The Orioles are on the West Coast and my mailbag is much closer to home.

Here are a half-dozen questions.

If all goes well, what will be the steps in Dean Kremer’s progression back to Baltimore?
The latest medical update on Kremer is encouraging. He threw a second live batting practice session yesterday and is tentatively scheduled to begin a rehab assignment within the week with Triple-A Norfolk. I can’t give you an exact number of starts needed before the Orioles reinstate Kremer, but he’s pitched only twice for them this season, the last on April 18. He’s got to be built up again like it’s spring training.

Leody Taveras was in right field again, which is interesting. Is he moving off center field?
That seems to be the case if Colton Cowser and Taylor Ward also are in the lineup. Ward stays in left and Cowser plays center. Happened again last night. The early arrangement, as you’ve eluded to, had Cowser in right with Taveras in center. Manager Craig Albernaz was asked recently about the switch and he just talked about the luxury of having players who can move to multiple position. It’s like having extra center fielders in the lineup. He’s described Cowser as ‘elite” defensively and it’s clear that the preference now is keeping him in center. Taveras began yesterday with a minus-three Outs Above Average. The outfield defense as a whole is an issue. Beginning  this week, the minus-8 Defensive Runs Saved ranked 23rd in the majors and the minus-9 OAA was 27th. Cowser is the best of the group and is getting more playing time as his production at the plate improves.

Did Craig Albernaz really mean to compliment Craig Stammen’s approach to beaning Gunnar? Please tell me it’s being misinterpreted.
This is complicated. Perhaps the wording could have been better, but I agree with the point that I believe Albernaz was making. Trey Gibson almost beaned Manny Machado by accident. He nailed Xander Bogaerts on the helmet by accident. Clearly this was a young pitcher having control issues. Anyone thinking Gibson wanted to hit Machado or Bogaerts is loony. There are some unwritten rules that I also think are ridiculous, like how you can’t try to break up a no-hitter with a bunt. Or, in this case, how the opposing team has to hit a player in retaliation even if the original act is innocent. Dangerous, yes, but innocent. And if your guy misses twice, as Bradgley Rodriguez did early against Gunnar Henderson, that should be the end of it. You should get a cake that says, “You tried.” But Albernaz was relieved that Ron Marinaccio’s pitch with two outs in the ninth struck Henderson on the right hip. A dumb gesture after the failed attempts in the seventh, but at least Marinaccio aimed at the lower body. That’s how it’s “supposed” to be done. Henderson wasn’t thrilled but the situation didn’t escalate because the pitch wasn’t anywhere near his head. If benches and bullpens emptied, you’d probably get a different version of Albernaz afterward. But here’s how you’re darned if you do and darned if you don’t. Albernaz was being honest in his feelings about the situation and drew heat for it. He could dodge the questions and be criticized for it. In the end, I go back to the wording. We don’t like a pitcher throwing at our guys, especially after what happened in the seventh, but the only consolation is that the pitch wasn’t in the danger zone. And Henderson’s reaction dictated how the rest of the club handled it. Something along those lines.   

If Ryan Helsley, Dean Kremer, Ryan Mountcastle and Dylan Beavers were returning from the IL today (hypothetically), who are the four players currently on the O’s active-roster that they would replace? I’m gonna go with Trey Gibson, Sam Huff, Jeremiah Jackson and, reluctantly, Albert Suárez.
That’s a big-time hypothetical because their rehabs aren’t synchronized, and you’re already 0-for-1 because Anthony Nunez was optioned yesterday to make room for Helsley. I really don’t like speculating on players losing their jobs, but I understand the curiosity. A third catcher like Huff is a luxury and the Orioles could reach a point where they can’t do it anymore. Beavers should be back before Mountcastle, since he’s beginning a rehab assignment Thursday with Double-A Chesapeake. But we don’t know how long he’ll stay in the minors. The last update on Mountcastle had him running to test his fractured left foot. That puts him behind everyone else. The roster could undergo numerous changes before he’s ready. But yes, Jackson is a possibility based on his limited starts since Jackson Holliday returned from the injured list. Trey Gibson would appear to be the most vulnerable to Kremer’s return. A Helsley-for-Suárez swap certainly made sense, since the veteran right-hander has been designated for assignment multiple times this season, but Nunez went through a rough stretch and the team’s got to be careful with his workload. He was a position player a few years ago.

With the Padres back in Baltimore, did you have a chance to catch up with all the ex-Orioles (Manny, Laureano)? I know it’s been a long time, but is Manny pretty much the same to deal with as when he was here in Baltimore?
Ramón Laureano underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip and he isn’t with the club. I had a brief but nice conversation with Manny Machado before the last game. He was carrying a plate of food in the clubhouse and walked over to shake my hand and chat. He expressed some surprise that I’m still covering the team after all these years. I always had a good relationship with Machado, or as good as it could be in those days. He was young and still maturing, and there were some rocky moments, as any fan of the team can attest. It isn’t easy growing up in front of the world. One of my favorite Machado stories unfolded at the 2018 All-Star Game in D.C. News broke that the Orioles were about to trade him to the Dodgers, which brought a crowd to his locker. He finished his interview, offering little to the masses, and asked a member of the Orioles’ PR staff to gather the beat crew downstairs so he could say his goodbyes in a private area of the ballpark and thank us for the way we treated him.   

Do you know the reason for the preference of Sam Huff over Creed Willems when needed?
It comes down to experience. Huff was behind the plate for three games in a row while Adley Rutschman was unavailable due to a sore left hamstring and Samuel Basallo was being used in late innings or not at all. Huff appeared in 105 major league games going into the Mariners series and the Orioles like how he works with the pitching staff. He’s also got a little pop. Willems, 23, is climbing the prospect charts, reaching No. 17 in the organization per MLB Pipeline. He’s in his first Triple-A season and still developing as a catcher and hitter.