masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgSAN DIEGO – The Orioles have an opening on their 40-man roster after the Rangers claimed left-hander Scott Barnes off waivers this morning.

Barnes didn’t have time to get attached to the Orioles, who acquired him from the Indians on Nov. 26 in exchange for cash considerations.

Barnes, 27, appeared in 25 games (one start) with Triple-A Columbus in 2014, going 3-2 with a 3.69 ERA in 31 2/3 innings. In two major league seasons with the Indians, Barnes went 0-1 with a 5.20 ERA in 27 2/3 innings…SAN DIEGO – The Orioles have an opening on their 40-man roster after the Rangers claimed left-hander Scott Barnes off waivers this morning.

Barnes didn’t have time to get attached to the Orioles, who acquired him from the Indians on Nov. 26 in exchange for cash considerations.

Barnes, 27, appeared in 25 games (one start) with Triple-A Columbus in 2014, going 3-2 with a 3.69 ERA in 31 2/3 innings. In two major league seasons with the Indians, Barnes went 0-1 with a 5.20 ERA in 27 2/3 innings over 22 games.

The Giants originally selected Barnes in the eighth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of St. John’s University.

I’ll always remember Barnes because I had to pull onto the side of Rt. 50 while driving to Ocean Pines to quickly file a blog entry on his acquisition from the Indians. Pouring rain and a dying laptop make for wonderful memories.

The Orioles are in the market for left-handed relief after losing Andrew Miller, who signed a four-year, $36 million deal with the Yankees. However, they also needed to create an opening on the 40-man prior to Thursday’s Rule 5 draft that concludes the Winter Meetings.

Here’s the list of free agent left-handers on the market, as compiled by MLBTradeRumors.com:

Joe Beimel (38)
Craig Breslow (34)
Francisley Bueno (34)
Sean Burnett (32)
Phil Coke (32)
Neal Cotts (35)
Scott Downs (39)
Tom Gorzelanny (32)
David Huff (30)
Wade LeBlanc (30)
Franklin Morales (29)
Josh Outman (30)
Joe Thatcher (33)
Wesley Wright (30)

The Orioles had interest in Cotts during the non-waiver trade deadline.

Note: The Golden Age Committee didn’t vote to elect anyone for induction into the Hall of Fame.

Dick Allen and Tony Oliva fell one vote short. Jim Kaat missed by two votes.

Here are the final votes from the 16-member veterans committee that included former Orioles executives Pat Gillick and Roland Hemond, former Orioles coach Jim Frey and Baltimore native Al Kaline:

Dick Allen (11 votes, 68.8 percent)
Tony Oliva (11 votes, 68.8 percent)
Jim Kaat (10 votes, 62.5 percent)
Maury Wills (nine votes, 56.3 percent)
Minnie Minoso (eight votes, 50 percent)
Ken Boyer, Gil Hodges, Bob Howsam, Billy Pierce and Luis Tiant each received three or fewer votes.