More Beckham and some roster talk

SARASOTA, Fla. - Tim Beckham downplayed his groin injury this morning and vowed to get into another game this weekend before the Orioles return to Baltimore.

Beckham is batting .273/.305/.509 (15-for-55) with one double, four home runs, 10 RBIs, three walks and 14 strikeouts in 19 games.

"I'm taking it day to day," he said. "I feel like I'm ready for the season. A couple more reps would be great, would be awesome, but I'm definitely confident going into the year that we're going to have a good season and we're going to play good baseball."

Beckham tweaked the groin yesterday while stretching in the weight room and aggravated it while racing toward the line to field Blake Swihart's ground ball in the top of the second inning.

"It wasn't anything serious," he said. "I hopped in the whirlpool and cold tubs and I felt good for the game, felt 100 percent for the game. Early in the game I just had to make that quick movement and kind of aggravated it a little bit."

Beckham homered in the bottom of the second and was replaced by Danny Valencia.

"I was hoping it went out and I didn't have to kick it into third gear for a triple," he said, laughing. "I was happy when it got out. But it wasn't a crazy grab. I've pulled stuff before and I know what it feels like and it's definitely not that, so that's good news for us and good news for me.

"I want to be on the field and help the team win ballgames. I'm ready for March 29, you know?"

The Orioles will make more cuts today and whittle a camp roster that holds 37 players.

The actual total is 34 with closer Zach Britton on the 60-day disabled list and outfielder Mark Trumbo and pitcher Gabriel Ynoa headed to the 10-day DL.

Simple math tells us that nine more players must be removed before opening day.

The following players remain in camp:

Pitchers
Pedro Araujo
Richard Bleier
Brad Brach
Zach Britton
Dylan Bundy
Andrew Cashner
Miguel Castro
Alex Cobb
Nestor Cortes Jr.
Josh Edgin
Kevin Gausman
Mychal Givens
Darren O'Day
Joely Rodriguez
Chris Tillman
Mike Wright Jr.
Gabriel Ynoa

Catchers
Caleb Joseph
Chance Sisco
Andrew Susac

Infielders
Pedro Álvarez
Tim Beckham
Chris Davis
Manny Machado
Luis Sardiñas
Jonathan Schoop
Danny Valencia
Engelb Vielma

Outfielders
Craig Gentry
Austin Hays
Adam Jones
Trey Mancini
Cedric Mullins
Alex Presley
Colby Rasmus
Anthony Santander
Mark Trumbo

Cobb will be optioned, so that's 33. Mullins won't break camp with the team, so that's 32. Pick a backup catcher to take it down to 31.

I'm expecting Sardiñas to be reassigned and Vielma optioned, though I also thought Austin Wynns was the leading candidate for backup catcher, so don't quote me. I assumed that Presley would be reassigned, but it's certainly possible that the Orioles keep him and reassign Álvarez based on the former's defensive skills. Santander could be given most of the at-bats at designated hitter, which would make it easier to send down Álvarez.

I'm expecting Gentry to make the club over Hays, but again, I've been wrong in the past.

The bullpen is a riddle because a fifth starter hasn't been identified. I'm still regarding Wright as the favorite despite his last two outings. He could push Cortes to the bullpen as a needed left-handed long man. If that happens, does manager Buck Showalter carry a third southpaw or reassign Edgin and Rodriguez?

I went through the entire winter and most of spring training assuming that Castro had a spot on this team as a starter or reliever, but he's pitched poorly since recovering from the soreness in his knees and lower back, and it's conceivable that the Orioles plug him into Triple-A Norfolk's rotation.

Here's the lineup for the split-squad Rays:

Mallex Smith LF
Keon Wong 2B
Daniel Robertson 3B
Brad Miller 1B
Jason Coats DH
Curt Casali C
Johnny Field CF
Micah Johnson RF
Lucius Fox SS

Ryan Weber RHP