A few thoughts on 25-man and 40-man rosters

The Mariners reportedly have acquired Seth Smith from the Padres, removing another outfielder from the Orioles' list of possible winter acquisitions. The Orioles have been in discussions with the Padres while continuing their search for a left-handed hitting outfielder who also can rotate into the designated hitter slot. I'm not close to the Padres, but I assume that they'll hold onto Will Venable, who also has drawn interest from the Orioles. They can't have a roster filled with right-handed hitting outfielders. The Orioles' pursuit of an outfielder who bats from the left side has raised questions among fans regarding the possible impact on Alejandro De Aza and David Lough. For instance, can the two players coexist with Colby Rasmus if the Orioles reach agreement with him on a one-year deal? De Aza was a non-tender candidate, but the Orioles held onto him. MLBTradeRumors.com projects him to earn $5.9 million in 2014. De Aza made $4.25 million this season while batting .243/.309/.354 with 19 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 31 RBIs in 122 games with the White Sox and .293/.341/.537 with five doubles, three triples, three home runs and 10 RBIs in 20 games with the Orioles. He could be the primary starter in left field next year. Lough stuck on the roster mostly due to his ability to play center field. Someone had to back up Adam Jones. However, center field is Rasmus' primary position. Lough had a miserable first half of the season, which might have been caused by the concussion symptoms that surfaced in spring training, but he hit .351/.387/.544 in 57 at-bats after the break. He's also a plus defender. The Orioles should have lots of outfield options after adding another player. If it's Rasmus, his splits suggest that he could platoon with Steve Pearce in right field and Delmon Young at designated hitter. Young also plays the outfield, of course, but his glove was a concern this year. Ryan Flaherty can move to the outfield in an emergency as part of his super-utility role. If the season started today, the Orioles' bench likely would include Lough, Flaherty and the backup catcher. Sign another outfielder and the fourth spot on any given night could belong to Young, Pearce or De Aza. But we don't know whether Lough will lose his spot on the roster. We don't know what else is going to happen between now and the beginning of spring training. Stay tuned. In an unrelated note, the Orioles must remove another player from their 40-man roster later this week after Young passes his physical and signs a one-year deal. They released outfielder Quintin Berry last week to make room for Ryan Lavarnway. Lavarnway has been claimed off waivers by three teams this month. The Orioles don't figure to take him off the 40-man this soon, but he might not want to get too comfortable. The roster includes Rule 5 picks Jason Garcia and Logan Verrett. They're both long shots to stay in the majors all season, but it's probably too soon for them to come off the 40-man and, if unclaimed, be offered back to their former clubs. Knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa already has been removed once in his career, but the Orioles signed him to a major league deal on Dec. 3 after he started to attract interest from other teams as a minor league free agent. I'd stop short of saying he's now on solid ground, but he continues to intrigue executive vice president Dan Duquette. One other pitcher, Double-A Bowie reliever Oliver Drake, also must be included among the candidates to come off the 40-man. He signed a major league deal in November. The Orioles have five catchers on the 40-man roster. No other team is carrying more than three. How much longer can this continue? Among the infielders, the Orioles gave Rey Navarro a major league contract to prevent him from signing a minor league deal with another club. Jimmy Paredes was shaky at third base, and defense matters to manager Buck Showalter. The Orioles put in a waiver claim on outfielder Alex Hassan in November and lost him to the Athletics, then got him later in the month. Let's see whether he stays on it as more room is needed. I've heard some speculation about outfielder Henry Urrutia being a candidate to come off the roster. It's disappointing that he hasn't developed into an established major leaguer - the Orioles are looking for a left-handed hitting outfielder/DH despite Urrutia fitting that description - but there appears to be more vulnerable players at this point. Here is the current 40-man roster. Orioles.com needs to add left-hander Wesley Wright, as I've done: Pitchers Tim Berry Brad Brach Zach Britton Dylan Bundy Wei-Yin Chen Oliver Drake Eddie Gamboa Jason Garcia Kevin Gausman Miguel Gonzalez Tommy Hunter Ubaldo Jimenez Brian Matusz T.J. McFarland Bud Norris Darren O'Day Chris Tillman Logan Verrett Ryan Webb Tyler Wilson Mike Wright Wesley Wright Catchers Steve Clevenger Caleb Joseph Ryan Lavarnway Mike Ohlman Matt Wieters Infielders Ryan Flaherty J.J. Hardy Manny Machado Rey Navarro Jimmy Paredes Jonathan Schoop Christian Walker Outfielders Alejandro De Aza Alex Hassan Adam Jones David Lough Steve Pearce Henry Urrutia