SARASOTA, Fla. - As Mark Trumbo attempts to reach his target date of March 12 to play in his first exhibition game, manager Brandon Hyde continues to exhibit patience and understanding through the process with no intention of rushing it.
The desire to have him in the opening day lineup won't override common sense.
"Mark knows how I feel," Hyde said. "I want him to be healthy, so I'm not putting any date on it. I think a player wants to try to get back and I don't want to put a date on it...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles first baseman Chris Davis was scratched from the lineup today with a left hip flexor strain.
Davis sustained the injury while fielding a throw up the line in Sunday's game against the Tigers in Sarasota. He batted yesterday against Jimmy Yacabonis in a simulated game at the Ed Smith Stadium complex and persistent discomfort lingered into this morning.
The decision was made to replace Davis with Jace Peterson. Davis is considered day-to-day.
"His hip flexor is a little...
SARASOTA, Fla. - A week remains before Mark Trumbo's target date to make his spring training debut. Whether he's ready for it remains an uncertainty, another reminder given this morning that it's tentative.
"We're trying to work toward that," he said. "I'm not sure if we're going to make it or not, but working hard.
"It's a progression. Some days are better than others. Trying to remain optimistic. Wish I could give you a little firmer idea, but mixing in the at-bats and stuff."
The...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Alex Cobb makes his second spring start today as the Orioles host the Pirates.
Cobb was limited to 23 pitches in two-thirds of an inning Friday against the Rays, and manager Brandon Hyde will try to stretch him out to at least two innings.
Jonathan Villar returns to the lineup after taking a spike in his pinky finger Sunday in Fort Myers. He's starting at shortstop.
Trey Mancini remains absent with swelling in his left pinky finger.
Drew Jackson is in center field while...
SARASOTA, Fla. - We've been warned in song to never fall in love with a dreamer. Former Ravens coach Brian Billick told the media to never fall in love with a guy in shorts, the message delivered each year in training camp. And every baseball manager preaches the dangers of falling in love with stats derived from exhibition games.
Love stinks.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is walking that fine line between judging competitors for various roster spots on their spring numbers and resisting the...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Renato Núñez is a third baseman by trade who had no issues with moving across the diamond this afternoon. He's just trying to make the club. The glove won't be a primary reason if it happens.
It's the bat that keeps teams intrigued and Núñez's might be heating up.
Núñez crushed a fastball from Twins reliever Addison Reed in the third inning, his grand slam to left-center field giving the Orioles a lead they didn't surrender in a 9-4 win.
Jordany...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Dylan Bundy didn't approach today's start in a passive state. He wasn't going to nibble. Bundy attacked the strike zone and challenged the Twins to make solid contact.
C.J. Cron did it twice with his first-pitch opposite-field homer with two outs in the first inning and loud two-run shot in the third. The only runs surrendered by Bundy in three innings.
In his second spring appearance and working on three days' rest, Bundy allowed five hits, walked none and struck out...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Orioles have reached the midway point of spring training and manager Brandon Hyde can't fathom the task of compiling a 25-man roster and settling the competitions that have spread through camp.
Much too soon.
"I think we're still really in the heart of the evaluation process," Hyde said during batting practice. "A lot of these guys have teens at-bats, between 10-20 at-bats. It's hard to evaluate a guy on that. There are still guys coming in the mix. (Jesús) Sucre...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Nate Karns will pitch in his second spring training game Tuesday while coming out of the bullpen against the Pirates in Sarasota.
Karns didn't experience any discomfort in his right arm following Saturday's bullpen session and will get back on the mound after Alex Cobb makes the start.
The Orioles backed off Karns, skipping him Friday night in Tampa in favor of left-hander John Means, after he felt that he didn't bounce back in normal fashion following last Monday's debut...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Trey Mancini has attempted one stolen base in his major league career, back in 2017. He's 1-for-1. But a successful swipe of second in his spring debut is costing him games.
Mancini remains day-to-day after jamming his left pinky finger, which he had wrapped this morning while standing at his locker.
The hand slammed into Blue Jays shortstop Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on Feb. 24 in Sarasota, and while Mancini continued to play the finger swelled and impacted him at the plate. To the...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Hanser Alberto makes his Orioles debut today against the Twins in Fort Myers after returning to camp via another waiver claim.
Alberto is starting at second base, with Rule 5 pick Richie Martin at shortstop.
Chance Sisco is batting third. DJ Stewart is in right field, Cedric Mullins in center and Eric Young Jr. in left.
Dylan Bundy, working on three days' rest, is making his second spring start.
Left-hander Josh Osich will make his Orioles debut. Also on the trip are David...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Cody Carroll was handed the ball and a two-run lead yesterday and retired the side in order to close out a 7-5 win over the Tigers. All it took were three fly balls - from Kody Clemens, Héctor Sánchez and Wenceel Perez - to get the save.
Carroll struck out three batters in his previous outing on Thursday, also in the ninth inning, but a fly ball from the Phillies' Darick Hall carried over the right field fence for a game-tying two-run homer.
Saves come and go.
"You just...
SARASOTA, Fla. - It's been a bad weekend for pinkies.
Second baseman Jonathan Villar came out of today's game in the top of the fourth inning with some swelling in his right pinky finger, the result of a head-first slide into second base and an unfortunate collision with an infielder's spikes.
Christopher Bostick replaced Villar, who singled and stole second base in the first inning and drew a walk in the third.
"He had a little cleat in the finger and it just started to swell a little bit...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The second pitch thrown today by Andrew Cashner in his spring debut nailed Tigers leadoff hitter JaCoby Jones.
The fourth was lined into left field for a single.
The 12th disappeared over the right field fence for a three-run homer.
If Cashner is siphoning anything positive out of the start, he can cite his health, how he plowed through the Tigers split-squad lineup in the second and retired the first two batters in the third, and how he's been stretched out to three...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has made his first round of cuts today and they include pitcher Hunter Harvey.
With the Orioles setting the goal of keeping Harvey healthy through camp and setting him up for a full season, the former first-round pick has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk as the only member of the 40-man roster to be dismissed from the Ed Smith Stadium complex.
The club also announced that catcher Cael Brockmeyer, left-hander Chris Lee, right-handers Dean Kremer and...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Nate Karns is close to getting back into the Orioles rotation after informing manager Brandon Hyde this morning that his arm responded favorably to yesterday's bullpen session.
Karns was scratched from Friday night's start in Tampa due to some arm soreness. Karns said he didn't bounce back at the usual rate after debuting Monday against the Twins in Fort Myers and lasting 1 2/3 innings, which raised some red flags based on the elbow injury last summer that cost him the...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Andrew Cashner makes his spring debut today when the Orioles host the Tigers in a 3:05 p.m. game that airs on MASN.
Hot-hitting Austin Hays is in left field today, the least familiar of the three outfield positions he's played.
Jonathan Villar is leading off and playing second base and veteran Alcides Escobar is at shortstop.
Joey Rickard is in center field, Yusniel Diaz is in right, Chris Davis is back in the lineup at first and Austin Wynns is catching.
Trey Mancini is...
SARASOTA, Fla. - On the Stevie Wilkerson bingo card, make sure to mark all of the positions he's played and hope they fall in a row.
Wilkerson started in right field yesterday against the Red Sox in Fort Myers and shifted to second base in the fourth inning. He's also played left field and first base in exhibition games.
The card doesn't allow for positions where he's worked out. Otherwise, a chip would be placed over shortstop, third base and center field.
The former eighth-round pick out...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has been waiting for a day when he could boast about the club's pitching and defense. On the same day.
He found it this afternoon in Fort Myers, where the Orioles defeated the Red Sox 9-1.
Mike Wright shut out the Red Sox through the third inning. Yefry Ramirez allowed one run, on Xander Bogaerts' homer, and two hits over three innings. He didn't issue a walk and struck out two batters.
Paul Fry retired the side in order with two strikeouts in...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Mike Wright took a sharp grounder off his right foot today with two outs in the third inning and the next batter poked a single up the middle. Another ball that didn't catch air.
Past starts might have crumbled for Wright, but he retired Jackie Bradley Jr. on a fly ball and headed for the clubhouse with three more scoreless innings on his ledger.
Making a push for a spot in the back end of the rotation, Wright blanked the Red Sox on three hits with one walk and two...