Some Signings & A Front Office Departure

It looks like Hot Stove Season has started off with two signings -- pitcher Brad Hennessey and Donnie Murphy.

From Roch's Blog: The Orioles announced today that they signed pitcher Brad Hennessey and infielder Donnie Murphy to minor league contracts that include invites to spring training.

Hennessey, 28, has appeared in 148 games with the San Francisco Giants over the past five seasons, going 17-23 with a 4.69 ERA in 360 2/3 innings. He pitched in 17 games this season, going 1-2 with a 7.83 ERA. At Triple-A Fresno, he was 7-10 with a 4.83 ERA in 21 starts.

In 44 major league starts, Hennessey is 11-15 with a 4.72 ERA.

Sounds like insurance in case some of the young arms aren't healthy or ready.

Murphy, 25, has appeared in 221 major league games with Oakland and Kansas City. He batted .184 with three homers in 46 games with the Athletics this season.

At least he's versatile. Murphy, a utility candidate, has started 39 games at shortstop, 37 at second base and 18 at third base in the majors.

The Orioles often start small and work their way up this time of the year. Don't worry, they're not finished yet.

There ya go. At this point, considering how thin the roster is in terms of talent at the both the major and minor league level, these two men may be in a long line of many that may have a spot in the Orioles organization.

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In other news, there's a departure from the Orioles' front office.

From the Baltimore Sun: Orioles President Andy MacPhail lost one of his top executives today as director of baseball administration Scott Proefrock was hired by the world champion Philadelphia Phillies to serve as an assistant to new general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.

Proefrock, who had agreed earlier this offseason to a two-year contract extension with the Orioles, was hired by the club after the 2005 season by executive vice president Mike Flanagan. Proefrock was the executive in charge with interpreting Major League Baseball rules and handling arbitration cases and other contractual and business matters.

It's unknown at this point if or when MacPhail will hire a replacement for Proefrock.

Proefrock came to the Orioles after working 10 1/2 seasons in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. With Tampa Bay, he served as an assistant to then GM Chuck LaMar, who was recently promoted by Amaro to assistant GM of player development and scouting for the Phillies.

Obviously, most fans like myself are not familiar with Mr. Proefrock, but it sounds like his work was vital within the business side as well as the nuts and bolts of the organization.

I'm sure the Orioles will miss Proefrock and his contributions; however, it sounds like he's getting a wonderful opportunity to become part of something just up the road on I-95.