SARASOTA, Fla. - Right-hander Kevin Gausman knows the Orioles are counting on him. They are counting on him today, tomorrow and hopefully for many years to come as a key member of their pitching rotation. He is a homegrown Oriole - drafted No. 4 overall in 2012 out of LSU - and he's made 106 career starts in the orange and black. But when you ask Gausman about the rotation's poor performance last year, he directs the criticism at himself, throwing himself under the bus after a season where he...

LAKELAND, Fla. - Last year at this time, Edwin Jackson was home in Arizona, an unemployed pitcher throwing bullpen sessions and trying to stay ready in case someone in need of a veteran right-hander called with a job offer. After 15 major league seasons, little fazes Jackson, who's on his third tour of duty with the Nationals and hopeful of a role with what he calls a "special team." Today that role was emergency starter, a move necessitated when righty A.J. Cole came down with the stomach...

BRADENTON, Fla. - The spring stats meant nothing to manager Buck Showalter. The runs and hits allowed by Dylan Bundy didn't reflect his readiness to break camp. Improvement today? For Showalter, Bundy has always been on his game. The numbers just didn't support it. Bundy today became the first Orioles starter to go five innings this spring. He allowed one run and seven hits, walked none and struck out five. He was done after 84 pitches. Bundy had surrendered 10 runs and 11 hits over 4 1/3...

BRADENTON, Fla. - Considering he had yielded 10 runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 in his first two Grapefruit League starts, Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy produced much better results this afternoon at LECOM Park against Pittsburgh. Bundy became the first O's pitcher to throw five innings this spring and he allowed seven hits and one run with no walks and five strikeouts. He did not have a strikeout in those first two games. But this afternoon, he had a nice pitch mix working, throwing 84 pitches,...

LAKELAND, Fla. - Edwin Jackson made it through three innings against the Tigers this afternoon, a laborious third running up his pitch count and hastening his exit from the game. The right-hander did a good job of minimizing the damage in the third, and was helped out by a nice play to nab Edwin Espinal at home on an ill-advised send. Espinal walked and tried to score when JaCoby Jones lashed a double to left on which Andrew Stevenson almost made a diving grab at the wall. Center fielder Brian...

BRADENTON, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed today that Mark Trumbo will return to the lineup Wednesday as the designated hitter against the Yankees at Ed Smith Stadium. Trumbo has been out since Tuesday with a sore right quadriceps muscle. Showalter indicated that final decisions on Rule 5 pitchers Nestor Cortes Jr., Pedro Araujo and José Mesa Jr. could be withheld until the end of camp. Araujo might have moved to the head of the pack, though Showalter isn't tipping his...

LAKELAND, Fla. - He may be a rookie manager, but Davey Martinez knows enough about right-hander Edwin Jackson to understand that what you see from the veteran right-hander is what you get. "He's very low-key," Martinez said. "He's taking it one day at a time, and it's good. Like I said, he's a veteran guy and he understands the process." Martinez is referring to the elephant in the clubhouse, that Jackson seems to be a guy without a clear path to the 25-man roster. Jackson, who signed...

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Orioles made three more cuts this morning to get their roster down to 45, optioning pitcher Alec Asher to Triple-A Norfolk and reassigning infielder Ryan Mountcastle and outfielder DJ Stewart to minor league camp. Mountcastle, 21, will continue to play third base, though he's also been taking fly balls on the back fields. His bat delivered two tape-measure home runs, including a three-run shot yesterday to right-center field against the Red Sox in Fort Myers. He was...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Kevin Gausman's spring training has gotten considerably better since his first game on Feb. 26. That day he collided with the Tigers' Jeimer Candelario backing up at home plate. It left him with a cut above his left eyelid and some soreness in his back. But since then he pitched three hitless and scoreless innings with five strikeouts March 3 versus the Phillies. He threw four innings and 65 pitches March 9 in a simulated game. Last night he was a spectator and enjoyed...

I continued my visit with Nationals minor league roving coordinator and former Triple-A Syracuse manager Billy Gardner Jr. and asked him about the breadth of Dominican talent that the organization continues to stockpile. In their 2018 Nationals prospect watch, MLB.com has Victor Robles and Juan Soto listed No. 1 and No. 2. Shortstop/third baseman shortstop Luis Garcia is at No. 6 and infielder Yasel Antuna is at No. 7. Gardner said all of these players have improved each season, which is the...