Orioles acquire Andrew Faulkner from Rangers, release Dariel Álvarez

The Orioles have removed injured pitcher Dariel Álvarez from the organization while also acquiring another arm for their system

Left-hander Andrew Faulkner was obtained from the Rangers today for a player to be named later or cash. The Orioles also announced that they released Álvarez to create room on the 40-man roster.

Faulkner, 24, will be optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

"Andrew Faulkner is young and strong and has two good major league pitches," executive vice president Dan Duquette wrote on a text message. "We look forward to his contribution to our team."

duquette-at-opacy.jpgFaulkner made his major league debut on Aug. 31, 2015 in San Diego and has appeared in 20 games with the Rangers as a reliever over the past two seasons. He's allowed eight earned runs (10 total) and 16 hits in 16 1/3 innings, with seven walks, 11 strikeouts and five home runs.

Left-handers are 5-for-30 (.167) against Faulkner and right-handers are 11-for-35 (.314) with five home runs.

The Orioles scored three runs off Faulkner in 1 1/3 innings in an April 15, 2016 game at Camden Yards. Mark Trumbo and Jonathan Schoop hit home runs.

Faulkner made 41 appearances (one start) last summer at Triple-A Round Rock and went 5-3 with a 3.97 ERA in 45 1/3 innings. He's 35-24 with a 3.49 ERA in 165 career minor league games, striking out 460 batters in 511 innings. He's made 76 starts.

The Rangers selected Faulkner in the 14th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of South Aiken (Ga.) High School. Baseball America ranked him as the organization's No. 24 prospect.

Álvarez, making the conversion from outfielder to pitcher, underwent an MRI on his right elbow this week and is likely headed to surgery. He had been shut down after the Orioles placed him on a throwing program earlier this month.

The Orioles signed Álvarez to an $800,000 bonus in 2013 after he defected from Cuba. He's 8-for-32 with a home run in 14 major league games and went 0-for-11 this spring. They may attempt to re-sign him to a minor league deal.

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