AL East Notes: Orioles, A-Rod, Blue Jays

Wilson Betemit is on his way back from a knee injury suffered in the spring, but that won't prevent the Orioles from hunting for a designated hitter, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. "We want to find another hitter. We have been looking at this issue for a while, and we want to find a solution for DH," Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette says. "[Betemit] can certainly be a solution. He is a good hitter, but he needs some at-bats." Connolly reports that the Orioles do not seem interested in Justin Morneau and have not seriously considered Paul Konerko, both of whom have passed through waivers. Here's more from the AL East.

• Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees are in the midst of a feud centered on accusations against the Yankees made by Rodriguez attorney Joseph Tacopina. Despite that and Rodriguez's 211-game suspension, the Yankees are not considering releasing Rodriguez, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger writes. "That’s not something for me. I wouldn’t think that that’s – I don’t think that’s something that would be considered, personally," GM Brian Cashman says.
• The Blue Jays have done a nice job finding depth players this season, but have struggled overall because bigger-name players aren't producing, SportsNet.ca's Shi Davidi writes. On Sunday, the Jays got a solid start from former waiver claim Todd Redmond, but couldn't put together enough offense to beat the Rays. The Jays have gotten underwhelming results from big-name acquisitions like Josh Johnson, R.A. Dickey, Melky Cabrera and others en route to a 57-67 season so far.