The Orioles made an acquisition yesterday, but his name is not Jay Buhner and he did not cost the club $16 million.
His name is John DeSilva, a right-hander from the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system, and he only cost the Orioles minor-league left-hander John O'Donoghue.
DeSilva, 27, comes recommended by Orioles manager Phil Regan, who managed DeSilva in Caracas last winter, and by Orioles coordinator of instruction Dave Jauss, who is coaching in Caracas, where DeSilva is pitching after a late arrival this winter. Last season, DeSilva went 3-5 with a 7.83 ERA at Triple-A Albuquerque and 1-3, 5.09 at Double-A San Antonio.
DeSilva, who was the Detroit Tigers' eighth pick in the June 1989 draft, has pitched in four major-league games, three with Los Angeles and one with Detroit.
In 1993, his 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings was ninth best among all Triple-A starters.
O'Donoghue went 4-7 with a 5.72 ERA at Triple-A Rochester. Once considered a promising prospect, O'Donoghue, 25, compiled a 34-30 record and 3.57 ERA in the minors for the Orioles. He recently was taken off the 40-man roster.
O'Donoghue's father, John, a former Oriole, is pitching coach of the Orioles' team in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.
Meanwhile, the Orioles remained in the hunt for Buhner, a free-agent right fielder the Seattle Mariners are pushing hard to keep.
High Desert gets GM
The Orioles' Single-A California League affiliate, the High Desert Mavericks, introduced Steve Pastorino as general manager.
Pastorino, who grew up in the Washington suburbs, most recently worked for the Lake Elsinore Storm, the California Angels' California League team. He becomes the second general manager in Mavericks history, joining Leanne Harvey, who resigned Dec. 1 to pursue other interests.
The Orioles signed a two-year player-development contract with High Desert on Sept. 23 after ending their relationship with the Single-A Albany (Ga.) Polecats.
The Mavericks, who play 75 minutes northwest of Los Angeles, are owned by a group led by Bobby Brett and former Kansas City Royals star George Brett.
The team broke league attendance records in 1991 and 1992.