Just in December, 30-year-old Atkins and the Orioles agreed to a one-year contract deal that was worth $4.5 million.  He had previously been a player for the Colorado Rockies where he appeared in 773 games with 98 homers and a batting average of .289.

His record fell, though, causing him to lose his starting position last season.  His batting average went down to .226 with 48 runs batted in and 9 home runs – this coming after a 2008 season where he was hitting a .286 with 99 runs batted in and 21 home runs.  Obviously, you can see that something went wrong!

Atkins was designated for assignment by Baltimore so that the Orioles could make room for right handed Koji Uehara (pictured) coming off of the 15-day disabled list that Uehara was placed on last month on May 20 due to a right forearm strain.  He has been in six games this year and Uehara has an ERA of 1.80 for five innings pitched.