SARASOTA, Fla. - With the season opener less than three weeks away, the Orioles aren't any closer to deciding on a fifth starter for their rotation. However, the slim chances of Gabriel Ynoa winning the job turned to zero with yesterday's news that his shin splints will keep him out for at least two weeks. The in-house candidates remain Mike Wright Jr., Miguel Castro and Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes Jr. Any temptation to keep Hunter Harvey likely will be extinguished due to his failure to pitch...

Even if the Orioles or any other team gets one of the big three remaining free agent pitchers, can any of them even be ready for opening day at this point? We are talking about Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn and the answer is that they probably can't be ready by March 29. Teams play nearly five weeks worth of spring training games and starting pitchers need that entire time to ramp up their innings and get their arms ready. Even at that point, some are only prepared to throw 90-100...

DUNEDIN, Fla. - Chris Tillman will make his first Grapefruit League start on Tuesday against the Twins in Fort Myers. He's thrown a couple of simulated games. Manager Buck Showalter has been shielding his main starters from division teams and the Twins, who provide the opposition on opening day at Camden Yards. With Tillman taking the mound on Tuesday, it's safe to assume that he won't debut in the regular season until the Orioles travel to Houston. Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman and Andrew...

DUNEDIN, Fla. - Orioles pitcher Gabriel Ynoa will be out a minimum of two weeks with a "stress reaction" in his shins, likely eliminating him from consideration for a roster spot on opening day. "It's not a stress fracture, just some inflammation," said manager Buck Showalter. "Luckily, they took the MRI and caught it. Could have turned into a stress fracture. But that's probably going to be two weeks minimum with Ynoa." Ynoa was a longshot to win the fifth starter's job, but the...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - We're roughly halfway through the Grapefruit League schedule, which makes it a good time to revisit some of the few competitions in Nationals camp this spring. Keep in mind that with a veteran-laden roster built to three-peat in the National League East, there weren't a lot of open roster spots heading into spring training. But good camps are built on competition and there are still a few 25-man roster jobs up for grabs before the March 29 opener in Cincinnati. One of...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals made a pair of moves this morning, adding a little roster housekeeping to one of their two scheduled off-days this spring. Infielder Kelvin Gutierrez and right-hander Jefry Rodriguez were optioned to Double-A Harrisburg. Both players were added to the 40-man roster on the same day last fall, Nov. 20, to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, and both were farmed out of major league camp on the same morning. Gutierrez, 23, went 6-for-26 (.231) with a double and...

DUNEDIN, Fla. - The Orioles have reduced their camp roster to 49 players this morning by reassigning right-handers Tim Melville and Asher Wojciechowski to the minor league complex. Melville allowed two runs and four hits yesterday in 1 1/3 innings after two scoreless appearances covering four frames. Wojciechowski also pitched yesterday against the Blue Jays and surrendered two runs and four hits in two innings. He allowed four runs and 12 hits over 6 2/3 innings in his three outings. Neither...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Right-hander Gabriel Ynoa is unable to make his scheduled start on Saturday against the Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium. An MRI on Ynoa's shins revealed a "stress reaction," which we're told shouldn't be confused with a fracture. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said yesterday that Ynoa has been bothered by shin splints, which led the team to arrange an MRI in the late afternoon. Ynoa is out of minor league options and competing for a spot in the rotation or bullpen. Ynoa has...

Following four seasons as the manager of the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, Billy Gardner Jr. takes on a new challenge within the Nationals organization as the minor league roving coordinator. Gardner said it was a new position that assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel Doug Harris brought to Gardner in the offseason. Randy Knorr would then move to Triple-A manager. Gardner is excited about this new opportunity. "Well, Doug called me at the end of the year and said there...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Miguel Castro makes his first start today in the Grapefruit League and the Orioles make their only trip to Dunedin to play the Blue Jays. Tim Beckham, Trey Mancini, Danny Valencia, Pedro Álvarez and Caleb Joseph also are on the trip. Valencia is starting at first base. The bench includes Joey Rickard, Ryan Mountcastle, DJ Stewart, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, Austin Wynns, Andrew Susac, Engelb Vielma, Erick Salcedo and Corban Joseph. Relievers available today include...