Orioles health notes on Mateo, Urías and Rivera, Hyde on Ðomínguez's rough spring

SARASOTA, Fla. – The long wait is over for Jorge Mateo. He gets to appear in his first game today since injuring his left elbow on July 23 and undergoing reconstructive surgery a month later.

The Orioles haven’t sounded as optimistic as Mateo about his availability for Opening Day. Today’s start at shortstop could be an indication that he remains in play or that he’ll be able to leave the injured list when he’s eligible.

“Jorgie was a big loss for us last year,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “He adds so much to our team – versatility, the speed. I love his energy he brings on a daily basis. We missed that last year.

“This is his first step back, a big step back in his rehab, to get a little game action.”

Mateo will rest Monday rather than make the trip to Fort Myers to play the Red Sox. The Orioles wrap up the Grapefruit League schedule March 23 in North Port.

“We’re gonna see how he feels and see how much he can handle,” Hyde said. “Hoping he gets a couple at-bats today and feels good tomorrow. And then we get back off that (Wednesday) off-day, we’ll continue to see him playing in games.”

Infielder Ramón Urías is out of the lineup with a sore left hamstring but is inching closer to a return. He’s starting to run and thinks he could play within the next few days. Hyde said Urías will be in Thursday’s lineup after the off-day.

“I feel much better,” Urías said this morning. “I think we’re pretty close to being back in the game.”

Urías felt the tightness five days ago. He hasn’t been in the lineup since Wednesday.

“It’s definitely not something I want to carry into the season,” he said.

Urías expects to be ready for Opening Day. The Orioles need him to serve in the usual utility role.

“I should be back soon,” he said.

Corner infielder Emmanuel Rivera has a sore left shoulder, which explains why he isn’t in the Sarasota or Lakeland lineups. He felt it Thursday while hitting in Dunedin.

“He’s gonna miss a couple days,” Hyde said. “We're low on infielders.”

Seranthony Ðomínguez was charged with three runs in the sixth inning yesterday in Bradenton to inflate his ERA to 23.14. He was removed with two outs.

The Pirates made some hard contact and Domínguez walked two batters, but his fastball topped at 98 mph and he would have escaped with no runs – or at least none earned – if minor league second baseman Collin Burns had fielded a ground ball or if the official scorer had correctly ruled it an error.

“You’d like to see your guys be sharper,” Hyde said. “I thought the velo and the stuff was good. It’s a lot of 3-2 counts. You’re at that point in camp where you’d like to see guys start trending in the right direction. I think he’s going to.

“If we make a play at second base yesterday, he gives up no runs. Obviously, it extended his inning in a huge way.”

The Orioles need Domínguez to be a trustworthy alternate closer while Félix Bautista is eased back into the role, or to handle the high-leverage situations as a set-up man.

“It’s not an easy game, whether you’re playing in Bradenton or Pittsburgh, and things kind of didn’t go right yesterday, but you look at his fastball velo, he’s throwing 98, the slider’s there, he threw some splits yesterday,” Hyde said. “Hopefully, he just gets a little sharper as the spring goes along.”

Hyde said he won’t bring many regulars to Fort Myers for Monday afternoon’s matchup against the Red Sox because of today’s game and a Tuesday night game in Sarasota.

Roansy Contreras starts Monday and the Orioles want to stretch him out as a starter while also considering him for the bullpen. He’s out of options.

“We’re keeping all options open right now,” Hyde said. “Anything can happen here these last 10 days.”

Bryan Baker and Matt Bowman will follow Zach Eflin today against the Phillies.

Extras for the game include outfielders Vance Honeycutt and Dylan Beavers and infielders Max Wagner and Aron Estrada, who played in last night’s Spring Breakout game.

For the Phillies

Trea Turner SS
Bryson Stott 2B
Max Kepler LF
Edmundo Sosa 3B
Brandon Marsh CF
Kody Clemens 1B
Rafael Marchán C
Óscar Mercado RF
Johan Rojas DH

Jesús Luzardo RHP