SARASOTA, Fla. - Anthony Santander continues to be used as the Orioles' designated hitter until manager Brandon Hyde feels comfortable easing him into the outfield. The spot waiting for him is becoming more clear. Hyde confirmed this morning that Santander is likely to play left field at Camden Yards while Trey Mancini returns to right, but they could reverse positions at select road venues. Mancini starts in left field at Fenway Park, entrusted to slay the Green Monster. "I think similar to...

SARASOTA, Fla. - With all the change of positions he has undergone and all the talk about his defense and whether it will be good enough for the majors, here's another question about Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle. Has he found a home in left field? "I hope so," he said this morning in the Orioles' clubhouse. "I like the outfield. I feel like I've been learning a lot and making a lot of progress. But wherever they want to put me, I'm willing to do it. Just need to keep learning how to...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Kohl Stewart's bid to win a spot in the Orioles rotation should get underway within the next few days. Stewart has been sidelined with a sore right biceps muscle, but he played catch yesterday and will repeat the activity this morning. He's scheduled for a bullpen session on Friday while the team is in Bradenton to play the Pirates. The exhibition debut could happen by Sunday or Monday. "I feel really good. They were just extra cautious, honestly," Stewart said. "It...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Austin Hays is leading off again today and Ryan Mountcastle is back in left field as the Orioles host the Pirates in a 1:05 p.m. game. Anthony Santander is the designated hitter again. He had a sore shoulder last September and manager Brandon Hyde remains cautious with him. Renato Núñez gets another start at third base, Chris Davis returns to the lineup at first and Bryan Holaday is behind the plate for left-hander Tommy Milone. Milone is scheduled to go two innings in...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Ryan Zimmerman makes his Grapefruit League debut for the Nationals tonight, playing first base and hitting fifth against the Astros. "I was scratching my head about it, but I talked to him and he said he'd like to play today, which is nice," said manager Davey Martinez, who is well aware of the veteran's penchant for delaying his spring debut as long as possible. "We'll see three innings and hopefully get him two at-bats." Zimmerman came to Martinez a couple of...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles reliever Evan Phillips tossed a scoreless inning yesterday against the Braves at Ed Smith Stadium to lower his spring ERA to 16.20. He didn't pass out cupcakes to celebrate it, but the outing was a vast improvement over Sunday's debut, when he recorded only two outs in the ninth inning and was charged with three runs. He kept going to three-ball counts and reached his pitch limit. Phillips walked the leadoff batter yesterday but also recorded a strikeout and got away...

Spring training is only 33 percent complete at this point. Two weeks have passed since pitchers and catchers reported to West Palm Beach. Four weeks remain until the Nationals face the Mets at Citi Field and officially begin their title defense. So it's probably unfair to start drawing any conclusions yet. But it's not unfair to point out some things that appear to be going well at Nats camp and some things that appear not to be going so well. With that in mind - and since I'm writing this...

SARASOTA, Fla. - One was drafted by the Orioles in 2009 as a shortstop. The other was originally a Texas Ranger, selected in round six of 2008. He found his way to three other teams before the Orioles acquired him from the Yankees before the 2017 season. Right-hander Mychal Givens, once the Orioles converted him to the mound, made the majors pretty fast. He's thrown only 159 minor league innings and went from Double-A to the big leagues in 2015. Lefty Richard Bleier pitched in Double-A for...

TAMPA, Fla. - Joe Ross could be forgiven if he was feeling a bit antsy before taking the mound at Steinbrenner Field this afternoon for his long-awaited spring debut. He thought he was going to pitch last weekend in West Palm Beach, and even warmed up to relieve Max Scherzer in the Grapefruit League opener, but watched the heavens open up and force the cancellation of the game. That led to an extra four days' wait before his turn came up again this afternoon. But in order to pitch today, Ross...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Above all else, right-hander Asher Wojciechowski passed the health test today as he threw two innings against the Atlanta Braves at Ed Smith Stadium. He showed the blister on his right middle finger is indeed no longer an issue. He said that is important because just about every pitch he throws comes off that finger. "None at all," he said when asked if there were any problems. "I've dealt with that before in my career. Nothing new. Fingers held up good. We've been doing...