Hearing from Rasmus and Beckham

The Orioles' afternoon clubhouse had a reunion feel to it with outfielder Colby Rasmus and third baseman Tim Beckham at their respective lockers before batting practice.

Rasmus was packing his oversized bag for the drive to Prince George's Stadium, where he begins his rehab assignment with Double-A Bowie. Closer Zach Britton will pitch for the Baysox tonight due to weather concerns in Norfolk.

Britton will work an inning sometime after starter Hunter Harvey completes his three scheduled innings. The Orioles are shortening Harvey tonight. Nothing related to his health.

The Orioles tweaked Britton's schedule, pitching him tonight instead of Saturday. He could throw again on Sunday, since the affiliates are off the next day.

Rasmus is playing in his first game beyond extended spring training in Sarasota He's been on the disabled list since April 7 with a left hip flexor strain.

"Been feeling good," he said. "I've been down there for a little while trying to get this hip right. Got a couple cortisones in it last week and now I'm feeling good. Ready to go."

There's no firm timeline for Rasmus' return to the active roster or how long he'll remain on his assignment.

"Just whenever they feel like I'm ready," he said. "I'm sure it's going to depend on how I play and how everything goes and the reports that the coaches give. So, I'm just going to go out tonight and try to play like my hair's on fire and try to help those boys win a game."

Rasmus is convinced that the hip won't become an issue again. He has a history with it, including surgery in October 2016.

"Yeah, I've been feeling good," he said. "I played games down in Sarasota. Feeling good, running around. Swing feels good, arm feels good, so I feel like I'm ready to go."

It's been a long process that Rasmus couldn't predict after the Orioles placed him on the disabled list. He certainly wasn't going to rush back and risk missing a larger portion of the season.

"It was hard to tell," he said. "Once I got down there I wanted to make sure when I came back that I was fully healthy and didn't just come back just to come back. I wanted to make sure I was good and healthy and that way I could come back and help the team."

Rasmus made no impact after signing his minor league deal. He went 2-for-21 with 13 strikeouts before going on the shelf, which has to rate as one of the worst starts to an Orioles career by any player in club history.

At least some of the blame could be placed on the hip, but it wasn't the only factor.

"My hip was hurting a little bit, little bit cold weather I'd say in those early games," he said. "It was cold and I had a hard time kind of getting it going, but we did run into some good pitching, so I'm not going to blame it all on that.

"I felt good. Just in that (April 5) game against (Masahiro) Tanaka is when I really felt it and felt that hip flexor strain and it got weak after that."

Beckham has been on the disabled list since undergoing core muscle surgery, the assignment backdated to April 24.

"It's coming along well, man, it's coming along well," he said. "Ran about 80, 85 percent yesterday. Took ground balls. Everything's going well. Just want to stay the course and keep going hard in my workouts and keep pushing it. I'll be back before you know it.

"I went pretty hard yesterday in the infield for the first time. No cutting. It didn't bother me. It's looking good, man. Feeling well. Not 100 percent yet, but definitely close, definitely almost there. Should be back soon.

"I feel like I'm on schedule. Everything's been going well in the rehab. Just taking it day-by-day and keep pushing it."

Beckham will defer to club officials regarding his return to the active roster.

"You have to talk to the front office about that," he said. "I know the scheduled date for me to come off is June 23. Until then, I think my first rehab game will be the 14th, but we're taking it day-by-day. There haven't been any hiccups, and I don't plan on running across any hiccups, It's going well, so I want to stay the course.

"From my understanding, I think it will be Bowie on the 14th. We'll see. We're taking it day-by-day. Don't want to do anything too drastic and cause a hiccup. I want to keep going 100 percent every day and doing what I have to do by the protocol. I'm ready to get back with the team."

Beckham's injury probably dates back to his days with Tampa Bay and it worsened this spring. He was batting .179/.247/.262 in 23 games before undergoing a procedure to repair tears on both sides of his groin.

"I'm definitely happy I got it taken care of," he said. "Baseball's a grind. The competitors like we are, you want to play though everything to be on the field and help the club win ballgames. I'm glad I got it taken care of and looking forward to getting back with the club."

Danny Valencia will return to the active roster and be available for tonight's game. No word yet on the corresponding move.

The Orioles promoted outfielder Cedric Mullins from Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk and returned outfielder D'Arby Myers to the Baysox. Tides left-hander Chris Lee was placed on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury. Infielder Luis Sardiñas, on the disabled list with a lower back strain, experienced a setback and was removed from his rehab assignment.