Hardy's return, tonight's game, Frederick's feat and good call by umps

The Orioles' latest roster move should come today and involve shortstop J.J. Hardy, who's been throwing and hitting without any issues following a cortisone injection Friday in his right elbow. Hardy is expected to be activated from the disabled list.

The popular response to this news from fans on Twitter goes something like this:

"Why?"

As in, why do the Orioles need Hardy while Tim Beckham is mashing at the plate, including a leadoff home run yesterday while fans were given his T-shirt?

Part of it is the respect factor. Hardy has been a valued member of the organization since the Orioles acquired him from the Twins on Dec. 9, 2010. They also got infielder Brendan Harris in a deal that sent pitchers Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson to Minnesota.

Hardy is the leader of the infield and someone that manager Buck Showalter trusts. He's not going to be kicked to the curb. He deserves better and he's going to get it.

Showalter will figure out a way to get Hardy on the field. It may be as a late-inning replacement for Beckham, who is the first to acknowledge that his throwing needs to get better - whether it's to Jonathan Schoop at second base or Chris Davis at first. And the expanded roster makes it relatively easy to add Hardy.

The club certainly isn't going to be weaker by having Hardy on the bench or in the field. And I'd hope that fans would salute him over the final weeks before he hits free agency. He's earned it.

The catch is that the Orioles need a spot on the 40-man roster because Hardy's coming off the 60-day disabled list.

A pitcher will be removed because there's no obvious choice among position players. The Orioles aren't bailing on Rule 5 pick Anthony Santander and they're not putting outfielder Craig Gentry on the 60-day disabled list.

Here's the list of pitchers:

Jayson Aquino
Alec Asher
Richard Bleier
Brad Brach
Zach Britton
Dylan Bundy
Miguel Castro
Stefan Crichton
Andrew Faulkner
Kevin Gausman
Mychal Givens
Donnie Hart
Jeremy Hellickson
Ubaldo Jiménez
Chris Lee
Jesus Liriano
Wade Miley
Darren O'Day
Yefry Ramirez
Richard Rodriguez
Chris Tillman
Mike Wright
Jimmy Yacabonis
Gabriel Ynoa

I had to check on Faulkner over the weekend because minorleaguebaseball.com lists him as pitching for the Tacoma Rainers. His name no longer appears on Triple-A Norfolk's roster. But a team official said he's still with the Tides and it's true. He pitched again yesterday.

I find it curious that Crichton wasn't recalled. He had a blown save yesterday and took the loss against Charlotte after allowing four runs and six hits in two-thirds of an inning.

* Hellickson is making his seventh start tonight for the Orioles. He's posted a 6.55 ERA with the Orioles and a 4.73 ERA in 20 starts with the Phillies.

Hellickson has three quality starts, but he allowed seven runs and seven hits with four walks in 4 2/3 innings against the Blue Jays on Aug. 31. He's surrendered one home run or fewer in five of six starts, but the Angels hit five in 4 2/3 innings on Aug. 18.

There's been a mix of good, bad and mediocre from Hellickson since the trade.

The veteran right-hander is 4-2 with a 3.21 ERA and 1.217 WHIP in nine career games (seven starts) against the Yankees over 47 2/3 innings. Brett Gardner is 6-for-19 (.316).

CC Sabathia is the latest left-hander to start against the Orioles, who have seen plenty of them. He's allowed four runs in his last three starts over 19 innings.

Sabathia faced the Orioles twice in April and allowed nine earned runs (10 total) in 11 2/3 innings. He's 19-10 with a 3.47 ERA in 40 career starts against the Orioles and 11-7 with a 3.42 ERA in 24 starts at Camden Yards.

Manny Machado is 17-for-54 (.315) against Sabathia with six doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs.

* The Orioles are proud that two of their minor league affiliates, Double-A Bowie and Single-A Frederick, qualified for the playoffs. The Keys had to overcome the losses of some key players, including outfielder Austin Hays and infielders Ryan Mountcastle and Steve Wilkerson to promotions and pitchers Cody Sedlock and Keegan Akin to injuries. Third baseman Jomar Reyes broke a finger in April and didn't return until August.

Manager Keith Bodie is a strong candidate to receive the organization's player development award.

"Keith Bodie and his staff have done a great job there, not only winning games, but developing players," Showalter said. "He lost Austin Hays, he lost Ryan Mountcastle. They moved a lot of guys out of there and that's what his job is and he's proud of that. Probably three or four other guys.

"People have made progress and I know the people at Frederick and our organization are lucky to have that coaching staff."

Bodie's staff includes pitching coach Blaine Beatty and hitting coach Kyle Moore.

Bodie is in his second season as Frederick manager after serving as Bowie's hitting coach in 2015. He spent 16 seasons in the Astros organization, managing Double-A Corpus Christi in 2012-2014.

The Yankees managerial roots show with Showalter, who received the message from owner George Steinbrenner early in his career that developing players and winning in the minors were equally important. One was always tied to the other.

"Learning how to win is part of development. Anybody who says it isn't, they have bad farm clubs," Showalter said.

"I know what the atmosphere's like around those teams and it creates a lot better atmosphere for producing and for development and working on weaknesses when you're getting a return on the scoreboard, and that's part of it.

"When we left camp every year with the Yankees, I was one of seven managers and there were two job descriptions - develop players and win. Not necessarily in that order. And I think it's important that players understand how to do that."

* The umpiring crew working the Yankees-Orioles series is teaming up with Casey Cares Foundation for the latest Build-A-Bear Workshop experience at Johns Hopkins Children Center for kids coping with serious illnesses and injuries.

Each child will choose from a variety of pre-stuffed animals and clothing outfits, including bear-sized Orioles uniforms.

The event is made possible by UMPS CARE Charities, a non-profit organization founded by MLB umpires to enrich the lives of at-risk youth and children.

Umpires have hosted 137 children's hospital events since the program began in 2006 and have handed out more than 12,500 Build-A-Bears.

Will Little, James Hoye, Sean Barber and Jeff Kellogg are working the series at Camden Yards.