SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles won't engage in serious discussions about the back end of their rotation for a few more weeks. Whether one starter will hold down the fifth spot breaking camp or if using an "opener" really is a viable alternative. Manager Brandon Hyde and executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias will swap opinions while poring over the roster. Elias already has brought up the possibility of an opener while speaking to the media on the first day of spring...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles left-hander Richard Bleier threw live batting practice this morning on Field 2, with Cedric Mullins and Carlos Pérez serving as the hitters. Manager Brandon Hyde said Bleier will pitch in a "situational-type game" before debuting in six or seven days. The Orioles are being careful with Bleier, who underwent lat surgery in June and is an important part of their bullpen. Mychal Givens pitched a simulated game yesterday in Sarasota and also is getting closer to making...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - An MRI of Koda Glover's elbow revealed a forearm strain but no ligament damage, the reliever said this morning, though he will be shut down from throwing for now while the Nationals map out a plan to try to keep their oft-injured right-hander healthy at last. "Just a forearm strain," Glover said. "Nothing crazy. UCL was great. That's good news. It's just one of them things where we think maybe some weakness in there or some fatigue. But I'll be fine. I'm really...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Austin Hays got an immediate return Sunday on his offseason workouts during two at-bats against the Blue Jays at Ed Smith Stadium. Hays fell behind 1-2 and poked an RBI single into right field, and he scored from first base on Carlos Pérez's two-run double into left-center. The single illustrated how he made adjustments to this approach at the plate in order to give himself a chance when down in the count. Making it around the bases on Pérez's double, which gave the...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals are back home today, facing the same Cardinals team they saw over the weekend in Jupiter. Though this time they'll be going up against Adam Wainwright instead of Michael Wacha. The lineup includes several regulars, including a one-two combo of Trea Turner and Brian Dozier. Davey Martinez said he wants to try to play those two middle infielders together as much as possible this spring, recognizing the need for them to get familiar with each other. Turner...

SARASOTA, Fla. - With six catchers in the Orioles' spring camp, it can be hard to stand out among the group this early. But veteran Carlos Pérez took advantage of the one chance he's gotten so far here on Sunday afternoon. He batted in the last of the fourth against Toronto with the Orioles down 5-4. He hit a booming two-run double to center for the lead and the Orioles never trailed again in a 9-8 win over the Blue Jays. That provided them a 2-0 start before Monday's loss to...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The versatility of Stevie Wilkerson will be on display again today when he starts in left field against the Rays at Ed Smith Stadium. Wilkerson made his only four career starts in left field last year with Triple-A Norfolk. Austin Hays is leading off and playing center field and Yusniel Diaz is in right. Joey Rickard is the designated hitter. Rio Ruiz gets another start at third base and Chance Sisco is catching. They each hit three-run homers in the first inning over the...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - It's tough to draw many conclusions from spring training games, all the tougher to draw conclusions from long-distance road spring training games, when only a handful of big league regulars are in attendance and they play only a few innings before giving way to minor leaguers. So there wasn't a whole lot to read into the Nationals' 9-4 loss to the Braves on Monday afternoon. But let's pick out a few noteworthy developments, beyond Patrick Corbin's strong two-inning...

SARASOTA, Fla. - He's a professional baseball player, but where he is from, he's not well known by sports fans. In his second year in the Orioles organization, 26-year-old catcher Martin Cervenka is from Prague, Czech Republic. He's an interesting guy that speaks four languages, is sound defensively, and is trying to emerge from a crowded catching competition in camp and pull off a big upset by making the opening day roster. He's probably a long shot, but Cervenka just being in this camp is...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Three exhibition games won't provide many clues as to how manager Brandon Hyde envisions the construction of his 25-man roster, especially with players continuing to jump positions. But the two Rule 5 infielders might bring a few of his ideas into focus. Richie Martin made another start at shortstop yesterday against the Twins, going 1-for-2 before Jack Reinheimer replaced him. Drew Jackson started at second base, giving the Orioles a Rule 5 double play combination. "They're...