masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgWhile the Orioles wait for Pat Connaughton to decide on a sport to play, they’re getting another chance to watch him throw this week at extended spring training.
Connaughton, 23, has reported to the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota. I’ve heard that he’s on the field this morning.
This may be temporary. Connaughton is expected to redirect his focus to basketball in the NBA’s summer league. However, he’ll be in baseball mode for however long he’s there.
The Orioles selected Connaughton…

While the Orioles wait for Pat Connaughton to decide on a sport to play, they’re getting another chance to watch him throw this week at extended spring training.

Connaughton, 23, has reported to the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota. I’ve heard that he’s on the field this morning.

This may be temporary. Connaughton is expected to redirect his focus to basketball in the NBA’s summer league. However, he’ll be in baseball mode for however long he’s there.

Angry-bird-bag-sidebar.jpgThe Orioles selected Connaughton in the fourth round of the 2014 draft out of Notre Dame, where he also was a standout on the basketball team. He appeared in six games with short-season Single-A Aberdeen that summer, making four starts, and went 0-1 with a 2.51 ERA in 14 1/3 innings.

Connaughton made it clear that he wanted to give the NBA a try while the Orioles retained his rights. He returned to Notre Dame for his senior season, leading the Fighting Irish to the Elite Eight, and the Brooklyn Nets selected him in the second round of the 2015 draft before trading him to the Portland Trailblazers in a deal that also included former Maryland Terrapins guard Steve Blake.

The Orioles never made any attempts to recoup the $428,000 signing bonus given to Connaughton and they hold his rights until at least 2020. They can add six more years if he’s placed on the major league roster.

Connaughton has told the club, and reporters who seek him out, that he eventually wants to pitch for the Orioles and can fulfill both dreams. The Orioles, in turn, remain patient but also wish that he’d commit fully to baseball and accelerate his development.

The 6-foot-5 Connaughton showed tremendous promise at Aberdeen, with a fastball that touched the upper 90s. A shooting guard with the Blazers, he appeared in 34 games and averaged 1.1 points and 4.2 minutes coming off the bench.

The Blazers signed Connaughton to a three-year deal, the first two guaranteed.

The extended spring training roster also includes shortstop J.J. Hardy, who’s recovering from a slight fracture in his left foot and will begin some weight-bearing exercises before rejoining the team in Baltimore.

Manager Buck Showalter told Hardy that he wanted scouting reports on a handful of players. The list now includes Connaughton.