masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgOrioles manager Buck Showalter has met with his staff to discuss possible call-ups for the September expanded roster. He intends to speak soon with executive vice president Dan Duquette and finalize the details.
Showalter won’t crowd the clubhouse and dugout, won’t bring up pitchers and players to audition for next season. Anyone coming up is expected to contribute over the final month.
Also, anyone coming up must be on the 40-man roster, which currently is full.
“I met with the staff to get…

Orioles manager Buck Showalter has met with his staff to discuss possible call-ups for the September expanded roster. He intends to speak soon with executive vice president Dan Duquette and finalize the details.

Showalter won’t crowd the clubhouse and dugout, won’t bring up pitchers and players to audition for next season. Anyone coming up is expected to contribute over the final month.

Also, anyone coming up must be on the 40-man roster, which currently is full.

“I met with the staff to get their ideas,” Showalter said. “It kind of changes sometimes. I asked Dan about when he wanted to sit down and consider that shortly. I know how I feel. There’s also some roster issues there you’ve got to work your way through. If people want three non-roster guys, that’s not as easy as it sounds. Not that we do, but … “

Many of the additions will come from the disabled list, a group comprised of pitchers Chris Tillman, Darren O’Day and Brian Duensing and outfielder Joey Rickard. Duensing is on the 60-day DL and will need to be placed on the 40-man roster.

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Catcher Caleb Joseph will be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles always bring up a third catcher and Joseph was assured that he’d return.

Outfielders Dariel Alvarez and Christian Walker are on the 40-man and will earn consideration. The Orioles are hoping that Julio Borbon clears waivers, returns to Double-A Bowie and has his contract selected for a third time this season. They want him backing up Adam Jones in center field. Chris Dickerson also could have his contract selected after signing a minor league deal less than two weeks ago and being assigned to the Baysox, the only team he’s played for this year.

Trey Mancini has to be placed on the 40-man this winter as protection in the Rule 5 draft. Will the Orioles get a head start and do it in September?

Left-hander Ashur Tolliver most likely will be recalled if he’s healthy. He’s been throwing off a mound again after sustaining a hamstring injury. Other pitchers on the 40-man include Odrisamer Despaigne, Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson, Parker Bridwell, Jason Garcia and left-hander Jayson Aquino.

Showalter mentioned how there are “a lot of moving parts,” and he included reliever Logan Ondrusek, designated off the 25-man roster over the weekend.

There’s a sense around the team that the Orioles could add three non-roster players. They’d have to create room on the 40-man. Let’s take a look at the updated list:

Pitchers
Jayson Aquino
Brad Brach
Parker Bridwell
Zach Britton
Dylan Bundy
Odrisamer Despaigne
Oliver Drake
Yovani Gallardo
Jason Garcia
Kevin Gausman
Mychal Givens
Donnie Hart
Tommy Hunter
Ubaldo Jimenez
Chris Lee
T.J. McFarland
Wade Miley
Darren O’Day
Chris Tillman
Ashur Tolliver
Tyler Wilson
Vance Worley
Mike Wright

Catchers
Caleb Joseph
Francisco Pena
Matt Wieters

Infielders
Pedro Alvarez
Chris Davis
Ryan Flaherty
J.J. Hardy
Manny Machado
Steve Pearce
Jonathan Schoop
Christian Walker

Outfielders
Dariel Alvarez
Adam Jones
Hyun Soo Kim
Nolan Reimold
Joey Rickard
Mark Trumbo

I’m not taking into account any players acquired from outside the organization. Duquette is looking for more pitching and outfield help by the deadline for players to be eligible for the playoffs.

(Playoffs? We’re talking playoffs?)

Players on the disabled list after Thursday remain eligible.

The Orioles need to get healthy. They certainly could use Tillman, O’Day, Rickard and Jones, the latter day-to-day with a strained left hamstring.

“I’ll tell you, Rickard was a kick in the pants for us.” Showalter said, referencing the need for a plus-defender at all three outfield positions who also is a plus-runner.

“No one’s going to feel sorry for you when they get done playing the anthem. They really aren’t. Nobody is. Our fans have high expectations and that’s what I want them to have. But it’s tough on a team when you’re continually doing it and you don’t see an end game. But there is one.

“We’re going to get Adam back at some point, we’re going to get Tillman back at some point, we’re going to get O’Day back and Rickard back. We’ve done a good job in the past of not just holding the fort down, but actually making leaps with the opportunities that people are getting that haven’t normally got them. And we’ve had some of that this year. Not as much as probably we need, and a lot of that is some of the depth that we’ve been challenged with.”