that season and then signed with a series of teams over the last few years. I'd like to see Baltimore try him for the rest of the season out of the bullpen at AAA, since although he's started almost his entire career, he doesn't strike out enough hitters in the rotation. Perhaps he could increase his dominance in the bullpen, complimenting his solid 2.4 career K:BB, and helping him return to the majors for more than another four games. However I highly doubt that Baltimore will have any cause to call him up, and he doesn't possess the upside of someone like Travis Driskill.