SARASOTA, Fla. - Mark Trumbo will back off baseball activities for a while as part of the reset in his recovery from right knee surgery and, he hopes, eventual return to the lineup. The Orioles will place Trumbo on the injured list and keep him back in Sarasota while they break camp and get ready for opening day at Yankee Stadium. Trumbo met with executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde and they came to an agreement. "The realistic part about it is I...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - With three scheduled off-days in the first two weeks of the season, the Nationals will open with a four-man rotation and keep No. 5 starter Jeremy Hellickson in the bullpen as a long reliever. The club could have stuck with a traditional, five-man rotation, but that would've left Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin and Aníbal Sánchez getting some unnecessary extra days off in early April. By moving Hellickson to the bullpen for the short-term, the rest...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Howie Kendrick, as expected, will stay back in Florida while the rest of the Nationals break camp this evening and open the season on the injured list while finishing his rehab from a hamstring strain suffered earlier this month. Kendrick has been taking batting practice and grounders while lightly running the bases in recent days but hasn't yet appeared in a game. He plans to get into minor league games within a few days, then get himself ready to join the active...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Mark Trumbo will begin the 2019 season on the injured list, opening up a roster spot and delaying the veteran's return from September knee surgery. Trumbo is excluded from both split-squad lineups this afternoon and manager Brandon Hyde confirmed the decision to put him on the newly named IL. "Trum's not going to break with us," said manager Brandon Hyde. "We're just going to give him some more time. We're going to let him continue to do his rehab down here. "I give him...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Infielder Jace Peterson has been scratched from the Orioles lineup today for their split-squad game against the Pirates in Sarasota. Zach Vincej has come over from minor league camp and is starting at second base. Peterson may be the latest roster cut following today's news that the Orioles optioned reliever Evan Phillips. Or it could be injury related. Peterson was hit twice by pitches last night, but he stayed in the game. The utility competition has been one of the more...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - And so we have reached final day of spring training. Yes, the Nationals' charter (not to mention the commercial flights us reporters use) will be heading back to Washington tonight. Anybody who doesn't swing at the first pitch during today's game deserves to be fined. Make that today's games. Plural. For some bizarre reason, the Nationals have split-squad games today: One at home against the Astros, one on the road against the Mets. Given the travel situation, almost...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles reliever Evan Phillips didn't allow a run this spring in 9 2/3 innings. He still didn't make the opening day roster. Phillips has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, reducing the camp roster to 34 players. Pitcher Gregory Infante is excluded on my list because he never reported due to illness. Two more scoreless innings last night against the Twins couldn't save Phillips, though it's always possible that the Orioles bring him back to replace an injured player. For...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - We kind of glossed over it amid the flurry of Nationals roster and lineup news following yesterday's 4-4 tie with the Cardinals, but there was a ballgame and things did happen during the game that warrant mention. Especially Stephen Strasburg. Making his final tune-up before the regular season, Strasburg put forth a performance similar to Max Scherzer's impressive start the previous night. Strasburg allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. But...

SARASOTA, Fla. - He has just a few months of minor league experience under his belt, but his first pro experience in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League went well. So now young lefty Drew Rom awaits the next step. Drafted in round four last June out of a high school in Fort Thomas, Ky., the 19-year-old Rom reported to the GCL after he signed. He went 0-2 with a 1.76 ERA over 10 games. In 30 2/3 innings, he allowed just 20 hits with six walks and 28 strikeouts. He had an average against of .183...

SARASOTA, Fla. - We've reached the penultimate day of spring training, with the Orioles breaking camp following Monday afternoon's game against the Mets at Ed Smith Stadium. Boxes already have been loaded on the truck for delivery at Camden Yards. Player cars already have been removed from the premises via carrier trailers. (Carrier pigeons would have taken too long, PETA would have objected and it just wasn't worth the aggravation.) The Orioles were tweaked again in Florida with today's...