SARASOTA, Fla. - Nolan Reimold will serve as the designated hitter again today, as the Orioles travel to Dunedin for a third time this spring to play the Toronto Blue Jays.
Catcher Luis Martinez, who had been sidelined by a strained left oblique, is making the trip. Manager Buck Showalter wants to give him some innings and evaluate him.
Taylor Teagarden is starting behind the plate.
For the Orioles:
Alexi Casilla SS
Lew Ford CF
Nolan Reimold DH
Conor Jackson 1B
Steve Pearce RF
Taylor...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The competition for the last spot in the Orioles rotation heats up again today with Jake Arrieta taking the mound against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin.
Everyone here would appreciate a little heat. We're enduring another chilly morning, which brings little sympathy from my friends up north.
Arrieta was fantastic in his last start, blanking the Pittsburgh Pirates on two hits, walking none and striking out five in four innings. The only criticism was his ball/strike...
SARASOTA, Fla. - You can't keep the Flaccos out of the news these days.
The Orioles announced this afternoon that they traded minor league infielder Michael Flacco to the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations or a player to be named later.
His brother, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco recently signed a six-year contract worth $120.6 million that made him the highest-paid player in NFL history.
At least the Orioles aren't having salary cap issues. And now, New England can boast that it has a...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Brian Roberts was thrown out trying to steal second base after his RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning. He went into the bag feet-first.
Let that be a lesson.
Roberts' single tied the game, 1-1, and followed Bryce Brentz's home run off Luis Ayala that briefly gave Boston the lead. Ayala struck out one batter.
Roberts is 2-for-3 today and 10-for-27 this spring.
Nate McLouth, leading off today, has doubled, walked and stolen a base.
T.J. McFarland got three...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Brian Roberts doesn't think about how he's going to approach second base on a steal attempt. It just happens.
Roberts dived into the bag in the bottom of the first inning, as he normally does, for his first stolen base of the spring. He had singled with one out, his ninth hit in 25 at-bats.
The Orioles need to find out whether Roberts can withstand the pounding of playing second base and running the bases. The concussion symptoms returned in May 2011 after he dived into...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Nate McLouth is leading off and playing center field today, with Brian Roberts batting second. In other games, Roberts has hit first and McLouth has batted second or lower.
Roberts has been the Orioles' leadoff hitter when healthy, but manager Buck Showalter claims that he hasn't made a decision for this season. It could be Roberts, McLouth or Nick Markakis. Nolan Reimold moved to the top of the order in April. There's no shortage of candidates.
"I'm still looking at...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Miguel Gonzalez is scheduled to throw four innings today at the minor league complex at Twin Lakes Park. Manager Buck Showalter prefers to keep his projected starters away from the Orioles' division rivals, though there's plenty of video floating around these days.
Zach Britton, T.J. McFarland, Luis Ayala and Mark Hendrickson will pitch today against the Boston Red Sox at Ed Smith Stadium. The Red Sox brought Clayton Mortenson, Alex Wilson, Chris Hernandez and former Orioles...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Nate McLouth will lead off and play center field today against the Boston Red Sox.
Brian Roberts is batting second. Wilson Betemit, who started at third base yesterday, is the designated hitter.
For the Orioles:
Nate McLouth CF
Brian Roberts 2B
Matt Wieters C
Chris Davis 1B
J.J. Hardy SS
Wilson Betemit DH
Manny Machado 3B
Chris Dickerson RF
Lew Ford LF
Zach Britton LHP
Chris Tillman's bullpen session went well yesterday and he's scheduled to throw two innings Saturday at...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro is one of the many connections made by executive vice president Dan Duquette that may pay off for the Orioles.
Niekro is working for the Orioles as a consultant of sorts, as he mentors knuckleballer Zach Staniewicz at the Twin Lakes Park complex.
Long story short: The Orioles signed Staniewicz, 26, after Niekro recommended him to Duquette. Staniewicz went to Atlanta on his own to work out with Niekro, who later contacted Duquette and said that...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Executive vice president Dan Duquette confirmed that the Orioles signed Clayton Tanner to a minor league deal and will assign him to Twin Lakes Park, where he will attempt to land a job at Double-A Bowie or Triple-A Norfolk.
"He should be in town soon," Duquette said.
Tanner, 25, signed the deal on Sunday, after the Orioles received permission from the Australian Baseball Federation. They scouted Tanner while he pitched for Australia in the World Baseball Classic.
"He...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter didn't dispute the call from home plate umpire John Hirschbeck that allowed Tampa Bay's Wil Myers to score in the ninth inning and break a 3-3 tie. Catcher Luis Exposito was charged with interference, and an error, for using his mask to corral the ball. The issue for Showalter is the lack of intent. Exposito wasn't gaining an advantage only a few feet from the plate. It's a silly rule.
As for the pitching, Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy combined for 5...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles have signed left-hander Clayton Tanner to a minor league deal after scouting him with Australia in the World Baseball Classic.
Tanner, 25, is a former third-round pick of the San Francisco Giants in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft. He was 0-2 with an 8.40 ERA and 50 hits allowed in 30 innings over 12 games, including four starts, with Triple-A Fresno last year, and 1-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 30 relief appearances with Double-A Pensacola.
In seven minor league...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Matt Wieters hit a three-run homer off Tampa Bay's Juan Sandoval in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game 3-3.
Nolan Reimold singled and Nate McLouth drew his second walk before Wieters launched a ball over the center field fence.
Jim Johnson and Darren O'Day each tossed a scoreless inning. Johnson allowed a leadoff single and O'Day gave up a one-out double. No harm done.
Dylan Bundy finally entered the game in the top of the seventh and retired the side in order...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Kevin Gausman couldn't build on his impressive outing in Fort Myers.
Gausman was charged with two runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays in his first start of the spring. He gave up two hits, walked three and struck out two.
Manager Buck Showalter took the ball from Gausman after Evan Longoria's RBI double with two outs in the third inning broke a scoreless tie. Former Oriole Luke Scott greeted Mike Belfiore with a long two-run homer to right-center field, tagging...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Now I can finally say it.
Goodbye, Niuman.
The Orioles have reassigned infielder Niuman Romero and catcher Jose Gil to their minor league camp, two cuts that manager Buck Showalter alluded to earlier today while meeting with reporters during batting practice.
The moves leave the Orioles with 51 players in major league camp, including 14 non-roster invitees.
Romero was 4-for-11 this spring. Gil was 0-for-10.
Kevin Gausman tossed a scoreless first inning against the Tampa...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Tsuyoshi Wada threw in the bullpen today and is ready to take the next significant step in his quest to join the Orioles' staff. He's no longer throwing only to prove that he's recovered from ligament-reconstructive surgery on his left elbow. The focus is shifting in a positive direction.
It's about pitching now, not his recovery.
"The rehab part of it is 10 months today or yesterday," said manager Buck Showalter. "Now he's going to progress to baseball...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Reliever Daniel McCutchen was startled when he turned around at his locker this morning and found three reporters waiting to interview him. He probably wondered whether he had been cut.
McCutchen has flown under the media radar this spring as a non-roster pitcher invited to camp, but he's gaining attention after the Orioles convinced him to lower his arm slot.
Factor in Mark Hendrickson and Adam Russell, and it's definitely become one of the story angles this spring. (See...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Manny Machado is out of the lineup today after making the trip to Fort Myers for last night's 9-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Wilson Betemit is starting at third base today against Jeff Niemann and the Tampa Bay Rays. Nolan Reimold is batting second and serving as the designated hitter. Conor Jackson is in right field while Nick Markakis continues to receive treatment and take a medicine pack for the herniated disk in his neck.
For the Orioles:
Brian Roberts 2B
Nolan...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles haven't posted their lineup and the players who made the trip to Fort Myers yesterday aren't required to report until 11 a.m.
Nick Markakis has an ice pack on the back of his neck with his T-shirt over it, giving him a hunchback look. It's menacing.
Tsuyoshi Wada will throw off a regular mound again today. His left arm continues to feel good - news that he replayed through his interpreter.
Daniel McCutchen will throw in the bullpen again today as he continues...
SARASOTA, Fla. - It's a shame that cell phone cameras aren't permitted inside the clubhouse, because Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman provided a great photo opportunity for the media before yesterday's workout at the Ed Smith Stadium complex.
The two top pitching prospects in the organization, back-to-back fourth overall picks in the First-Year Player Draft, stood at opposite ends of the bumper billiards table, bent at the waist, cue sticks in hand. Opposite personalities, too, which only...