The Orioles have added Rochester Red Wings manager Jerry Narron to their coaching staff, along with Mike Ferraro, opening a minor-league managing job that will be offered to Rick Dempsey.
Assistant general manager Doug Melvin, who oversees the minor-league system, said he has not decided on the realignment of his managers. But he did confirm that Dempsey, who spent last season as an Orioles instructor when he wasn't on the active roster as a catcher, would be offered a managing job, probably with the Single-A Frederick Keys.
"I think it's better for a first-year manager to start at Single-A," said Melvin. "It gives him a better chance of learning how to deal with things, off the field as well as on.
"We'll fill the Rochester job from within, but I want to talk to everybody first," Melvin added.
Don Buford, who this year managed the Orioles' Double-A team in Hagerstown (which will move to Bowie in 1993) and Bob Miscik, who was at Frederick, are the logical candidates for the job with the Triple-A Red Wings.
Narron, who has managed the past four years in the Orioles' system, last season at Rochester, will be the sixth coach on the staff of manager Johnny Oates, joining Ferraro and holdovers Greg Biagini, Dick Bosman, Elrod Hendricks and Davey Lopes.
"I told Jerry two years ago that if I got a [big-league managing job], he was a guy I'd want on my staff," said Oates. "A year ago, we didn't have a spot, but, with the extra coach, we did this year."
The coaching limit for major-league teams has been raised from five to six.
Ferraro replaces Cal Ripken Sr. as the club's third-base coach, a job he held with the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals. "I'm very happy about it," said Ferraro.
"When I got the call, I was ecstatic, and I feel even better about it now.
"It's like going into a store and seeing a suit you really like -- after you take it home and put it on, you like it even more," said Ferraro. "I feel real good about it, and I'm anxious about joining the organization."
Narron's duties haven't been completely defined.
"There are three or four different ways that Jerry could help us -- he'll have plenty to do," said Oates.
Narron said: "I'm pretty excited right now. I talked to Johnny a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't know anything for sure until two nights ago. I'm really looking forward to it."
In addition to completing their coaching staff, the Orioles added five players to their major-league roster yesterday.
Pitchers John O'Donoghue and Jeff Williams, outfielders Damon Buford and Paul Carey and infielder T. R. Lewis were promoted to the 40-man list, which protects them from the Rule V draft.
Of the five, O'Donoghue is considered closest to being ready for the big leagues.
A 6-foot-6 left-hander from Elkton, O'Donoghue, 23, was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana State in 1990. A former college teammate of Ben McDonald's, he was 7-4 with a 2.24 ERA at Hagerstown, then went 5-4 with a 3.23 ERA with Rochester last year.
Buford hit .239 at Hagerstown, but had 41 stolen bases in 53 attempts before moving up to Rochester, where he hit .284 (in 155 at-bats) and stole 23 bases in 27 attempts. Carey, a former teammate of Mike Mussina's at Stanford, was acquired two seasons ago after playing his rookie pro season with the Single-A independent Miami Miracle.
Carey hit .230 in 87 at-bats at Rochester, and .270 at Hagerstown in 1992. Despite hitting only five home runs this year (he had 12 atHagerstown in 1991), he is considered a left-handed power prospect.
Williams, 24, a third-round pick in the 1990 draft, had an 8-10 record with a 4.83 ERA at Hagerstown. But he is still considered a prospect and was among the pitchers the Orioles thought they might lose in the recent expansion draft.
Lewis, 21, was a fourth-round pick in the 1989 draft. After hitting .208 in 49 games at Frederick in 1991, he hit .307 for the Keys in 1992.