The reduction in rosters to 26 players and the possibility of manager Brandon Hyde carrying 14 pitchers really has tightened the utility competition at spring training. A three-man bench with a backup catcher and extra outfielder probably would leave room only for Pat Valaika, who must be designated as the favorite after batting .277/.315/.475 with four doubles and eight home runs in 2020, playing six positions and signing for $875,000 in January to avoid arbitration. A fourth reserve would...

Orioles left-hander John Means was told that he'd pitch two innings today. He had no idea that he would come out of the first early and re-enter the game later. Manager Brandon Hyde had a plan with Means' pitch count rising against the Yankees. He pulled his ace and returned him to the mound in the second. "That's a new rule this year that we have a couple backup pitchers for every game in case a situation like that occurs," Hyde said on his Zoom call after a 4-2, seven-inning loss at Ed...

Max Scherzer and Juan Soto appear to be good to go after suffering minor injuries and are expected to make their spring training game debuts in the next few days. Scherzer, who sprained his left ankle two weeks before camp opened, threw to live hitters Monday for the first time this spring. He is scheduled to throw a light bullpen session Wednesday, and barring any setbacks is lined up to start Friday night against the Cardinals, according to pitching coach Jim Hickey. "As long as he responds...

It was a productive day for Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins. Now hitting left-handed only, he got three at-bats versus southpaws today and produced a triple and an RBI single. But the Orioles are still looking for their first win of spring training. The Yankees scored three runs in the third to break a 1-1 tie and beat the Orioles 4-2 at Ed Smith Stadium in a seven-inning game. The Orioles (0-2-1) will play on the road against Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon with Wade LeBlanc getting the...

Chris Davis is day-to-day with a lower back strain, explaining his absence in today's lineup against the Yankees. Apparently, it's health-related rather than the Orioles facing left-hander Jordan Montgomery. Manager Brandon Hyde said Davis sustained the injury during his last at-bat in Sunday's exhibition opener against the Pirates. Davis struck out earlier and left the game after two plate appearances. "He felt it tug on him a little bit on the fly ball to right," Hyde said during his...

Trey Mancini is the Orioles designated hitter for today's game against the Yankees at Ed Smith Stadium. Mancini is going to alternate between first base and DH, with day off in between. Cedric Mullins is back in center field and atop the order. Yusniel Diaz is back in left field after homering in Sunday's opener against the Pirates. Stevie Wilkerson gets the start at first base and Ramón Urías is the third baseman. Chris Davis is on the bench today after serving as the designated hitter...

There wasn't much for Austin Voth to hang his hat on in 2020, and he'd be the first to admit it. The right-hander endured through a pretty miserable summer, which at one point included an 0-5 record and an 8.26 ERA. But sometimes all it takes is one positive moment to lift a downtrodden athlete's spirit. Like that one gorgeous drive a hack golfer hits off the 18th tee at the end of an otherwise awful round, one solid outing for a pitcher at season's end can do wonders for his confidence. So...

The Orioles' spring training camp is divided into categories, and the lines between them aren't blurred. Outfielder DJ Stewart, who launched a two-run homer yesterday in Clearwater, Fla., is in the group of players likely to make the club and simply trying to avoid giving it reasons to resist. Starter Jorge López allowed two runs and five hits in two innings. The best part of his day was being able to come back out for the second. López is vying for a spot in the rotation, but he's out...

When last we saw Orioles lefty John Means, he was giving up just one run and one hit with nine strikeouts in six innings late last September against the Toronto Blue Jays. It was part of stunning finish to his season. Over his last four starts, Means went 2-1 with a 1.52 ERA, a .488 OPS against and a 0.63 WHIP. He did that against teams that all ranked in the top 13 in team OPS in the majors, facing the Mets, Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays. Today, Means makes his 2021 Grapefruit League debut as...

Three hundred fifty-six days had passed since Ryan Zimmerman last took the field for an organized game of baseball. The world was a lot different back on March 10, 2020, when the Nationals faced the Marlins in Jupiter, Fla. Though the coronavirus was in the news, nobody imagined it would have the power to shut down the entire country two days later. So much has happened since then, and so much has changed. Yet when he trotted out to first base just after 1 p.m. today in West Palm Beach for the...