Julio Lugo

General Manager Andy MacPhail has made it public that he will be aggressive in trying to sign players in an attempt to improve an Orioles team that actually impressed people over the final two months of the season.

That being said, very little is being said about the players that were on the roster last season that are currently free agents and whether or not to sign them.

Here is the list of the seven major free agents the Orioles will be at risk to lose and whether or not they should be in Baltimore next season.

The Baltimore Orioles made what is probably the team’s final transaction before the regular season kicks off by acquiring veteran utility man Julio Lugo from the St. Louis Cardinals this morning.

The Orioles seemingly got him for nothing, as they will send the Cards either cash or the ever-so-specific "player to be named later."

With the Boston Red Sox signing of former Toronto Blue Jay Marco Scutaro to (hopefully) become the steady shortstop until Jose Iglesias is ready for full-time duty (approximately the 2012 season).

Boston signed Scutaro for two years, with an option for a third, for $12.5 million.

After blowing a nine-run lead Tuesday night, the Red Sox showed the Orioles how it feels as Boston rallied in the ninth inning Wednesday to win 6-5.

Baltimore starter Brad Bergesen pitched lights-out through eight innings. The rookie held Boston to just one run on four hits, no walks, and six strikeouts. He left the game with a 5-1 lead.

Ever since July 31, 2004, the Boston Red Sox have had issues with at least one position on their roster<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExp

Can you ever have enough starting pitching?

For some Red Sox fans, yes.

In Brad Penny's last start against the Twins, he pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three runs and striking out seven for the win. Immediately following that outing, speculation began to fly that Penny was expendable as the Red Sox had a "surplus" of starting pitching.

Penny has certainly pitched better as of late. And with the dominant Triple-A performances of Clay Buchholz and the imminent return to the majors by John Smoltz, the Red Sox do appear to be well-stocked with starters.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona continues his bumbling ways.

I mean, let's get Julio Lugo in the game, right? After all, his errors serve to deflect blame away from Francona's decision-making.

Assuredly, Francona is now happy that Lugo has returned to the Sox. Lugo, now playing shortstop with Boston, has an error-prone history.

He made 16 errors in 81 games last season, and has added two more in five games in 2009. And that doesn't count the ninth inning miscue. His mistakes allowed two runs in yesterday's game.

With an emerging story that Jed Lowrie will apparently miss the remainder of the season with wrist surgery, the Red Sox seem to be out of options at shortstop, with not only Lowrie but also Julio Lugo on the disabled list.

At least this problem is only temporary, because Julio Lugo, currently playing in extended Spring Training games, is set to return to the Red Sox on Monday.

Lugo may not be exactly what one would call a fan favorite, and I'm not really a huge Lugo fan myself, but this comes as a blessing in disguise.

The Red Sox traded away arguably one of the best shortstops in the game today in Florida’s Hanley Ramirez. After three years with the Marlins, Ramirez has totaled 79 home runs and 207 RBI’s while the Redsox have struggled to find a consistent shortstop.