DUNEDIN, Fla. - The Orioles have reduced their camp roster to 49 players this morning by reassigning right-handers Tim Melville and Asher Wojciechowski to the minor league complex.
Melville allowed two runs and four hits yesterday in 1 1/3 innings after two scoreless appearances covering four frames. Wojciechowski also pitched yesterday against the Blue Jays and surrendered two runs and four hits in two innings. He allowed four runs and 12 hits over 6 2/3 innings in his three outings.
Neither...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Right-hander Gabriel Ynoa is unable to make his scheduled start on Saturday against the Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium.
An MRI on Ynoa's shins revealed a "stress reaction," which we're told shouldn't be confused with a fracture.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said yesterday that Ynoa has been bothered by shin splints, which led the team to arrange an MRI in the late afternoon. Ynoa is out of minor league options and competing for a spot in the rotation or bullpen.
Ynoa has...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Miguel Castro makes his first start today in the Grapefruit League and the Orioles make their only trip to Dunedin to play the Blue Jays.
Tim Beckham, Trey Mancini, Danny Valencia, Pedro Ãlvarez and Caleb Joseph also are on the trip. Valencia is starting at first base.
The bench includes Joey Rickard, Ryan Mountcastle, DJ Stewart, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, Austin Wynns, Andrew Susac, Engelb Vielma, Erick Salcedo and Corban Joseph.
Relievers available today include...
SARASOTA, Fla. - I've learned over the years that spring training exists to get players ready for the upcoming season, to determine how to plug holes in the roster and to give sportswriters a chance to post grainy photos and pretend to sympathize when it snows back home.
It also sharpens our skills at fitting a bar tab into our per diem.
Managers use the annual camps to do a little experimenting. Where else are you going to turn Trey Mancini into a left fielder and try to turn Pedro Ãlvarez...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles will make two or three roster cuts Friday morning before their game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin.
There's no update on Gabriel Ynoa's MRI because it isn't scheduled until 5 p.m. He's bothered by shin splints.
Kevin Gausman will throw a simulated game Friday morning on Field 4, just as Andrew Cashner, Dylan Bundy and Chris Tillman have done the past three days.
The home-and-home series began today with the Orioles losing 9-3 at Ed Smith Stadium. Catcher...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Lacking a fastball that pops a catcher's mitt and pokes holes in bats, Nestor Cortes Jr. has to be extremely fine with his pitches. He has to hit his target, change speeds and arm angles, and rely on deception and a pitching IQ that's enabled him to win at various levels of the minors.
Cortes didn't miss many bats this afternoon and his quest to win the fifth starter's job took a hit.
The Orioles aren't done auditioning the first of their three Rule 5 picks, but Cortes...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles have reassigned reliever Perci Garner to minor league camp before today's game against the Blue Jays.
The camp roster is down to 51 players.
Garner tossed three scoreless and hitless innings in his three appearances, with two walks and two strikeouts. He made the trip to Port Charlotte yesterday and escaped a jam after a pair of two-out walks.
The Orioles signed Garner as a minor league free agent on Dec. 1 and he underwent arthroscopic surgery later in the month...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Tillman threw 61 pitches over three innings in this morning's simulated game. The crowd included Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy, Darren O'Day and Zach Britton.
Mark Trumbo is unavailable due to a sore right quadriceps muscle. Manager Buck Showalter estimated, after talking to head athletic trainer Brian Ebel, that Trumbo could be out for three to seven days.
"We're probably going to give him time to get that completely healed," Showalter said. "He's got a quad going on...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Trey Mancini gets another start at first base today with Chris Davis unavailable, and Pedro Ãlvarez is serving as the designated hitter for a 1:05 p.m. game against the Blue Jays in Sarasota.
Colby Rasmus is leading off and playing right field. Chance Sisco is catching.
Mark Trumbo isn't in the lineup today and he isn't listed among the reserves.
Rule 5 left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. makes his third start while bidding for the fifth spot in the rotation. He's allowed two...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The competition for backup catcher with the Orioles appears to be a two-man race between Chance Sisco and Austin Wynns, though Andrew Susac remains in camp and is trying to make a push after a staph infection led to a brief hospital stay.
Wynns was in the lineup yesterday against the Rays and had a single and walk before striking out with the bases loaded to end the fifth. Susac replaced him and singled in his only at-bat.
Susac is 2-for-2 and has walked twice in limited...
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Danny Valencia has an RBI double today off Rays left-hander Anthony Banda and a two-run double off right-hander Yonny Chirinos. He's trying to demonstrate that he's an equal opportunity masher and not just a platoon player.
Valencia is 4-for-9 with three doubles, a home run and four RBIs since signing a minor league deal with the Orioles and vowing to make the major league club.
The Orioles sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth and took a 7-2 lead. Tim Beckham had a...
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Andrew Cashner will make his first appearance in a Grapefruit League game with Sunday night's start against the Phillies in Sarasota, which will air live on MASN.
Left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. starts Thursday afternoon against the Blue Jays' Aaron Sanchez at Ed Smith Stadium. The teams meet again the following day in Dunedin with Miguel Castro opposing Marco Estrada.
Castro will be making his Grapefruit League debut after working two innings Friday morning in a B game...
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - The Orioles extended their streak of removing players from their camp roster this morning by optioning right-hander Jesus Liranzo to Double-A Bowie.
The roster is down to 52 players and more cuts are coming over the next few days.
Liranzo, who turns 23 today, was slow-played this spring to protect his right shoulder. He was charged with five runs yesterday against the Twins in Fort Myers, the last three scoring after he left the game.
Meanwhile, Andrew Cashner may be...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are headed to Port Charlotte again today, where they picked up their first two exhibition wins last week, and the regulars making the trip include second baseman Jonathan Schoop and third baseman Tim Beckham.
Danny Valencia is playing first base and batting cleanup. Austin Hays is the designated hitter.
Other pitchers listed behind starter Mike Wright Jr. include Donny Hart, José Mesa Jr., Jimmy Yacabonis, Perci Garner, James Teague and Matt Wotherspoon. The...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Reliever Josh Edgin is expected to leave Orioles camp this week, but not because he's included among the cuts. It's probably too early to make a final determination on his status.
Edgin will join his wife for the birth of their child. She's due on Thursday and the doctor may induce labor.
His baseball life will beckon and he'll return to the complex with a full heart and the same opportunity to make the club.
Though he hasn't received much attention, Edgin is in the thick...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Orioles aren't expected to announce their latest roster cuts until later tonight or in the morning. They'll send out a couple of pitchers.
The pitching this afternoon was spotty, to put it mildly. Hunter Harvey earned a passing grade from manager Buck Showalter following a 9-8 loss to the Twins and left-hander Richard Bleier was a groundball machine in the eighth, the only baserunner reaching on shortstop Engebl Vielma's fielding error.
Left-hander Joely Rodriguez...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Danny Valencia really loves to hit the lefties.
Valencia led off the top of the second inning today with a long home run to left field off Twins southpaw Adalberto MejÃa, who tried to get a 91 mph fastball past him. Didn't work.
Hunter Harvey tossed a scoreless first inning, stranding two runners after Miguel Sanó's two-out double and Eduardo Escobar's walk. He also threw a wild pitch.
Harvey struck out Brian Dozier on a 95 mph fastball that caught the inner half of...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Orioles have reduced their camp roster to 55 today with five more cuts.
Pitchers Stefan Crichton, Michael Kelly and Yefry Ramirez have been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, and left-hander Andrew Faulkner and outfielder Jaycob Brugman have been reassigned to minor league camp.
The yearly reminder that players on the 40-man roster are optioned and non-roster players are reassigned. Also, the assignments to Norfolk can be adjusted later, with Double-A Bowie always a...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Davis doesn't think it's going to be much longer before he's cleared to resume throwing and gets back into the Orioles lineup as the final weeks play out in spring training.
Davis is sidelined with discomfort in his right elbow/forearm, but an MRI Saturday didn't reveal any structural damage. He continues to receive treatment and was able to crack a few jokes this morning - starting with a mock meltdown into tears - while providing the latest update at his locker.
"I...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Trey Mancini is playing first base and Manny Machado is included on the Orioles' trip to Fort Myers for today's game against the Twins.
Mark Trumbo is serving as the designated hitter and Caleb Joseph is catching.
Relievers listed on the lineup card behind starter Hunter Harvey include Richard Bleier, Joely Rodriguez, David Hess, Jesus Liranzo, Lucas Long, Paul Fry and John Means. The bench includes Pedro Ãlvarez, Alex Presley, Chance Sisco, DJ Stewart, Cedric Mullins,...