masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles have hired former major league third baseman Sean Berry as the hitting coach at Triple-A Norfolk. Berry replaces Denny Walling, who retired to spend more time with his family.

Berry, 48, had been the Padres minor league hitting coordinator. He previously served as the Astros hitting coach.

Berry played for the Expos while Dan Duquette was their general manager.

The Orioles still need a field coach at Single-A Frederick. They’ve hired Howie Clark as Single-A Delmarva field coach…The Orioles have hired former major league third baseman Sean Berry as the hitting coach at Triple-A Norfolk. Berry replaces Denny Walling, who retired to spend more time with his family.

Berry, 48, had been the Padres minor league hitting coordinator. He previously served as the Astros hitting coach.

Berry played for the Expos while Dan Duquette was their general manager.

The Orioles still need a field coach at Single-A Frederick. They’ve hired Howie Clark as Single-A Delmarva field coach and moved up Paco Figueroa to Double-A Bowie in the same role. They also hired Kevin Bradshaw as minor league infield coordinator.

Bradshaw came over from the Tigers organization, where he spent the last 29 years in a variety of roles.

Before hiring Scott Coolbaugh as their hitting coach on Friday, the Orioles considered giving the job to Wayne Kirby and putting Butch Davis in the first base box.

Kirby seems to prefer his current role, which includes outfield and baserunning instruction, and the Orioles don’t want to, as manager Buck Showalter says, rob Peter to pay Paul.

The Orioles also like having Kirby interacting with players in the clubhouse. His presence would be missed if he spent most of his time in the cage.

Davis, who served as Double-A Bowie’s field coach, was hired as Twins first base coach.

The Orioles have discussed trading for Reds outfielder Jay Bruce, 27, but I’ve heard they have concerns about and are puzzled by his decline in production. It’s a mystery.

Bruce hit .262/.329/.478 with 43 doubles, 30 home runs and 109 RBIs in 160 games in 2013 and .217/.281/.373 with 21 doubles, 18 home runs and 66 RBIs in 137 games this season.

Bruce is owed $24 million over the next two seasons. His contract includes a $13 million team option in 2017 with a $1 million buyout.

The Orioles and Dodgers talked about a Matt Kemp trade, but there were too many issues – the Dodgers’ demand for Kevin Gausman or Dylan Bundy, the outfielder’s salary and his health.

Kemp wasn’t going to pass the physical. The Orioles knew it. No sense going down that road.

Right-hander Pat Connaughton, the Orioles’ fourth-round pick in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, had 19 points and 14 rebounds Saturday in Notre Dame’s win over Purdue. So he does that, too.

Connaughton went 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA in six appearances (four starts) for short-season Single-A Aberdeen.

johnson-s-rear-sidebar.jpgNothing new to report on pitcher Steve Johnson. The Orioles want to sign him to a minor league deal with a spring training invite and they seem encouraged that it will get done. However, other teams are making the same offer.

The Phillies and Mariners are two of the teams to express interest. The Phillies have been trying for years to get him.

There’s also nothing new with outfielder Nolan Reimold. He’s got a bunch of teams interested in signing him to a minor league deal, and all things being equal, he’d most likely come back to the Orioles. But he’s hoping for a major league offer.

The Indians, White Sox, Giants and Phillies are among the teams expressing interest in Reimold.

I ran free agent outfielder Ichiro Suzuki’s name past an Orioles official a few days ago and was told, “That ain’t happening.” We’ll see if the club changes its stance as more outfielders come off the board.

The Padres remain a logical trade partner for the Orioles.

Agent Scott Boras told The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo that catcher Matt Wieters will be ready on opening day. Wieters told me that he isn’t certain, but it remains his goal and he’s encouraged by his progress following elbow surgery. Showalter is still preparing as though Wieters won’t be ready, just in case.

wieters-home-behind-swing-sidebar.jpgI’ll repeat that no one knows for sure in December.

The Orioles have four catchers on their 40-man roster and are trying to sign another backup in case Wieters isn’t ready on April 6. It’s hard to imagine that they’d carry five.

Michael Ohlman is one of the Orioles’ more promising position prospects, so he figures to stay on it. He eventually could be moved to another position, however.

Steve Clevenger, the Pride of Pigtown, has one minor league option remaining, but will the Orioles continue to carry him on the 40-man? He’s a candidate to be traded at some point, but let’s see whether the Orioles actually bring in another catcher.

Clevenger is valuable because he can play other positions and hits more than his weight, which is a nice change from the typical Orioles backup. I’ve heard that the White Sox inquired about him, couldn’t work out a deal and claimed Rob Brantly off waivers from the Marlins.

I wrote a few days ago that Nick Hundley has a two-year offer on the table from another team. The Orioles want to re-sign him.

Nelson Cruz is gone, having signed a four-year deal with the Mariners, but his masseur may stay. He’s told the Orioles that he doesn’t want to move to the West Coast and prefers to keep working at Camden Yards.

The players would give unanimous approval.

The average major league salary is $3.692 million. The minimum salary has increased to $507,605.

Don’t you wish that you spent more time working on your curveball? Maybe used a few more tokens in the batting cage?