BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles purchased the contracts of outfielders Endy Chavez and L.J. Hoes from Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday and designated veteran reliever Kevin Gregg and infielder Ryan Adams for assignment.
Chavez and Hoes replaced Gregg and Adams on the 40-man roster.
Chavez hit .190 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 47 games with the Orioles earlier this season. Hoes has not played in the majors.
Gregg went 3-2 with a 4.74 ERA in 40 appearances with Baltimore this season. He signed a two-year contract in January 2011 to be the team's closer, and although he had 22 saves last year, the right-hander lost the job to Jim Johnson during spring training.
After getting off to a shaky start in April, Gregg ultimately ended up as odd man out in a bullpen filled with effective pitchers.
Gregg appeared in two games in September, including Sunday, when he gave up four runs in one inning against the New York Yankees.
"Kevin deserves an opportunity to pitch (more often)," manager Buck Showalter said. "It has much to do with his inactivity. We're just trying to fair to him, plus we needed the roster spot. Hopefully it will work out for him. I think it will. I think a change of scenery and getting the ball every day or every other day is going to help him."
The 34-year-old Gregg is 28-38 with 179 saves and a 4.11 ERA over a career that began in 2003 with the Angels and includes stints with the Marlins, Chicago Cubs and Toronto.
The Orioles added Chavez and Hoes because they're short on outfielders after Nick Markakis broke his left thumb Saturday. Markakis had pins placed in the thumb Tuesday that will be removed in three weeks, Showalter said.
Showalter and vice-president of baseball operations Dan Duquette discussed the possibility of getting an outfielder via a trade but decided to plug the hole from within.
"What was out there, as far as it was presented to the organization, wasn't better than Endy and L.J. that were already here," Showalter said. "We weren't going to trade (former top draft pick and current third baseman) Manny (Machado) for a guy that's going to here for three weeks and not eligible for the playoffs if we were lucky enough to make it. Not going to do it."
Hoes, the Orioles' third-round pick in the 2008 draft, began this season with Double-A Bowie. He was promoted to Norfolk, where he hit .300 with three home runs and 38 RBIs in 82 games.
Adams batted .224 with four home runs and 20 RBIs in 65 games with Norfolk this season.
