More roster moves are coming

No truth to the rumor that the Orioles are trying to trade for Cole Hamels so he can give Josh Hamilton a belated "welcome to the majors" moment later tonight. The Orioles' 25-man roster was stagnant long enough. Now we're seeing the ripples. Nolan Reimold goes on the disabled list. Luis Exposito is recalled. Tommy Hunter and Ronny Paulino are optioned. Jason Berken is recalled. Stu Pomeranz has his contract purchased. Berken is optioned. Zach Phillips is recalled. I'm pretty sure it all happened within an hour, but that's probably incorrect. We got a thrill out of that 17-inning game in Boston, but it's created a bit of a problem. Manager Buck Showalter revealed yesterday that he only had three pitchers available Monday night, including starter Brian Matusz. He used the two relievers - Pomeranz and Berken. That was it. Berken reported to the ballpark yesterday, found out he was being optioned, showered, dressed and left the building. Or maybe he just wanted to avoid Hamilton. Anyway, Berken will start Sunday for the Tides. The Orioles currently have four starters and nine relievers on the roster, giving them a three-man bench. Dana Eveland is expected to have his contract purchased and start Friday night's game against the Rays, with a reliever being sent down. Does Pomeranz return to Triple-A Norfolk? Does Phillips? It would be a shame to lose them. Phillips earned a job in spring training after allowing only two runs and four hits in 13 1/3 innings. I like the idea of having that second lefty in the bullpen, especially as Troy Patton was entering three straight games in Boston to face David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez. Just keep Phillips away from Josh Hamilton. Keep everyone away from Josh Hamilton. Pomeranz has been dealing since spring training. His minor league numbers this year are sick: Two unearned runs, two walks and 32 strikeouts in 19 innings. Pomeranz tossed three scoreless innings on Monday, making him the seventh reliever in franchise history to throw three or more in his major league debut. He's the first to do it since Jimmy Myers on April 6, 1996 agaisnt the Twins. Anyone remember that game? Anyone remember Myers? Dennis Martinez posted the longest scoreless outing in a major league debut by an Orioles reliever when he worked 5 2/3 innings against the Tigers on Sept. 14, 1976. Anyone remember that game? Eventually, the Orioles will go back to a four-man bench when Reimold is ready to come off the disabled list. Another reliever will have to be dropped. Eventually, Joel Pineiro is going to be pitching for this team. He allowed one run over six innings in his Norfolk debut, and had a two-hit shutout through six innings last night before being charged with four runs in the seventh. Eventually, I'll figure out what the heck's going on with Miguel Tejada. Is he going to play third base at Norfolk? Is he going to play third base for the Orioles? Is Bill Hall going to politely ask why the Orioles bothered to sign him? Is Hall going to be playing for the Orioles at some point? Hunter won't stay in Norfolk throughout the summer. He's going to be back here and the Orioles could end up designating Eveland for assignment again, since he's out of options. And Eveland, if he clears waivers, will again have to decide whether to accept being outrighted or choose free agency. Eveland could change that scenario by pitching great while he's here and putting more pressure on, say, Matusz, who followed two quality starts with a disappointing outing on Monday. And let's not forget about Zach Britton, who's got the first of his three extended spring training starts scheduled for Thursday. Do the Orioles activate him from the disabled list in early June and slot him into the rotation, or do they option him to Norfolk? I get the sense that Brian Roberts is drawing closer to going on an injury-rehab assignment. Eventually, at the risk of getting too far ahead of myself here, the Orioles will need to drop a position player, and they really, really don't want to offer Rule 5 pick Ryan Flaherty back to the Cubs. So much for stagnant.