Divvying up the players in camp

The Orioles' spring training camp is divided into categories, and the lines between them aren't blurred.

Outfielder DJ Stewart, who launched a two-run homer yesterday in Clearwater, Fla., is in the group of players likely to make the club and simply trying to avoid giving it reasons to resist.

Starter Jorge López allowed two runs and five hits in two innings. The best part of his day was being able to come back out for the second.

López is vying for a spot in the rotation, but he's out of options and could be used in long relief. A solid spring should keep him around.

A disastrous one could send him to the waiver wire.

Left-hander Zac Lowther tossed a scoreless inning with a hit allowed and a walk, and benefited from stellar play by third baseman Rio Ruiz. He's one of the top pitching prospects, getting better with age, but is going to begin the summer at Triple-A Norfolk.

His time spent in camp is aimed at accelerating his development and getting more eyes on him.

Rule 5 picks Mac Sceroler and Tyler Wells each turned in a scoreless inning that was rough around the edges but left them unharmed. They have an outside shot at making the team.

It isn't easy to carry one Rule 5 guy, let alone two, and the implementation of 26-man rosters is working against them. But decisions on them are pending.

Ryan Mountcastle had a game-tying sacrifice fly and lost a ball in the sun that let two runners cross the plate. If he's healthy, he's the starting left fielder.

Yusniel Diaz hit a long home run in Sunday's exhibition opener against the Pirates. He's going to be optioned to Triple-A, with his debut expected later in the summer.

"I'm going to play Diaz a lot," manager Brandon Hyde said yesterday in his Zoom conference call.

"I have high hopes for Diaz, and then when he's ready for the big leagues, he'll be ready. That's not my call at this point, but I'd like to see what we have here. He lost a year last year from a development standpoint with a full year of at-bats because of the canceled minor league season, so I'm going to try to catch him up as much as possible and play him as much as I can.

Hyde and his staff are getting guys ready for opening day, but also evaluating others and determining whether they can help now or in the near future.

It's a "balance," as Hyde called it, that also takes into account the work done at Twin Lakes Park and the players who are going to be summoned to the Ed Smith Stadium complex.

"I'd like to see them play," Hyde said.

"With the seven- to nine-inning games, the sim games that we have on the back (fields), the potential for some B squad games, I'm hoping to get a good look at everybody, including some of the younger players that are here, because we have a lot of talent down there. So I'm looking forward to seeing those guys get into some games, also."

Félix Hernández and Matt Harvey are high-profile, non-roster pitchers - the former trying to strengthen is case for the Hall of Fame - who want to show that they've got plenty left in the tank. Their bids are on hold, with John Means starting today against the Yankees, who are sending left-hander Jordan Montgomery to the mound, and Wade LeBlanc on Wednesday versus the Braves.

"Matt Harvey threw the other day on a back field, just a two-inning sim game, and he looked really good," said left-hander Keegan Akin, who's in the category of pitchers expected to head north with the team but having to earn it. "Félix has looked good in his bullpens. Obviously, it's good to see Wade LeBlanc back and healthy. I think all the pitchers so far that I've seen have had pretty good outings or bullpens and stuff like that. There's a lot of good arms in camp, so a lot of competition going around."

The COVID-19 protocols, with staggered arrivals and departures, are making it harder for Akin to bond with Hernández and Harvey.

"It's literally get in, get out," Akin said.

"If I'm on a different schedule that day, like today I've got a bullpen and they don't have bullpens, so I'll see them in the locker room, but when we go outside and do things, we're probably on different fields. I'm off doing my own thing, they're off doing their own thing. Where before, last year and year's past, everybody's kind of one big group, you're all going through things together.

"This year it's split up. It's a little different. Even getting to know some of the new guys in camp is pretty tough. We're supposed to do the social distancing and stuff in the clubhouse and it's pretty hard to go sit around somebody's locker and get to know them or talk to them. It's just keep your distance, get your work in and go from there."