This, that and the other

Yaramil Hiraldo was a non-roster invitee to Orioles spring training who didn’t pitch in an exhibition game. He was included in an early round of cuts on March 2, his name buried behind outfield prospects Enrique Bradfield Jr., Dylan Beavers and Jud Fabian and major league reliever Colin Selby.

One of them is with the club this week – the reliever who was out of affiliated ball since 2021, pitching in Mexico and the independent Atlantic League until the Orioles signed him on Oct. 31.

Hiraldo had his contract selected on Saturday when the Orioles designated veteran left-hander Cionel Pérez for assignment in a bold bullpen move. He posted a combined 2.45 ERA in 11 games between Triple-A Norfolk (six), High-A Aberdeen (three) and Double-A Chesapeake (two).

“I found out during a practice day and they told me I was gonna come up to Boston and be on the taxi squad,” Hiraldo said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “They told me to just be ready. There’s a chance I could be on the roster, a chance I might not be on the roster. And sure enough, it happened. So I’m here now, I’m ready to go and ready to help the team.”

There are plenty of interesting success stories floating around baseball. Albert Suárez provided a doozy with the Orioles. Hiraldo received a paltry $2,500 bonus from the Diamondbacks during the international signing period in 2017-18, the 11^th lowest among 1,176 players, according to baseball journalist Francys Romero. His adjusted salary with the Orioles is $523,008, per Spotrac.

They could have passed on him last offseason due to a shoulder injury he sustained in winter ball, but they reached an agreement on the contract.

“I spoke to the team, and even after they knew about the injury, they still decided to sign me,” he said. “That’s why I’m extremely thankful for the Orioles organization to still give me the opportunity to be able to sign with them despite the injury. That’s why I’m very thankful for the training staff, the coaches who continue to work with me and help me get back to form.”

That form has enabled Hiraldo to average 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings in the minors and 11.0 in Mexico last year. He struck out 10 batters in 9 1/3 innings this year with Norfolk.

“I feel like I’ve been pitching pretty well,” he said, “but I still think I can pitch better than I have.”

The Orioles couldn’t do much evaluating of Hiraldo because of the shoulder, but they knew about the arm.

Was he still able to show them a lot?

“I feel like they showed me a lot,” he replied.

“I wasn’t able to pitch too much in spring training cause I was dealing with an injury, but they gave me a lot of support, they had a lot of faith in me. I think because of those things, that’s why I’m able to be where I’m at right now and experience the fruits of the labor.”

A bullpen that doesn’t offer much flexibility now has a pitcher with three minor league options. His major league debut remains on hold and his stay could be brief. It’s hard to say on this club with the roster churn. But he’s just happy to put on the uniform, sit with the other relievers and feel rewarded.

“As a Dominican, I always say, this is not just a game. It’s something that you’re born with in your heart,” he said. “So to be able to be here, it’s something that I’m extremely thankful for. I think thanks to all my hard work, I’m able to bear the fruits of that now and potentially have the opportunity to go in there and pitch in a game. So I’m just really thankful for this opportunity.”

* Tony Mansolino won his third game as interim manager yesterday, but he isn’t keeping a running tally or thinking about his chances of shedding the label in 2026. It would be ridiculous to have this many responsibilities in front of him and be distracted by an uncertain future.

Mansolino has good vision, but he won’t look down the road.

“That’s so far off my plate right now,” he said.” To be honest with you, right now I’m just trying to make sure that the clubhouse goes right right now, that there’s positive vibes. We’ve been through a pretty traumatic turn of events here recently. I never thought I would do this, first of all, so that’s not my thought. It’s just, how do we make sure these guys are playing well and how do we make sure the Baltimore Orioles are winning games?”

The Orioles have been on the wrong side of lopsided scores under Mansolino and have eked out some close victories. Whatever the outcome, he’s going to examine every game and ask himself what he could have done better.

“The one thing I can promise is we will always have a reason for what we do,” he said. “It might not be the reason that you like or somebody else likes, but it will be the reason that the collective group liked.”

Mansolino’s honesty is admirable but could be misunderstood for lacking confidence. He admits that he wasn’t expected this bump, says that maybe he should have spent more time in the minors except that former manager Brandon Hyde wanted him on the major league staff. He doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but he’s smart enough and has the work ethic to learn on the fly.

“I think anybody that manages in the big leagues for the first time probably needs a little bit of help,” he said. “I think usually when guys get these jobs the first time, it’s maybe a rebuild-type situation and some of these decisions probably aren’t as visual, or maybe as important as we’re probably making them right now. But the reality is this is actually a pretty good team … it’s actually a team that does have a chance to get back to 10 games under and then maybe back to .500 and go from there. This is a team that we do have expectations to win games.

“There is a spotlight put on this stuff and I’m not naïve to think I can do this all by myself. And I think anybody who sits in this seat for the first time in their life and thinks they can do it by themselves probably isn’t the right guy to do this.”

* Charlie Morton hops back in the rotation for today’s series opener against the Cardinals at Camden Yards.

Morton has made three consecutive relief appearances and allowed two runs with 12 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings. He appeared to be a candidate to start in Boston, but two postponements and two scheduled doubleheaders – they finally played it on Saturday - had the Orioles shuffling plans and wondering how to cover innings with a taxed bullpen.

Zach Eflin started Game 1 on Saturday instead of being held back until Sunday. Left-hander Trevor Rogers started Game 2 as the 27^th man.

Morton was in the bullpen Saturday for emergency purposes. It had nothing to do with seeking a more favorable matchup outside of Fenway Park.

“We didn’t know how it was gonna go with the doubleheader, so we needed to make sure we had innings,” Mansolino said. “We asked Charlie if he would go down in the bullpen. We actually talked about him a couple times at certain points in the game to get through it. It wasn’t necessarily trying to line him up to anything easier.

“Charlie’s been throwing the ball great here recently. We’ve got a lot of trust and confidence with where he’s at right now and kind of what he’s been through, and it just kind of landed with the rain and the doubleheader where he’s gonna end up taking the ball Monday.”