masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgIn 12 exhibition games in 2019 after his trade to the Orioles, outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. collected 12 hits in 28 at-bats, hit five home runs and posted a 1.448 OPS. He slashed .241/.297/.412 in 392 plate appearances during the regular season.
Catcher Chance Sisco went 13-for-34 (.382) with four home runs and 11 RBIs in the Grapefruit League, his 1.298 OPS ranking third on the club, but he batted .210 with a .729 OPS and played in only 58 games after the Orioles broke camp.
Joey Rickard…

In 12 exhibition games in 2019 after his trade to the Orioles, outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. collected 12 hits in 28 at-bats, hit five home runs and posted a 1.448 OPS. He slashed .241/.297/.412 in 392 plate appearances during the regular season.

Catcher Chance Sisco went 13-for-34 (.382) with four home runs and 11 RBIs in the Grapefruit League, his 1.298 OPS ranking third on the club, but he batted .210 with a .729 OPS and played in only 58 games after the Orioles broke camp.

Joey Rickard slashed .333/.364/.510 in Florida. Didn’t carry over to the regular season and the Giants claimed him on waivers. Chris Davis was 9-for-22 last spring with two doubles, three home runs and 10 walks. Didn’t carry over to the regular season. Rio Ruiz was 12-for-34 with three doubles and a home run.

Didn’t carry over to the regular season.

Trey Mancini hit .231/.318/.385 in 15 exhibition games in 2019 and was chosen Most Valuable Oriole six months later.

Mancini-Rounds-Third-Flores-Orange-Sidebar.jpgIt works both ways.

This is a long-winded way of saying that spring training numbers don’t guarantee or prohibit success when the club goes north.

The Orioles ranked fourth with 187 runs scored in spring training 2019. They’re tied for 25th today with 45 and dead last in average (.202), slugging percentage (.295) and OPS (.599).

When is the exact right moment to start sweating?

The struggles of players expected to report to the alternate camp site aren’t as alarming. Jahmai Jones is 2-for-16. Yusniel Diaz is 4-for-20 with 11 strikeouts. Rylan Bannon is 1-for-11. Tyler Nevin is 2-for-13. Stevie Wilkerson is 2-for-17 while trying to win a utility job.

There’s more attention falling upon Ryan Mountcastle, who’s 2-for-19, Pedro Severino, who’s 1-for-16 with one RBI, and Ruiz, who’s 1-for-12 and nearing a return to the lineup after dealing with an illness.

Anthony Santander is 2-for-10, but he has seven walks and gets … wait for it … a free pass.

“We’ve just got to have a little bit better keep-the-line-moving mentality,” manager Brandon Hyde said yesterday after his team was one-hit over eight innings in a 5-0 loss.

“I think we have got a lot of guys who are trying way too hard and swinging way too hard.”

Baseball is hard.

The Orioles have scored two runs or fewer in five of their 13 games. They’ve done it four times in the last six. But the lineups are shuffled, regulars come out early.

I’m not trying to sugarcoat it, but the stats must be taken with a grain of salt.

* Reliever Dillon Tate said yesterday that he didn’t make any adjustments to his winter routine to prepare for spring training and the 2021 season. More like fine-tuning as he tries to secure a spot in the bullpen.

“I don’t think I did anything in particular, really, that was special, I would say, but a lot of work on my delivery and just making sure I’m timed up and being where I need to be at certain points,” Tate said.

Hyde is stretching out relievers or intending to do so later in camp to cover innings, whether in bulk style or for two. Tate has a starting background and likely will be called upon get more than three outs, as he did in half of his 12 appearances last summer.

Tate worked 2 1/3 innings in three of his first four outings and 1 2/3 in the other.

“I’m going to go out there and do whatever it is that’s best for the team,” said Tate, who’s allowed four runs and five hits with four strikeouts in three innings this spring. “If the team says ‘We want you to go out there for multiple innings,’ then it’s multiple innings, and if it’s one inning, then it’s one inning. But ultimately, I’m just going to do what I’m asked.”

Hunter Harvey is expected to begin the season on the injured list again after straining his left oblique, which opens the door a little wider for Tate to break camp with the team.

There’s an unexpected spot available. Now it’s up to Tate to claim it or hold onto the one Hyde envisioned for him.

“It’s going to be really competitive, but at the same time it’s more of a me-versus-me deal,” he said, “so I feel like this is something where I’m just focusing on what it is I have to do and things I need to get better at in order to make myself a little better than I was the previous year. So it’s more so tunnel vision, me-versus-me type of deal.

“I don’t think it’s something that starts at this time of year, but I think that’s just baseball in general, since it’s such a mental game, more mental than it is physical, so I think that’s one thing that I realize, especially being out there on the mound, it’s an island and you’re all by yourself for the most part. So it’s you versus you every time you’re out there.”

* The Orioles signed 32-year-old right-hander Manny Barreda to a minor league contract, with the deal finalized on March 4, per the Major League Baseball transactions page.

Barreda has been a professional for 14 years after the Yankees drafted him in the 12th round in 2007. He made it to Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves system in 2017, posting a 1.83 ERA in seven starts, but has mostly been pitching in Mexico since 2016.

Barreda is 26-14 with a 3.41 ERA and 1.349 WHIP in 253 minor league games, including only 18 starts.

The Orioles didn’t place Barreda on their camp roster.