Hyde eager to tackle Orioles' lineup challenges

The choices are plentiful and create nice problems for Orioles manager Brandon Hyde.

His Gold Glove third baseman and Fielding Bible Award winning shortstop aren’t in tonight’s lineup. Instead, Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo are in the dugout for the final game of the series against the Reds at Camden Yards.

The decision to option Joey Ortiz to make room for Jordan Westburg didn’t solve every roster issue.

Ortiz appeared in only four games this month and didn’t start after June 17. Westburg, meanwhile, is here to play.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t an even swap.

Hyde made the obvious calls the past two nights with Westburg at second base while the Reds started left-handers. Adam Frazier sat until pinch-hitting last night for Mateo.

Right-hander Luke Weaver is opposing the Orioles tonight, and Frazier has returned to second base and the bottom of the order. Hyde put Westburg at third base and Gunnar Henderson at shortstop, where they finished last night’s game following massive substitutions in the top of the eighth inning.

Hyde will check the matchups and also give players a breather to keep them fresh. No one will be buried on the bench, but the at-bats must be divvied.

Westburg will get a bunch of them as the system’s No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline.

“They’re all going to play,” Hyde said. “I think that it’s not a terrible thing right now, especially in the middle of the summer, to have a lot of depth and be able to give guys nights off every once in a while. It’s a good problem to have when you have a lot of good players. That’s what good teams have.”

Westburg is 3-for-7 with an RBI, two walks and a run scored in his first major league series. He’s matured physically and as a player since the Orioles selected him with the 30^th pick in the truncated 2020 draft out of Mississippi State.

“I saw him out of the draft, I remember seeing him in the minicamp,” Hyde said.

“It was apparent that this guy’s pretty advanced already. I liked the way he stayed on the baseball and hit line drives all over the place. And I’ve seen him get better as a defender. I know he played mostly shortstop in college, but to be able to move over to second, be able to play third base, also, I think that he’s made big strides there.”

* The injury updates are scarce.

Nothing new on relievers Mychal Givens and Dillon Tate, who are undergoing further testing and evaluations. Both pitchers are in the clubhouse.

Ryan Mountcastle didn’t play Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk and the club was off the past two days. He remains on his rehab assignment.

* The automated strike zone used occasionally in Triple-A games isn’t a system that Hyde necessarily wants introduced at the major league level.

“Depends after which game,” he quipped.

“I don’t know. I still like the human element. We don’t have enough arguing already on the field that we used to have. I think that’s still baseball, and if you take that away, there’s going to be nothing to argue about.

“I’d love to see how this sample works in Triple-A. I’m still getting feedback on it from some guys. I’ve heard some really positive things about it, some guys have concerns about it. I’ve never seen it first-hand or in person, so I kind of want to see it first before I have an opinion on it, or at least see what the results are down there. It’s such a big deal up here. It’s going to have to be right for it to work, and so I want to make sure that it’s right.”

The system can impact a catcher’s ability to frame pitches and steal strikes.

“That would probably go away a little bit,” Hyde said. “We have one of the better ones in the game. Two of the better ones in the game.”

* The Orioles are celebrating “Pride Night” at the ballpark, with rainbow-colored décor on the field, atop the dugouts, on the center field fence and over rows of seats in the left field upper deck. Letters spelling out “PRIDE” hang on the warehouse.

“We’re happy to promote equality and inclusivity for all fans,” Hyde said.