The initial attempts to fix Matt Harvey couldn't begin until the people running the facility in Pleasantville, N.J., trusted that he was willing to surrender to their methods. To the technology that he hadn't been exposed to and didn't really need in his dominant years.
Ed Charlton and Mike Adams, co-owners of Baseball Performance Center, didn't need much convincing. Any doubts about Harvey's commitment evaporated in one brief exchange.
"He came in and we didn't really know what to...
There are no hard feelings weighing down Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander in camp.
He wasn't bothered by the trade rumors this winter. He wasn't bitter after going through the arbitration process and emerging on the losing side.
Let's start with the interest from other teams, with a source confirming talks between the Orioles and Marlins.
Santander didn't become preoccupied with the reports or speculate whether he might never make it to Sarasota, Fla.
"I heard rumors, but that didn't...
How the rotation and bullpen are finalized before opening day garners much of the media attention in spring training. However, there's also a competition brewing in center field.
Can't miss it.
Manager Brandon Hyde doesn't know on this date whether Austin Hays and Cedric Mullins are vying for the bulk of the playing time or headed toward shared duties. Whether there's going to be one definitive starter or a platoon arrangement.
Hays has been viewed as the eventual center fielder and leadoff...
Trey Mancini has been at the spring training complex since the beginning of February, but today felt real. The first full-squad workout for the Orioles. Further confirmation that he's past his colon cancer diagnosis, surgery and the many doubts about whether he'd play baseball again.
Mancini feels the same as he did prior to last March. Perhaps the most taxing activity for him now is convincing everyone who keeps checking on him.
"I know everybody's been asking me a lot, and I'm not lying...
Less than a week into workouts, which officially include position players this morning, the veteran and younger arms in camp seem to be making a nice impression.
Of course, you have to take the word of the people who are able to watch. Or to catch.
"Everybody looks great over here, everybody looks in shape," said Pedro Severino. "The first couple bullpens everybody threw, they looked really great, like they're ready to go, and I'm excited to see what they've got."
You can use the logic...
More solid evidence that the Orioles have entered the modern age of pitching technology leads directly to veteran starter Matt Harvey, who chose them as a free agent based on their approach and the people put in charge.
What he believes is what they believe. What he did in the offseason, training at Baseball Performance Center in New Jersey, is what they endorse.
Meeting with the media this afternoon in a Zoom conference call, Harvey laid out the reasons why the Orioles were the right team at...
The evolution of the Orioles bullpen over the years has stripped away the veterans and increased option flexibility.
More importance is placed on the freedom to shuttle relievers back and forth and to get multiple innings out of them. Less baton-passing. Less stress trying to cover for starters running short on innings.
This is amplified in pandemic seasons and with pitchers coming off a 60-game schedule.
"Guys being able to throw multiple innings are going to be really valuable," said...
We're entering the fourth day of workouts for Orioles pitchers and catchers, along with a handful of position players who reported early. What stands out for me as I sit in front of my laptop and attend the daily Zooms?
No matter how much I crank up the heat in my house, it can't duplicate the Florida sun. But let's stay on topic.
None of the pitchers and catchers reported late due to work visa or health issues, and that's as unusual as me being home while there's snow and ice on my...
The third day of Orioles workouts in Sarasota, Fla., included the initial appearance of veteran pitcher Matt Harvey. His physical is complete and he's allowed on the field.
Harvey stretched and played catch.
"We're going to ramp him up when he's ready," manager Brandon Hyde said during his Zoom conference call with the media. "It was good to see him. I've seen him on the other side of the field, but never met him. It was nice to meet him and looking forward to watching him pitch this...
The injury concerns will hover above Orioles reliever Hunter Harvey until he's able to shoo them away. Until he can give the team a full, uninterrupted season and become the dominant high-leverage pitcher they've been envisioning since his transition from starter.
Harvey couldn't avoid the injured list in 2020, failing to latch onto the opening day roster with muscular tightness in his right elbow. The journey from Tommy John surgery in 2016 has been fraught with detours and...
A spring training camp with a roster that's grown to 73 players is bound to have a lot of moving parts.
Fold in the influences of a pandemic that's turned the sport on its ear, and those parts can leave a vapor trail.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde knows that he's allowed to construct a 26-man roster, but he's open to any ideas.
One of them is breaking camp with six starters. Hyde confirmed on Wednesday's Zoom conference call that it's a viable option.
"I think anything's possible this...
Two days into spring training workouts and the Orioles have no complaints.
Players due to report have made it to Sarasota, Fla. Every pitcher in camp has thrown in the bullpen - half the group yesterday and half today. No one is being brought along slowly due to health concerns.
Outfielders Trey Mancini and DJ Stewart and super-utility player Stevie Wilkerson reported early and hit on the field today.
"(Mancini) looks really good," manager Brandon Hyde said in his Zoom conference call with...
The atmosphere at the Ed Smith Stadium complex would seem a lot stranger if the Orioles hadn't experienced the weirdness of a 2020 regular season.
The separation and staggered arrivals became the norm.
Getting back together has been celebrated - at the appropriate social distancing.
"It's fun to get started again in spring training, Day One, pitchers and catchers," manager Brandon Hyde said during yesterday's Zoom conference call with the media. "We had a great day and looking forward to...
Veteran pitcher Matt Harvey was still in the process of undergoing his physical this morning while Orioles pitchers and catchers took the field at the Ed Smith Stadium complex.
It's now official. Harvey will report to camp and increase its total to 73 players, two short of the limit.
Harvey agreed to terms over the weekend and will earn $1 million if he's on the club.
Manager Brandon Hyde said the rest of the pitchers and catchers are in camp. The gathering in misty Sarasota included veterans...
The first workout of Orioles pitchers and catchers will be held this morning on the back fields at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. With rain no longer in the forecast in Sarasota, Fla., where temperatures will approach the 80s. Without the media dodging puddles and remembering that an umbrella would have easily fit inside a suitcase or laptop bag.
The gates and clubhouse aren't open to the press. The latter is expected to remain closed throughout camp and perhaps during the regular season. Major...
Pitchers and catchers are arriving today at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. We've made it this far.
Smaller-scale workouts begin on Wednesday and broaden Feb. 22 with more players spread out on the back fields and over at Twin Lakes Park.
There will be 73 players on the camp roster after Matt Harvey's deal is announced, two shy of capacity, but they're categorized as 40-man roster, non-roster invites and reserves. They won't be huddled together and making a mockery of the implemented...
Less than 24 hours after Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias told the media that he wanted to sign another veteran starting pitcher, the club has reached agreement with right-hander Matt Harvey on a minor league contract.
A source confirmed the agreement with Harvey, 31, the seventh-overall pick of the Mets in the 2010 draft out of the University of North Carolina. The deal is pending the completion of a physical.
Harvey, joining his fourth team since 2018, provides more...
Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias revealed this afternoon why outfielder Heston Kjerstad, the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, was withheld from the alternate camp site and fall instructional league.
Kjerstad didn't participate in any activities after having "an episode of myocarditis," which is an inflammation of the heart muscle.
The Orioles included Kjerstad, who turned 22 today, on their list of camp reserves.
"He's doing really well," Elias said on his...
