Showalter with injury updates, Jones comments (game update)

Showalter with injury updates, Jones comments (game update)
DUNEDIN, Fla. - The Orioles took a 2-0 lead on Toronto today on RBI doubles by Steve Clevenger and Ryan Flaherty in the top of the fourth. Clevenger is 2-for-2 today with a pair of opposite field doubles to left and he is now 11-for-21 this spring. Miguel Gonzalez has rolled through the Jays lineup through three innings allowing just one hit, a one-out single by Colby Rasmus in the top of the first. He is facing Toronto's regulars here this afternoon. Gonzalez has walked none and fanned...
Continue reading

Monday Florida weather forces O's to change some pitching plans

Monday Florida weather forces O's to change some pitching plans
DUNEDIN, Fla. - With the threat of heavy rain tomorrow in parts of Florida, the Orioles are changing some of their scheduled pitching plans for Monday. Ubaldo Jimenez was scheduled to make his third O's spring start Monday night in Sarasota against the Twins. But with the chance of a rainout of both of the O's split-squad games on Monday, Jimenez will be sent to a more southern part of the state to try and get his outing in. Jimenez will pitch in the Orioles' Triple-A game at 11 a.m....
Continue reading

Still quiet on the contract talk front for the Orioles and Chris Davis

Still quiet on the contract talk front for the Orioles and Chris Davis
SARASOTA, Fla - The Orioles and slugging first baseman Chris Davis, still have yet to get too far in any talks of a new contract for the player who led the majors in homers, RBIs and extra-base hits in 2013. Davis said this morning there is not much happening on that front right now. "Not that I know of and you guys are pretty good about finding things out," Davis said. "I'm sure if anything is said, we'll be talking about it, but those are for Scott (Boras) and Dan (Duquette). I have...
Continue reading

Jonathan Schoop: Bigger, better and chasing an opening day roster spot

Jonathan Schoop: Bigger, better and chasing an opening day roster spot
SARASOTA, Fla. - The scoop on Jonathan Schoop is this: At the very least the kid is making a very favorable and strong impression at camp. And it just might lead to him making the Orioles' opening day roster. Schoop entered camp considered a long-shot to win the job as the O's starting second baseman. But now, after coming to Sarasota a clearly bigger, stronger and better player than last year, he's made a strong case to head north with the Orioles for the opener. Schoop's cause may be...
Continue reading

Caleb Joseph talks about Suk-min Yoon's O's debut

Caleb Joseph talks about Suk-min Yoon's O's debut
SARASOTA, Fla. - Caleb Joseph got another start today behind the plate and got to handle a well-pitched game as five Orioles pitchers combined on a six-hitter with 10 strikeouts in a 2-1 win over the Yankees in front of a sellout crowd of 8,602 at Ed Smith Stadium. Joseph was behind the plate for the much-anticipated debut of Korean right-hander Suk-min Yoon, who pitched a scoreless seventh after allowing a leadoff single to Ramon Flores. He then got two fly outs and groundout to end an...
Continue reading

Tillman talks about his outing against the Yankees

Tillman talks about his outing against the Yankees
SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Tillman became the first Orioles starter to pitch five innings this spring. He came out for, but didn't make it through the sixth. After shutting out the Yankees through five, Tillman allowed a leadoff homer to No. 9 hitter Francisco Arcia leading off the sixth and then was pulled for Zach Britton. It was, statistically, easily Tillman's best outing this spring as he went five-plus innings, allowing three hits and one run. He walked two and fanned five, throwing 73...
Continue reading

After his best season in 2013, Caleb Joseph is trying to make impression at big league camp

After his best season in 2013, Caleb Joseph is trying to make impression at big league camp
SARASOTA, Fla. - Catcher Caleb Joseph is in major league spring training for the third time. He is coming off his best offensive season in the Orioles minor leagues and trying to show Buck Showalter what he can do whenever he gets a chance. He got the start Thursday going 0-for-3 against the Yankees and is 1-for-7 with an RBI in six spring games. He is starting today's game here at Ed Smith Stadium, catching and batting eighth. Matt Wieters' sprained right ankle is probably getting Joseph a...
Continue reading

Life on the bubble: Steve Pearce is once again battling for a roster spot

Life on the bubble: Steve Pearce is once again battling for a roster spot
SARASOTA, Fla. - On opening day last year, Steve Pearce was in the Orioles' starting lineup. But he knows he's not a starter on this team and this spring training, he finds himself yet again fighting for a big league roster spot. It's life on the bubble. We're not talking about the NCAA tourney and Pearce knows the baseball version quite well. He seems to be a player always in the hunt for a bench spot, but never at the point where his roster spot is secure. "It has been something I've...
Continue reading

Steve Johnson is making his pitch for an O's roster spot

Steve Johnson is making his pitch for an O's roster spot
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles right-hander Steve Johnson is seemingly among a long list of pitchers pitching well at spring camp and fighting for one of the club's last roster spots with opening day approaching. The 26-year-old Baltimore native is trying to put 2013 in his rear-view mirror. He had four stints with the Orioles, but also two DL trips and injuries were a factor as he pitched to a 7.47 ERA over 15 2/3 innings. For the playoff-bound 2012 O's, Johnson pitched some big games late in the...
Continue reading

Checking in with Hunter Harvey and other notes from O's minor league camp

Checking in with Hunter Harvey and other notes from O's minor league camp
SARASOTA, Fla. - Pitcher Hunter Harvey, the Orioles' first-round draft pick last June, now has one exhibition game outing in the books. The 19-year-old right-hander pitched two innings on Thursday against Tampa Bay. He threw 40 pitches and gave up one run and had three strikeouts. "It felt good to throw to hitters and get back to a live game," Harvey said. "They've said I may add an inning every outing and I will probably throw three innings on Tuesday." Harvey went 0-1 with a 1.78 ERA...
Continue reading

Dylan Bundy on being optioned to Double-A Bowie (plus minor league notes)

Dylan Bundy on being optioned to Double-A Bowie (plus minor league notes)
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles today optioned pitcher Dylan Bundy to Double-A Bowie. The move doesn't change much for Bundy, who is not yet pitching in any games. It's just that his rehab work could shift from Ed Smith Stadium to the O's minor league complex. "Don't know if it's my place to say exactly what we are going to do (with where my rehab will be). We are still looking into what we can do, but I'll be down there throwing for the next week for sure," Bundy said. He underwent...
Continue reading

With strong camp, Kevin Gausman is trying to make team

With strong camp, Kevin Gausman is trying to make team
SARASOTA, Fla. - Kevin Gausman went through a few changes last year, his first full season in pro baseball. He ended the year with a second changeup and some tweaking of his mechanics. It would seem surprising that he made some changes during the season, especially for a pitcher that was the fourth overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. After such success in college, was Gausman surprised that he changed a few things once he got to pro ball? "Not really. As a pitcher, you always...
Continue reading

After strong showing this spring, Gamboa works toward big league shot

After strong showing this spring, Gamboa works toward big league shot
SARASOTA, Fla. - Pitcher Eddie Gamboa turned 30 in December. That is an age where some players that have never reached the big leagues probably know it will never happen. But for Gamboa, the dream of pitching in the majors may now be closer for him than ever. He just finished a strong stint in big league camp for the Orioles. In five games, he pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with six strikeouts. It was about this time last year when Gamboa reinvented himself as a...
Continue reading

Nolan Reimold takes his swings at minor league camp and Mike Wright on his elbow issue

Nolan Reimold takes his swings at minor league camp and Mike Wright on his elbow issue
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles sent Nolan Reimold to minor league camp today to get a lot of at-bats as he continues to progress from two neck surgeries that limited him to a combined 195 at-bats the last two seasons. Reimold certainly got his work in. He batted in both the Double-A and Triple-A exhibition games against Tampa Bay, often walking from one field to the next to take his hacks at the O's Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex at Twin Lakes Park. As it turns out he didn't swing all that...
Continue reading

With rotation close to set, Zach Britton talks about a possible bullpen role

With rotation close to set, Zach Britton talks about a possible bullpen role
SARASOTA, Fla. - Zach Britton can do the math. The Orioles have five spots in their starting rotation and right now he doesn't figure to get one. But he wants to make the team, of course, and if it is as a reliever, that is fine with him. He is out of options, but he certainly doesn't want to be out of a job with the organization that drafted him in the third round in 2006. Britton is having a good camp, showing some mid-90s velocity at times. He pitched a 1-2-3 fourth inning at Ed Smith...
Continue reading

J.J. Hardy: "The ball is in their court if they want me" (plus minor league notes)

J.J. Hardy: "The ball is in their court if they want me" (plus minor league notes)
SARASOTA, Fla. - Last season, Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy made his first All-Star game start and won his second Gold Glove. He was one of just four players in the majors to win both a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger. Now he is anxious to find out if he'll be slugging for the Orioles beyond this season. This is the last year on his current contract and he'll be a free agent after this season. The O's have indicated they want to sign him to a new long-term deal, but not much is happening on...
Continue reading

Eduardo Rodriguez had some struggles in big league camp

Eduardo Rodriguez had some struggles in big league camp
SARASOTA, Fla. - Most of the national prospects analysts agree that the Orioles' Eduardo Rodriguez is one of the top young pitchers in baseball. He is the Orioles' No. 3 rated prospect by Baseball America and has been listed in all the major top 100 lists. Rodriguez comes in at No. 43 on the ESPN list and is rated No. 61 by Baseball Prospectus, No. 65 by Baseball America and No. 68 by MLB.com. But Rodriguez didn't put his best foot forward during his time in O's big league camp, which...
Continue reading

Reimold on his improving bat and Rodriguez on heading to minor league camp

Reimold on his improving bat and Rodriguez on heading to minor league camp
SARASOTA, Fla. - After two neck surgeries that limited him to 56 games total the last two years, Nolan Reimold is trying to make up for some lost time here at spring training and show the Orioles he can be a productive player again. Today was a nice step in the right direction for Reimold. He went 2-for-3 with a single and two-run homer. He also made a loud out, lining into a double play in the seventh. He hit a two-run shot to left off A.J. Burnett in the fifth inning during the O's 6-5 loss...
Continue reading

One source rates O's schedule as MLB's toughest, plus other notes

One source rates O's schedule as MLB's toughest, plus other notes
The Orioles have the toughest schedule in the major leagues this season. That is according to this story from FanGraphs, which made this list looking at each team's opponents and going by team-by-team WAR projections. The O's MASN partners, the Washington Nationals, were rated to have the easiest schedule for 2014. No doubt the AL East remains tough with the Orioles' schedule ranked No. 1 along with Toronto No. 3, New York No. 6, Tampa Bay No. 7 and Boston No. 8 in the American League. On...
Continue reading

Bullpen banter and minor league injury notes

Bullpen banter and minor league injury notes
For the Orioles, the 'pen needs to be good again. The O's bullpen was decent in 2013, but it was outstanding in 2012. During that 93-win season, Jim Johnson recorded 51 saves and went 20-for-21 in save chances against the AL East with an ERA of 0.80. The bullpen's strong performance was a big factor in a remarkable 29-9 record in one-run games that helped propel the Orioles back to the playoffs. He hasn't been officially given the job yet, but Tommy Hunter is expected to begin the season...
Continue reading