Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias returned late last night from the draft combine in San Diego with the same group of names on his board, which will be carried into upcoming meetings intended to whittle the list down to one.

The Orioles hold the first overall pick for the second time in four years.

“The combine was a great event. I’m very glad that we have that event now as a league,” Elias said today during a dugout session with the local media.

“Obviously, we are working with a group of five, maybe six, but probably five players at this point. … There’s a lot of information that comes in late leading up to the draft, and so it’s not responsible to pare the list down until you get all that. And also, I think we’re going to have advocates in our scouting department and in our front office for each of those players. So, we’re going to have a nice, lively debate.”

A position player is going to be chosen. No pitchers are deemed worthy of the pick.

The Orioles activated reliever Joey Krehbiel from the 15-day injured list and optioned right-hander Logan Gillaspie to Triple-A Norfolk. Gillaspie was informed of the move last night.

Krehbiel, who was sidelined with right shoulder tendinitis, has a 2.74 ERA and 1.130 WHIP in 23 innings. Gillaspie has appeared in 11 games with the Orioles and allowed five earned runs (six total) and 15 hits in 10 1/3 innings.

Gillaspie was charged with four runs and five hits Monday in 1/3 of an inning in Toronto.

Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins are on the bench today.

Austin Hays is leading off and serving as the designated hitter. Trey Mancini is in right field, Ryan McKenna in center and Anthony Santander in left.

The Orioles are discussing construction possibilities for their roster next week with teams allowed to carry only 13 pitchers. They get a fourth bench player as the forced tradeoff.

Monday’s off day delays the club’s decision, but it’s coming.

Joey Krehbiel is expected to be activated today from the injured list, which removes a reliever from the bullpen. Someone else must go by Tuesday. And the Orioles eventually need a starter to replace Bruce Zimmermann, who was optioned Thursday afternoon.

A fifth starter isn’t required until June 25, so no rush.

Jorge López, Dillon Tate, Félix Bautista, Cionel Pérez and Keegan Akin are safe, and Bryan Baker probably also fits into that category.

Dean Kremer’s season was put on hold before it began, an oblique strain while warming during the opening series causing him to disappear from the bullpen, active roster and sight.

He wasn’t around much while rehabbing at the spring training complex and in the minors.

He isn’t leaving the rotation as long as he’s displaying improved command and confidence. Maybe get used to seeing him every five or six days.

Kremer shut out the Rays over six innings tonight, tying his career high, in the Orioles’ 1-0 victory at Camden Yards. Manager Brandon Hyde removed him at 82 pitches.

Adley Rutschman’s second single of the night in the bottom of the seventh inning scored Ryan Mountcastle, who doubled into the bullpen corner, and put the only run on the board.

Anthony Santander is in right field tonight for the Orioles. Keegan Akin is in the bullpen. The competitive disadvantage from their absences in Toronto has been resolved.

Perhaps until the Orioles are in Toronto again. They make two more trips in 2022.

Unvaccinated players are denied entrance into Canada. Santander and Akin went on the restricted list, and the Orioles returned substitute players Kyle Stowers and Rico Garcia to Triple-A Norfolk.

“We knew going in,” Hyde said. “Gave a couple guys an opportunity because two guys couldn’t go, and if that presents itself again, we’ll take it like we just did.

“We’re not the only team that this has happened. It’s happening to most teams that go up there. I’ve talked to them and it’s their choice and I leave it up to them. They’re grown men, they’re going to make their own decisions. I can give them my opinion, but people make their own decisions. You try to persuade or give them my thoughts on it, but it’s ultimately up to them.”

Outfielder Anthony Santander and reliever Keegan Akin are back on the 26-man roster as the Orioles begin their next homestand with three games against the Rays. Santander is playing right field.

Outfielder Kyle Stowers and reliever Rico Garcia were sent back down to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday’s game.

Trey Mancini returns to the lineup and is playing first base. He missed the last three games in Toronto with swelling in his right hand.

Adley Rutschman is catching and batting sixth.

Ryan Mountcastle is 11-for-27 (.407) with four homers, eight RBIs and eight runs scored during his six-game hitting streak.

TORONTO – Ramón Urías went on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strained left oblique and isn’t close to being ready to jump back in the lineup.

Urías is making progress, but at a pace that disappoints him.

“I feel a little bit better,” he said yesterday. “Obviously, I feel like it’s going slow. The good thing is, every day it’s getting a little better.”

There isn’t much for Urías to do except receive daily treatments.

“I think I would have a better idea when I start swinging and see how it feels with the swing,” he said.

TORONTO – Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann has lost his spot in the Orioles’ rotation and active roster.

The club optioned Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk today and recalled reliever Mike Baumann, who was on the taxi squad.

Zimmermann surrendered three more home runs last night in a 10-inning loss to the Blue Jays, increasing his total to 17 in his last seven starts and 18 for the season, tied with Miami’s Elieser Hernández for most in the majors.

The month of June hasn’t brought any relief to the Baltimore native. He’s allowed 18 runs and 31 hits in 15 innings.

Zimmermann’s ERA has risen from 2.72 on May 14 to 5.94. He began the season with a scoreless streak of 14 2/3 innings.

TORONTO – If the Orioles are going to gain a split of their four-game series against the Blue Jays, they’ll need to bounce back quickly from last night’s 10-inning walk-off loss.

Adley Rutschman is batting fourth as the designated hitter this afternoon after smacking his first major league home run and collecting his first two RBIs. He also doubled for his fourth multi-hit game.

Kyle Stowers is on the bench, with Ryan McKenna starting in left field.

Trey Mancini remains out of the lineup with swelling in his right hand.

Ryan Mountcastle has homered in consecutive games for the fifth time in his career. He’s hit 12 career homers against the Jays, most versus any opponent, and is batting .346 (38-for-110) with four doubles, 12 home runs, 21 RBIs and a 1.109 OPS in 28 games.

TORONTO – Caleb Joseph didn’t need a large sample size to get a feel for Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman, to properly ascertain just how good baseball’s No. 1 prospect can be behind the plate and with a bat in his hands.

One series was sufficient for Joseph to receive confirmation Monday night as he sat in the Blue Jays’ radio booth to begin a four-game series. It matched the research done to prepare for his assignment.

The next chapter in Joseph’s professional life isn’t as a scout, but he knows catching, having spent parts of seven seasons doing it at the highest level and 555 games catching in the minors. He knows a legit player when he sees one.

And he understands why success doesn’t arrive at the exact moment that the jersey is buttoned for the first time.

Rutschman caught last night and hit his first major league home run, which also produced his first two RBIs – sending a 94 mph fastball from José Berríos over the center field fence in the fourth inning. He’s 3-for-11 in the series, serving as the designated hitter Tuesday with Trey Mancini injured and Anthony Santander back in Baltimore.

TORONTO – Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini still expects to avoid the injured list as the swelling is reducing in his right hand.

Mancini has the hand wrapped, but he noted the improvement this afternoon.

His timeline for returning stays the same. He said yesterday that it could be two or three days.

The injury occurred in Monday’s series opener against the Blue Jays when Mancini swung at a tailing 91 mph sinker from Alek Manoah and the ball struck his hand and rolled up the third base line.

Mancini said he might be available off the bench Thursday afternoon, but he seems more likely to play over the weekend when the Orioles host the Rays.

TORONTO – The Orioles claimed infielder Jonathan Araúz off waivers from the Red Sox this afternoon and designated left-hander Zac Lowther for assignment. The 40-man roster remains full.

Araúz, 23, will report to Triple-A Norfolk. He went 0-for-10 in six games this season and is 30-for-147 (.204) with five doubles, four home runs and 18 RBIs in 59 games with the Red Sox over parts of three seasons.

Araúz plays shortstop, second base and third base. He’s a career .240/.315/.357 hitter in 498 minor league games and provides infield depth, versatility and experience at the upper level of the farm system.

The native of Panama signed with the Phillies as a free agent in 2014 and was traded to the Astros a year later in a seven-player deal that included Ken Giles, Mark Appel and future Orioles pitcher Thomas Eshelman. The Red Sox selected him in the 2019 Rule 5 draft.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias knows Araúz from their days in the Astros organization.

TORONTO – Rico Garcia understood how much the numbers really mattered. A non-roster pitcher who missed a full year recovering from elbow surgery must get noticed for more than just returning to the mound. He has to push hard for the promotion.

The circumstances also worked in Garcia’s favor as he made it back to the majors Monday with the Orioles.

Keegan Akin didn’t join the team for the second portion of the road trip due to Canada’s restrictions on unvaccinated players. The rules allowed the Orioles to call up Garcia and, if they chose, send him back down without using an option or having to designate him for assignment in a 40-man move.

Garcia signed a minor league deal in November, posted a 1.93 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings for three affiliates and joined the taxi squad in Kansas City. The Orioles learned that he wasn’t just healthy again.

“Just going out there and attacking hitters, trying not to think about the elbow and the whole rehab process,” he said. “Just trust the process, trust the surgery, that everything in there is feeling good, and let things rip, just like before the surgery happened. That was the main focus.”

TORONTO – Trey Mancini walked into the visiting clubhouse this afternoon with his right hand wrapped in black tape. His name missing from the lineup. His mind uncertain when he'd get back on the field.

Mancini was hit in the sixth inning last night by a 91 mph sinker from Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah. He reached first base on a slow roller up the third base line, and a lengthy challenge led to the ruling that he struck out swinging.

Richie Martin pinch-hit for Mancini in the seventh.

X-rays didn’t reveal a fracture in the hand, but Mancini isn’t available to play tonight and might not be able to leave a short bench Wednesday.

“It’s swollen. Not great, but luckily no fracture, so I say day-to-day, but it’s pretty swollen,” Mancini said. “Once the swelling goes down it should be good again to grip the bat again and go, but I’m not exactly sure.

TORONTO – Kyle Stowers is on the bench after making his major league debut last night and lining a run-scoring double into left field in the seventh inning.

Ryan McKenna is starting in left field as the Orioles continue their series against the Blue Jays. Adley Rutschman is batting cleanup and serving as the designated hitter.

Trey Mancini, who was hit on the hand last night, isn't in the lineup.

Tyler Nevin is the third baseman again. Richie Martin is starting at second base.

Jordan Lyles hasn’t gone past five innings in his last three starts. He has a lifetime 7.79 ERA and 2.077 WHIP in four games against the Blue Jays spanning 17 1/3 innings.

TORONTO – A few of the firsts are out of the way for Kyle Stowers.

The first hit, first double, first RBI, first hit by pitch.

The first time that his family was brought to tears in a major league game.

Stowers lined a Julian Merryweather fastball, clocked at 95.7 mph, into left-center field for a double that scored Adley Rutschman in the seventh inning of an 11-1 loss to the Blue Jays.

Merryweather left the game with an injury, one of many odd moments of the night. Like the challenge in the sixth inning that lasted longer than batting practice and resulted in the Orioles getting the call overturned, and Trey Mancini walking from first base to the dugout after striking out.

TORONTO - The Orioles knew for a while that outfielder Anthony Santander and reliever Keegan Akin would leave the active roster prior to the team’s arrival in Toronto. To be decided was which outfielder might replace Santander in the lineup.

Kyle Stowers became the third top-10 prospect in the system to get the call, joining catcher Adley Rutschman and pitcher Kyle Bradish. They’ll be on the field together tonight for the start of a four-game series against the Blue Jays.

Manager Brandon Hyde got an extended look at Stowers in spring training and wants to check how the 2019 second-round draft pick handles the pressure and challenging at-bats against early Cy Young candidate Alek Manoah.

“I know he’s excited,” Hyde said. “It’s cool to watch young guys make their debuts, and this is going to be a great environment. He’s facing one of the best right-handed starters in the game right now. He’s swinging the bat extremely well in Norfolk and love the athleticism, how he plays defense, how he runs, so it’s a cool way for him to break into the big leagues and looking forward to watching him play tonight.”

The advice to just relax and treat it like any other game “is super unrealistic,” Hyde said.

TORONTO - The Orioles placed outfielder Anthony Santander and reliever Keegan Akin on the restricted list today and selected the contracts of Kyle Stowers and Rico Garcia as replacement players.

No reasons were stated for Santander and Akin being away from the club, but unvaccinated players aren’t allowed to enter Canada. Santander and Akin were put on the COVID-19 injured list last summer.

Stowers, the No. 7 prospect in the system per Baseball America and No. 8 per MLBPipeline.com, is batting .253/.356/.545 with 16 doubles, 12 home runs and 34 RBIs in 209 plate appearances with Triple-A Norfolk. He’s making his major league debut tonight, playing left field and batting eighth.

“It’s awesome, it’s a dream come true for sure, and everyone’s been super great,” said Stowers, who called his fiancée and parents with the news.

“It was special, just because they played such a big role, obviously,” he said. “To be able to thank the people who helped me get here was really special.”

The Orioles completed their only trip to Kansas City yesterday and are in Toronto for the first of three visits.

This is my first appearance since the 2016 wild card game.

Too soon?

My lasting image from that day besides Zack Britton warming in the bullpen and sitting down, and my frantic attempts late at night to get a flight home, is catcher Matt Wieters bolting out of his crouch the moment that Edwin Encarnación’s bat made contact against Ubaldo Jimenez in the 11^th inning.

Wieters spun toward the dugout as if unable to watch. Or maybe he sensed the outcome in advance and hated to be proven right. Probably both.

The Orioles are trying to gain a split of their four-game series in Kansas City today with Dean Kremer making his second start since leaving the injured list.

Kremer faced the Guardians last Sunday and allowed three runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings. An off-day and rainout pushed him back in the rotation.

Today marks Kremer’s first career start against the Royals.

Adley Rutschman is catching today after the first three-hit game of his career yesterday afternoon. Rutschman is 5-for-11 in his last three starts.

"It kind of goes back to controlling the controllables," Rutschman told the media. "You hit balls hard and eventually, baseball's one of those games, you’re going to hit balls right at people, then you’re going to have balls that are hit hard that fall for hits. So, you’ve got to continue to roll with the punches and try to do the best you can.”