masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles aren’t playing this afternoon and get to enjoy a legitimate off-day, however it’s done with pandemic restrictions.
That’s a long time to sit in a hotel room.
No intrasquad nonsense that removes the “off” from their day. A few pitchers will be allowed inside the complex to throw. Otherwise, stay away and find something safe to do.
There isn’t much risk digging into my mailbag, unless I suffer a virtual paper cut. I’ll try again to respond to the questions that are asked on a…

The Orioles aren’t playing this afternoon and get to enjoy a legitimate off-day, however it’s done with pandemic restrictions.

That’s a long time to sit in a hotel room.

No intrasquad nonsense that removes the “off” from their day. A few pitchers will be allowed inside the complex to throw. Otherwise, stay away and find something safe to do.

There isn’t much risk digging into my mailbag, unless I suffer a virtual paper cut. I’ll try again to respond to the questions that are asked on a regular basis. The ones that aren’t posed only to whine or annoy me.

Whining and annoying people is my department.

This is the latest sequel with the latest title that I spent way too much time on, doing extensive Google searches to find one that I haven’t used.

Also, my mailbag can still beat up your mailbag.

Can Jahmai Jones make the team out of spring training?
He can. Do I think it’s going to happen? Probably not with Yolmer Sánchez the starter at second base and Pat Valaika and Ramón Urías appearing to be the top utility candidates, with Stevie Wilkerson also in camp and leading the league in gloves. Could be wiser to make Jones the starting second baseman at Triple-A Norfolk, where he’s got some work to do after bouncing between the infield and outfield, and recall him later. Good for his development.

What do you think of Jones so far?
Great makeup, which no one ever said about Tammy Faye Bakker. Polar opposites in the makeup department. A terrific athlete whose speed is special. Some of his throws have lacked accuracy, but there’s a lot to work with here. And his second half in the minors in 2019 is encouraging. That’s why it’s probably a good idea to shift his development to an everyday role in the minors rather than the bench.

Where’s Chris Davis?
In camp with a lower back strain.

Is this like the Ubaldo pothole?
Ah, the Ubaldo pothole. There should be a statue of it at Camden Yards. Davis tweaked his back legitimately. The Orioles wouldn’t be inventing a camp injury two at-bats into spring training. I mean, they wouldn’t do it ever. No. But especially after just two at-bats. What’s the point? There’s plenty of roster space in camp and they’ve promised to give Davis lots of at-bats.

When is day-to-day no longer day-to-day?
When it becomes week-to-week.

Where are the Orioles holding their alternate camp site?
Sounds like Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie. Same as last summer. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Who’s going to be at the alternate site?
I don’t have a roster because it doesn’t exist, but it’s going to be a smaller group than last summer. Like in the 25-28 player range. Something along those lines. And stocked with Triple-A players. They need to get ready for the season while other minor leaguers are in Sarasota.

Will the Orioles handle roster cuts differently with the new spring training setup and fewer hard lines between the two camps?
Apparently not. The first round was announced after yesterday’s game. Here’s manager Brandon Hyde on the subject: “No, the cuts are going to be the same. The difference is we have two facilities instead of one and so we have locker space issues, so when we send guys out, we can only send so many to Twin Lakes because of the locker situation. When we start sending guys out here, they might have to stay here because there’s not a minor league spring training going on. That’s the only difference. The timing of the cuts and how many we cut, it’s going to be the same.”

Do you expect the Orioles to make any moves before opening day?
They’re not moving!

Do you expect the Orioles to make any roster moves before opening day, besides the cuts?
Oh. Yes, I do. I can’t identify the player(s), but I’m predicting that the Orioles check the waiver wire and the minor leaguers who opt out of their contracts and tweak the roster. It’s a common move for them. I’ve seen it a lot and I’ve been covering this team since 1997.

Whatever happened to the Orioles moving to Nashville?
Nashville, Las Vegas. All of it nonsense. They were never moving. Bad reporting and people pushing their agendas creates a toxic rumor mix. I’ve shot it down multiple times, until I’m blue in the fingers. Chairman and CEO John Angelos said it again last week on 105.7 The Fan. “I don’t react to rumors because it’s untrue. The team would never move. It will never move. It’s here now, it’s here forever. It’s been here for 66-odd years and it’s going to be here for 66 more or longer. What I can say without any speculation, I’ve said it before, is the Orioles will never leave Baltimore. No one in this partnership group, who are local, homegrown folks, would allow that to happen or would want that to happen, and that will not happen.” Everybody got that? Unfortunately, I have to react to rumors once in a while. So here, again: They … aren’t … moving.

What about Vegas?
Next question.

What’s it like to cover spring training from home?
Sort of like ordering a cup of ice milk at Dairy Queen and pretending it’s a banana split.

Any updates on your projected opening day rotation?
John Means will probably start April 1 in Boston.

And?
I think Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer make it. Félix Hernández and Matt Harvey haven’t pitched themselves out of it, but there are three weeks left. The jury is out. And we still don’t know if Hyde is going with five or six starters. Wade LeBlanc is in the running. Jorge López and Bruce Zimmermann are under consideration for the rotation and bullpen.

What’s your biggest concern about Adley Rutschman?
That he falls out of the convertible that circles the warning track after every at-bat. The poor kid can’t sneeze without it being tweeted, blogged and broadcast. His phlegm is compared to Johnny Bench’s. I get it, he’s good copy. He’s probably going to be a great player. What I like is he isn’t demanding the attention. It just comes to him naturally and he’s able to handle it. So I joke about the convertible and phlegm, but the media obsession over him is intense.

Will Rutschman play in the majors this year?
Sigh. Maybe and maybe not. What’s known is he won’t break camp with the Orioles. He’s going to be assigned to Double-A Bowie. Then we’ll see how far he climbs.

Who’s the closer?
Still Kyra Sedgwick.

Still not funny. And that show aired its last original episode nine years ago. Move on.
OK, it’s going to be a mix based on matchups and availability. One reliever could seize the job. Someone has to do it the first time. Hunter Harvey, César Valdez and Cole Sulser, if he’s on the club, are three of the candidates. Tanner Scott could get save opportunities. Rebuilds don’t place much importance on ninth-inning specialists, though it’s a chance to hold auditions.

Thumbnail image for Tom-Eshelman-Deals-vs-TB-White-Sidebar.jpgWho’s starting Tuesday’s game against the Twins in Fort Myers?
Kremer. An interesting choice, since LeBlanc followed John Means in the spring rotation for the first turn. Maybe LeBlanc pitches in relief. We don’t know. Thomas Eshelman hasn’t pitched since the Feb. 28 opener.

Worst ballpark song?
If I hear “Happy” one more time, I’ll be very unhappy. Clap along? No thanks. Avoid the clap along – Roch Kubatko. And don’t come at me with “Centerfield”.

I know who’s on the 40-man roster, but how was it constructed?
Thirteen players were drafted by the Orioles, 10 were claimed off waivers 10 were acquired via trades, four were selected in the Rule 5 draft, one signed as a major league free agent, one signed as a minor league free agent and one signed as an international free agent.

Is today the only off-day for the Orioles in spring training?
Also March 18.

How does Fernando Abad pronounced his name?
Fer-nan-doe. Unless you mean his last name. He’s uh-BAWD man.

Will the Orioles keep at least one of their Rule 5 picks?
If I had to guess right now, I’d say they’ll put Mac Sceroler and Tyler Wells on waivers, and not just because of their rough outings a few days ago. There are so many bullpen candidates in spring training and only 26 roster spots, including 14 pitchers, tops, if they’re willing to go with a three-man bench. They’d love to keep those arms in the system, but the rules aren’t designed that way.

Does Randal Grichuk own or rent?
He owns the Orioles. I don’t know about housing.

Why don’t the Orioles just pitch around Grichuk?
They couldn’t do it last week with the bases loaded, and it was an exhibition game. Go after him. But in the regular season? Bounce four balls and point him to first base. It’s beyond ridiculous now. He’s a career .246/.295/.483 hitter in seven seasons. Pitch around him or trade for him.

Any word on that MASN app?
I have no app updates. Sorry. Supposed to be available at the start of the regular season, right?

Did the staff with the Frederick Keys lose their jobs or were they reassigned to other affiliates?
Manager Kyle Moore was given the same job with the Aberdeen IronBirds, who move up to full Single-A status. Josh Conway and Tom Eller are the pitching and hitting coaches, respectively. Aberdeen manager Kevin Bradshaw will guide one of the Complex League teams – previously known as the Gulf Coast League. Joe Haumacher follows him as pitching coach and Anthony Villa as hitting coach.

When is Alexander Wells ready to start pitching again?
Two springs in a row with a sore oblique. He’s throwing now and should be getting close to simulated or exhibition games. But strange that it’s happened twice.

When will the purpose of the Orioles to be winning games again?
That’s a tricky one. Hyde and his players and coaches want to win every game. Mike Elias would love to go 162-0 while sticking to the rebuild plan, but they don’t go together. So you sacrifice wins now and set up the organization for prolonged success later. At least, that’s the idea. Talent pumped through the pipeline to keep the team in contention every season. They aren’t ready to win in 2021 and may not be ready in 2022. Depends how quickly the prospects can make an impact.

Who’s the primary third baseman if Rio Ruiz falters?
As the team is constructed right now, Rylan Bannon could be given a shot. Valaika has made nine starts and 13 appearances at third base in the majors and 84 starts and 87 appearances in the minors. Sánchez won a Gold Glove at second base, but has made 185 starts at third in the majors.

Who’s your sleeper pick to make the team?
I chose Abad at the beginning of camp and can’t go back on it. I’d feel a lot better about my choice without the five runs surrendered yesterday.

Could Yusniel Diaz make the team out of spring training?
He won’t. But he’s expected to debut later in the summer. Let him get some at-bats at the Triple-A level and keep working on his outfield defense.

When is it OK to become concerned about the team’s defense?
What time is it? Seriously, I try not to overreact to errors and the failure to execute in early spring games with the high sky and bright sun, hard infields and shuffling of players who are out of their natural positions or eventually headed to the minors. But it impacts the pitchers who are trying to control their pitch counts. And it’s just a bad look. There are players experiencing breakdowns who are projected to be on the opening day roster or are sitting on the bubble. That’s worse than the lower-level prospects. “We’ve got to start playing better defense,” Hyde said yesterday. “Our work on the back fields in the mornings is great. It’s been fantastic, actually, as good as I’ve seen it, from the standpoint of the work they’re getting in. We’re just not translating it into the games. We need to play better defense overall and help our pitchers out a little bit more.”

Are there punishments administered to players who keep making mistakes?
Ice milk from Dairy Queen.