Brian Matusz and Ryan Flaherty up, J.C. Romero and Tommy Hunter gone

Per the usual suspects on Twitter, lefty reliever Brian Matusz has been called up to the Baltimore Orioles today, replacing J.C. Romero. Romero was given a spot in the bullpen when Troy Patton went on the disabled list, and in a few short outings he did not come close to filling Patton's shoes.

The giant disappointment that is Brian Matusz has been in the bullpen for the Norfolk Tides for about a week now, and while his first two appearances were shaky, in his last two he faced a total of seven batters with 0 hits, 3 strikeouts, and 1 walk. I guess that means he's ready! He'll probably be at least as effective as Romero was. Romero will be DFA'd, and I don't mind if we never see him again.

It'd been a few days since Dan Duquette made any roster moves, which is why today he needed to make more than one. Tommy "Five Eight Runs All Earned" Hunter has been optioned today to make way for the triumphant return of Rule 5 draftee Ryan Flaherty. He was pretty lousy before he went on the DL, but he was tearing up AAA in his nine rehab games. Maybe he learned something down there.

Hunter will almost definitely be back before the season is over, but if we're lucky he'll be in the bullpen.

There is just one week left until the rosters expand and the Orioles can call up whoever they want. I wonder how many more moves Duquette can make before then?