Henderson hits on field, other Orioles injury updates, more on Mayo, Basallo and pitching schedule

SARASOTA, Fla. – The sight and sounds were calming. Gunnar Henderson walking up to the cage this afternoon for batting practice. Loud line drives ripped into the outfield. The shortstop smiling with teammates.

Henderson made his first real bid for inclusion on the Opening Day roster by hitting on the field. He still must get into games, which is most important, and the Orioles are off Wednesday.

The layoff is a long one, with Henderson’s last game on Feb. 27. He strained his right intercostal while catching Bo Bichette’s line drive in the first inning.

Henderson is receiving daily treatments, and today’s session could get him into Thursday’s lineup if he responds well to it.

The Orioles haven't decided whether they'd keep Henderson on the active roster and play short-handed if he couldn't participate in the first few games in Toronto.

"Right now, we're hopeful but not sure," said manager Brandon Hyde. "What day that is of what the cutoff is of carrying him or not carrying him, I'm not sure at this point."

Meanwhile, Grayson Rodriguez played catch today from 75 feet, and Hyde said it “went well.” Ramón Urías is recovered from a sore left hamstring and should play Thursday. Emmanuel Rivera’s sore left shoulder has improved but he isn’t cleared for game activities. Chayce McDermott had his first light side session today after reporting to camp with a strained lat/teres.

“Everybody else is on their progressions,” Hyde said.

* Coby Mayo must wait a little while longer to get back to the majors.

Mayo was counted among seven spring cuts today, with the Orioles optioning him to minor league camp. He’s returning to Triple-A Norfolk with nothing left to prove at the plate.

The Orioles’ No. 2 prospect batted .287 with 23 doubles, three triples, 22 home runs, 67 RBIs and a .926 OPS in 89 games with the Tides. He began the spring with one hit in 23 at-bats but finished 8-for-42 with three doubles, two walks and 13 strikeouts. His defense at the corners was sharper.

“Obviously, it’s nice when balls fall and you hit a ball hard and you see the success happen,” he said. “Never really too worried ever about my hitting. I think I’ve had enough success over my career. It doesn’t matter what level, I’m always confident in myself. It’s obviously nice to see them fall, but I’m always confident no matter what kind of skid I’m on.”

“I thought he just relaxed and was playing the game a little easier the last week,” Hyde said. “It looked like he was having a little more fun out there. I know that he’s pressing early and that’s really common with young players coming into camp.”

The additional time in the minors can assist Mayo with strike zone awareness and continue his ability to manage the zone. And he’s going to be hit tons of ground balls at first and third.

“The game’s fast up here,” Hyde said, “and more reps at Triple-A, we feel like that’s what he needs right now.”

Mayo wants another chance at major league pitching, which held him to four hits in 41 at-bats last season. He has nothing left to prove at the plate in the minors, but the Orioles opened camp with a deep roster of infielders and only an injury could have allowed him to head north.

That fact didn’t lessen the sting today.

“It definitely is difficult,” he said. “It obviously sucks because you feel like you proved everything you needed to, and sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s quite enough. Obviously, you go back there and if you have success, it’s, ‘Oh, he’s supposed to have success because he’s already proved it,’ and if he doesn’t have success, it’s, ‘Well, obviously he’s fallen off.’ So it’s kind of a lose-lose going to Norfolk.”

Hyde understands Mayo’s disappointment.

“That’s what happens when you have good teams. Good teams option players that they like,” Hyde said.

“I thought Coby ended his camp well. I thought he swung the bat well this last week. We’re happy about his performance, especially the last week of spring training and the improvements he’s made defensively at both spots. We still feel like there’s things he can work on and we’re sensitive to the fact that going to Triple-A isn’t what anybody wants to do, but it’s part of the way.

“I want guys to have confidence, for sure, and it’s tough to play at this level when you don’t have big-time confidence. I want guys to take it the right way. I want guys to try to prove that they should be in the big leagues by putting up performance as well as working on things that we feel like they need to work on.”

Mayo singled in the sixth inning of yesterday’s game against the Red Sox, was drilled by a 96 mph sinker on the right hand/wrist and left the game. Mayo said this afternoon that he was fine.

The pain came later with the roster news.

“Didn’t catch me clean, thankfully,” he said.

The Orioles started Mayo at third base in Fort Myers, but he also got some reps at first and is expected to play both positions with Norfolk. In recent games, he charged a ground ball at third, grabbed it with his bare hand and recorded the out, and made a leaping catch of a line drive.

“I was feeling good,” he said. “I think I can play third, I think I can play first.”

* Samuel Basallo will catch and play first at Norfolk. He was one of the six non-roster players to be reassigned.

“He was so fun to watch for us in camp,” Hyde said. “Knowing that he’s gonna go to Triple-A, knowing that he’s 20 years old and doesn’t have a lot of upper-level at-bats, we feel like that’s important. But I was impressed with his defense at two positions. Loved the way he played first, really liked the improvements he’s made behind the plate. It was fun to watch him. You saw the raw power. Now it’s about understanding the strike zone and just getting more upper-level at-bats.”

Basallo, the Orioles’ top prospect and the 13th in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, went 7-for-31 (.226) with a .770 OPS, a triple and two mammoth home runs – including one that cleared the center field scoreboard at Ed Smith Stadium. He also played in the Spring Breakout game.

“I feel like it was a great experience,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I feel like I was able to learn a lot, just being here, really enjoying this experience. I thank God for allowing me to be here in this camp, and I felt like it went really well.”

A major league debut is possible in 2025 after Basallo moved up from Double-A Bowie last summer and appeared in 21 games with Norfolk. He going to get more at-bats, more reps behind the plate and at first, and wait for the call.

“Of course, I do feel like it’s a possibility and helps me have that confidence that whenever I come up, that I can come up and do a good job,” he said.

“That’s the goal, to force them to have to make that decision, but that’s their call and that’s their decision to make. I can only control how well I perform and how well I can do my job.”

Other players reassigned today were outfielder Daz Cameron, infielder/outfielder Nick Gordon and pitchers Corbin Martin, Levi Stoudt and Thaddeus Ward. The roster is down to 41 players and the Orioles must trim it to 26 before Opening Day on March 27. Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells and Andrew Kittredge will go on the 60-day injured list if the Orioles need room on the 40-man. Rodriguez, McDermott and Trevor Rogers are expected to go on the 15-day IL. Jorge Mateo is described as “doubtful” for the opener. Henderson is questionable.  

* Charlie Morton was supposed to start tonight but moved to the back field to get six ups. Cade Povich, who would have piggybacked, is starting against the Blue Jays’ regulars at Ed Smith Stadium.

“Didn’t want to cut Morton’s outing short and wanted to make sure Povich had some runway, also,” Hyde said.

Tomoyuki Sugano starts Thursday night against the Yankees in Sarasota – a game that airs on MASN – and Albert Suárez starts Friday against the Tigers, and Tarik Skubal, in Sarasota. The order would line up Suárez to be the fifth starter and take the mound for the March 31 home opener, but the Orioles aren’t showing their hand and he could move up to fourth if he's in the rotation.

Keegan Akin, Bryan Baker and Gregory Soto also will pitch tonight.