Among the many improbable and insane developments in the 2021 season is the suggestion, as phrased in manager Brandon Hyde's postgame Zoom call following Sunday's win in Kansas City, that Ramón UrÃas could be a "long-term" solution at shortstop.
In no way is this meant to slight UrÃas, but he seemed to have a slippery grip on a 40-man roster spot earlier this year and now he's trying to turn Freddy Galvis into Wally Pipp.
UrÃas had just registered his seventh multi-hit game in...
Everyone has a story. Spenser Watkins isn't satisfied with closing the book on his own after a 28-year-old rookie finally reaches the majors. He has more to tell.
Watkins isn't going anywhere except back to Baltimore in a few days while waiting for his next start. He keeps getting outs and more chances, impressing again tonight in a 6-1 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field.
The Orioles improved to 31-62 overall and 1-7 against the Rays, with Watkins carrying a shutout into the sixth before...
John Means remains the Orioles' listed starter for Tuesday night, saying in today's Zoom call that his left shoulder has felt "great." The ace returns to make his first appearance since June 5.
"It hasn't flared up at all," Means said on his Zoom call, "so, yeah, I'm ready to go tomorrow."
More than six weeks have passed since Means pitched, outside of three injury rehab games in the minors.
"I was more frustrated that it had to happen," he said. "I didn't really want to take time...
Cedric Mullins is on the bench tonight as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
Ryan McKenna is in center field. Austin Hays is in left and batting first.
Anthony Santander is in right field and hitting cleanup, followed by shortstop Ramón UrÃas.
Ryan Mountcastle is starting at first base and Kelvin Gutierrez is at third.
Spenser Watkins earned another start, his third in the majors. He's allowed two runs and seven hits in 10 1/3 innings, walking six...
The Orioles finally can hand the ball to John Means again when he's reinstated from the injured list Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
It's only been, like, seven weeks.
His bullpen session Saturday afternoon in Kansas City proved that his left shoulder is sound. Forget the numbers on his rehab assignment - five earned runs and seven total with 11 hits in eight innings. How he's feeling physically is most important, along with the Orioles stretching him out to where they don't need to put him...
Six pitches thrown in the first inning. Only 18 through the second and 28 through the third. Eleven of 12 first-pitch strikes. No runs against him.
Matt Harvey was having himself a day. Manager Brandon Hyde was having visions of a starter plowing through the early and middle innings, removing one of the hardest decisions he routinely makes during the season, which inevitably fuels second-guessing as a first reaction to it.
A hit batter, walk and infield single in the fourth, with Domingo...
DJ Stewart remains in the cleanup spot today, serving as the designated hitter for the series finale against the Royals in Kansas City.
Austin Hays is in right field and Ryan McKenna in left, with Trey Mancini the first baseman. No Ryan Mountcastle or Anthony Santander.
Domingo Leyba gets the start at second base and Kelvin Gutierrez is at third. Austin Wynns is catching.
Shortstop Ramón UrÃas has six multi-hit games in his last nine, going 12-for-34 (.353) after being 5-for-36 (.139) in...
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told the media prior to the break that DJ Stewart would get more chances to play, that their conversation included instructions to keep his head up. A crowded outfield wouldn't push Stewart out the door or too far down the bench.
"It's a long season left," Hyde said, "and he's going to get plenty of at-bats here in the second half."
In the lineup for only the third time this month, Stewart singled twice and had an RBI and two runs scored by the third inning....
Without an official clock to check, I'm guessing that a week to 10 days have passed since someone asked Orioles manager Brandon Hyde whether Keegan Akin would be more effective and valuable as a bulk reliever.
A week to 10 days since Hyde had to execute the tricky maneuver of pointing out the obvious without being condescending.
Akin would be a big help to the Orioles in a bullpen role based on his ability to consume innings and perhaps avoid going through a lineup more than once. But there's...
The Orioles signed outfielder Colton Cowser, their first-round selection in the draft out of Sam Houston State.
Cowser received a $4.9 million bonus. The slot value with the fifth pick is $6,180,700.
Cowser was in the Baltimore area for his physical, with an announcement of his signing expected over the weekend. He joins infielder Connor Norby, the second-rounder out of East Carolina University, as Orioles draft selections under contract in the last two days.
With Cowser and Norby signing...
The Orioles reinstated right-hander Jorge López from the bereavement list and he's starting tonight against the Royals in Kansas City.
The active roster is full again.
A player on the bereavement list must be away from the team for a minimum of three days, not three games. López is eligible to come back today.
López has returned to Kauffman Stadium, where he's 1-6 with a 7.93 ERA and 1.672 WHIP in 21 games (11 starts). He pitched for the Royals from 2018-20, when the Orioles claimed...
As pitching prospects move up or down to Triple-A Norfolk, getting the bump from Double-A Bowie or the boot from the Orioles, the Tides are stringing them together in a rotation that earlier was patched with minor league free agents.
Dean Kremer took the ball Tuesday and left-hander Zac Lowther the next night. John Means, on his injury rehab assignment, interrupted the flow on Thursday and pushed back Kyle Bradish to last night and lefty Kevin Smith to tonight.
Alexander Wells' placement on...
The Orioles were comfortable going with a 25-man roster tonight in Kansas City following a four-day break that rested and recharged a tired bullpen.
Manager Brandon Hyde didn't want to dip into it early, no matter its condition, but that same break didn't improve the early results of the second-half rotation.
Rookie Keegan Akin fell behind by six runs in three innings and the Orioles lost to the Royals 9-2.
Cedric Mullins singled in his first two at-bats, the only hits against Royals...
The Orioles are going with a 25-man roster for tonight's game against the Royals in Kansas City.
They've decided to leave a spot open for starter Jorge López's anticipated return Saturday from the bereavement list. López would make the start later that night.
The three-man taxi squad consists of pitchers Alexander Wells and Conner Greene and catcher Nick Ciuffo, so the Orioles have coverage for López if he's unavailable.
"We're hoping that Lopie will be back tomorrow, and if...
Ryan Mountcastle stays in the Orioles lineup tonight as the first baseman in Kansas City after being drilled on the left elbow Sunday and leaving the game in the top of the second inning.
Austin Hays is in left field and Anthony Santander is in right. Kelvin Gutierrez is the third baseman and Pat Valaika is playing second.
The Orioles haven't revealed their starters for the Royals series beyond rookie left-hander Keegan Akin tonight.
Akin gets his eighth start of the season and his 13th...
The Orioles begin the non-mathematical second half of their season tonight in Kansas City with six outfielders on the roster if counting Ryan Mountcastle, who's listed as an infielder on the team's website. He's made 31 starts at first base and 18 in left field.
Let's just say the Orioles have six players on their roster who can play the outfield - seven if including Trey Mancini, but he hasn't done it since 2019.
That's the kind of excess talked about over the winter and in spring...
The Orioles have revealed only a small portion of their rotation plans.
Left-hander Keegan Akin is starting Friday night against the Royals in Kansas City, but the next two spots are listed as TBA.
Possibilities include Thomas Eshelman and Spenser Watkins. Jorge López is on the bereavement list and veteran Matt Harvey is pushed back to the Rays series.
The corresponding roster move for López will be announced on Friday. Dean Kremer started Tuesday night for Triple-A Norfolk and...
The Orioles haven't announced their rotation for the series in Kansas City that begins Friday night, but it won't include Jorge López.
López was placed on the bereavement list this afternoon, a move that makes him unavailable until at least the series that follows against the Rays in St. Petersburg. Fla.
The bereavement list is used for a player needing to leave the team to attend to a serious illness or death in his immediate family or his spouse's immediate family. The player is...
The Orioles drafted a second baseman in the second round, Connor Norby of East Carolina University, but he isn't blocking Jahmai Jones.
I already saw and approved that joke on Twitter.
Norby is praised by scouts for his solid tools across the board. He's a career .392/.458/.596 hitter at East Carolina. He led the nation with 102 hits this year. But I'm betting that Jones beats him to the majors.
Any takers?
Jones is batting .279 with an .863 OPS after Tuesday night's single and triple and...
Cedric Mullins was able to serve as a leadoff hitter tonight in the All-Star Game at Coors Field in Denver. Just in a different manner than his usual role with the Orioles.
Batting ninth in the American League's order but the first to the plate in the top of the third inning.
Mullins struck out against the Brewers' Corbin Burnes and watched from the dugout as the Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a long home run to left field for a 2-0 lead. But he got one more chance in the fifth,...