First actual post here guys, so don't be too harsh on me! The Baltimore Orioles have acquired left-handed pitcher, Mike Belfiore from the Arizona Diamondbacks, to complete the Josh Bell trade from April. I think this has the potential to be a decent depth pick-up for the O's. I don't see him ever blooming into a star, being 23 and still in A+, however he could be a functional reliever in a few years.

Belfiore, a former supplemental 1st round pick out of Boston College, has been struggling in his time in the minors. His performance has been gradually becoming worse during his climb up the ladder (if you can really call it a climb). He put up his worst statistical performance last year in A+. After posting a 5.92 ERA and negative VORP & WARP last year, it's hard to see him being effective in the future. Also, his ground-ball%has been steadily decreasing through his career, reaching a career worse of 45% last year. This could be something to worry about moving forward, due to Camden Yards' already-friendly conditions for batters. This decrease in GB% could be felt last year, as Belfiore allowed 17 home runs in just 79 innings of work (after giving up just 6 HRs in 126.1 innings in 2010).

Through 19 innings of work so far this year in the bullpen, Arizona's decision to move him to the bullpen seems to have been a smart one. Belfiore's SO/BB ratio has been at an all-time high of 5.6 this year, and his opposing tAV and BABIP have seen a healthy dip this year as well. This could be a positive sign for the future, or an example of player over-pefrorming due to limited sample size. Either way, it is exactly the low-risk/high-reward type of move Dan Duquette specializes in. Welcome to Baltimore Mr.Belfiore, I wish you nothing but success.