Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that Tony LaCava is "very likely" to be named the Orioles' new general manager. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Joe Strauss reported earlier in the week that LaCava, who is currently the Blue Jays vice president of baseball operations, was the "stealth favorite" for the job. He has over two-decades of front office experience and oversees player development and Latin American operations for the Blue Jays, who have one of the top-ranked farm systems in baseball.

The Orioles will interview Dodgers assistant general manager De Jon Watson for their GM opening on Wednesday. Watson will be the third interviewee for the position, following Arizona's Jerry Dipoto and Toronto's Tony LaCava. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes that LaCava is the "stealth favorite" for the job. Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun thinks that Watson will not be the last interviewed candidate and speculates that Baltimore might be waiting for Thad Levine, the Texas Rangers assistant general manager, to complete his season before contacting him.

ESPN's Buster Olney reports the Orioles have expressed interest in Blue Jays vice president of baseball operations Tony LaCava. LaCava was linked to the Nationals in 2009 when Jim Bowden resigned for his involvement in the "skimming" of signing bonuses given to Latin American players. With over two-decades of front office experience his previous work includes stints with the Angels, Braves, Expos, and Indians. It is not yet known whether the Orioles will extend an interview to LaCava but this appears to be the first tangible report we've seen. LaCava currently oversees player development and Latin American operations for the Blue Jays, who have one of the top-ranked farm systems in baseball.

Updating a previous item, Senior vice president Jerry Dipoto (Diamondbacks) heads the list of possible replacements for Andy MacPhail. Dipoto oversees all areas of scouting with the Diamondbacks, including professional and amateur scouting, and served as interim General Manager for three months during the second half of the 2010 season, where he aggressively reshaped the organization by making four trades prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, acquiring All-Star left-handed pitcher Joe Saunders along with three other pitchers from the Angels for Dan Haren, and right-handed rookie pitcher Daniel Hudson along with a minor league pitcher from Chicago for Edwin Jackson.

Andy MacPhail will step down as the Orioles president of baseball operations after four-plus years of service, according to a club source. An announcement is expected early next week. Per the source, MacPhail is leaving the team to tend to family and personal obligations, but it remains to be seen who will replace MacPhail, as the belief is that manager Buck Showalter will not be considered for the position. During his tenure, Baltimore went 307-432 (.415 winning percentage) and finished last or fourth in each of his first four terms. Preferring low-risk, high-reward contracts, the most lucrative signing he agreed to was a two-year, $12 million deal with reliever Michael Gonzalez prior to the 2010 season.

Matt Wieters hit a solo home run in Monday's loss to the Rays. Wieters' 18th home run of the year was his third of the month and 10th in just 48 games since the All-Star break. Still only 25 years old and hitting .260/.321/.434 this season, Wieters should be a top-10 option at catcher in even shallower mixed leagues in 2012.

Matt Wieters, J.J. Hardy and Mark Reynolds are all out of the lineup Saturday. Orioles manager Buck Showalter is simply giving his guys a day off. He's also giving Nick Markakis a start at first base.

Matt Wieters returned to the lineup on Thursday and homered and doubled against the Blue Jays. Wieters missed Wednesday's game due to quad cramps, but he's homered in his last two appearances now. He's swinging the bat better right now than he ever has previously as a major leaguer.

Matt Wieters is out of Wednesday night's lineup due to mild cramping in his quad. Wieters expects to be fine for Thursday afternoon. The improving 25-year-old catcher has an .824 OPS and seven home runs in 139 at-bats since the All-Star break.

Matt Wieters doubled, homered and drove in three runs in Baltimore's 12-5 win over the Yankees on Friday. Wieters' 14th bomb of the season was his third in five games. He's now batting .271 to go along with 14 extra-base hits and 16 RBI in 35 games since the All-Star break.