Orioles News: Baltimore adds bullpen depth with Brewers trade, new Camden hot dog race

The Baltimore Orioles' bullpen is in a weird spot at the moment. The Orioles' relievers rank 13th in all of baseball by fWAR (1.1) and collectively have a 3.72 ERA which is "fine," but they have certainly felt the loss of Felix Bautista in a big way, and Craig Kimbrel's outings far too often turn into adventures of his own making.

While making a move for a shutdown closer type is something that will probably have to wait until the trade deadline, Baltimore was able to add some more bullpen depth over the weekend, as they struck a trade with the Brewers for Thyago Vieira

Orioles News: Baltimore trades for Thyago Vieira in low risk, high upside gambit

Before Orioles fans get too excited, Vieira is more a lottery ticket than he is a bullpen savior. He has big time stuff, including an upper 90's fastball, but he hasn't missed bats in the big leagues and struggles to find the strike zone.

That said, the Orioles didn't give up much in the trade (sending Garrett Stallings to Milwaukee for Vieira and Aneuris Rodriguez), and gambling that they can harness Vieira's stuff is completely fine at that price. If Baltimore can help him with his command and make his slider passable, Vieira could be a great addition to the bullpen. If it doesn't work out, they can just pivot to other options at the deadline.

After one wild outing against Boston (luckily in an 11-0 game Monday), it appears the team still has plenty of work to do in harnessing their new addition.

Orioles News: New live hot dog race at Camden Yards was a big hit

Orioles fans who came to games at Camden Yards have long been treated to a weird digital race between animated hot dogs of different toppings (mustard is the superior choice, I will not be taking questions or comments on this) on the Jumbotron in between innings. Fans, especially kids, love this sort of thing, but the Orioles took the hot dog race to the next level on Memorial Day when they unveiled a live race featuring the same hot dogs actually running the bases.

Overall, the new-look, in-game festivity appears to have been a hit, with the Relish Dog taking home the win. Hopefully this isn't just a one-off event, but instead a more permanent fixture, as having the race feature actual humans in hot dog costumes just feels more organic -- and, of course, there is the fun chance for something to go awry once actual people get involved.

More Orioles News from Birds Watcher