Pedro Álvarez "looking forward" to playing the outfield

SARASOTA, Fla. - Pedro Álvarez passed his physical this morning with the Orioles, signed his minor league deal that pays a base salary of $2 million and is loaded with incentives, grabbed his outfielder's glove and headed to the back fields. He also carried a bag of bats. He's still a hitter, too.

The Orioles announced the signing earlier today and referred to Álvarez as an infielder/outfielder. However, he's going to work out in right field with the chance to slide over to left. He won't be taking ground balls and throws at the infield corners.

"Looking forward to the opportunity to get to learn the position as best as possible," he said. "Obviously, whenever you try playing a new position, you've got to put in a lot of work. And the one thing you can't replicate is game reps, so just looking forward to getting the opportunity to go out there and just play."

Álvarez has no idea how long it will take to feel ready, the process so new that he can't formulate a timetable.

"All I know is the more reps you can get in as quickly as possible, the quicker that can happen," he said.

"This is something that I think is, as players you're always working on stuff. Obviously, you work on the position you play, but you're always messing around in other places. For as long as I can remember, I would come out here for early BP and shag balls. It was kind of kill two birds with one stone. Get some work in cardio-wise and at the same time actually do work on some outfield stuff.

"It's something that's always kind of been in the back of my mind. It wasn't until toward the end of the year last year that I started to be more practical about it and really sticking to it."

Manager Buck Showalter approached Álvarez with the idea in September, but the commitment to it came later. Álvarez sensed that the Orioles wanted him to return and this was one way to make it happen. Just not until March.

"I think that the fact that it was brought up to me showed a desire to have me around, and I appreciated that conversation last year. And in the same token, it was coming from a good place in his heart, looking out for my career," Álvarez said.

"You can never be too versatile, for lack of a better term. That's how I took that conversation, a desire to have me around, and at the same time just looking out for my best interests."

First base coach Wayne Kirby works with the outfielders and will have Álvarez in his group. Vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson also will offer tutelage, as he's doing with Trey Mancini on the back fields.

"I'm taking all the help I can get, obviously, but Kirby's going to be very influential," Álvarez said. "I'm trying to see everyone that can help me here, from Brady to anyone in camp who I can grasp some knowledge from. I'm definitely going to gravitate toward them and try to soak up as much as I can."

Álvarez, 30, may have to continue his outfield education at Triple-A Norfolk.

"I'm taking it just one day at a time, one rep at a time," he said. "The only thing that's going to get me there is the experience and the game reps. It's my job to take as much as possible from each situation, each repetition and learn from it. That'll be on me."

This is the second spring training in a row that Álvarez signed with the Orioles in March, the first time that he settled for a minor league deal. He didn't know whether the door remained open this year.

"Just one of those things it kind of played out the way it did last year," he said. "The desire definitely was there. I had a very good experience last year with this whole organization and in terms of a fit, I felt right at home when I came here last year. So the desire was definitely there and it was just a matter of the things lining up and aligning the way they did at the end."

At least he's coming back to a familiar organization. Last spring required him to leave the Pirates, the team that once made him the second-overall pick out of Vanderbilt University.

"Obviously, ideally, you don't want to come in halfway through the spring, whatever time period it is now," he said. "One thing that is very helpful now is the fact that last year switching organizations was a big change for me. Going into it, not that I was hesitant, but I just didn't know what to expect. I couldn't be happier this organization made this transition for me very seamless.

"Going into it this year, I know again it's not the ideal timing, but there isn't that uncertainty in terms of how I'm going to feel coming in here. I'm around a lot of people that are going to be helpful, are pulling for me. What more can you ask out of a group of people that you're playing with, to work with?"

Álvarez could have asked for a kinder, gentler free agent market, but it was harsh for sluggers viewed as one-dimensional.

"It definitely was a different, interesting offseason," he said. "There were a lot of proven guys who were on the market for a while and maybe you thought you could have guessed where they would have maybe ended up, but that's the thing about this game. As unpredictable as it might be pitch to pitch playing the game, the same thing can be said about the business side of it and every aspect of it.

"Yeah, it's a little surprising, but at the same time not really."

Álvarez appears to be in good shape despite the late report date. He said he approached the offseason "same as always."

"Continue to work hard," he said. "I might have started a little earlier this year, working out and what-not. The intent and the dedication and the work has always been there, and the desire to get better, that's never wavered. If anything, it only increases. But from a physical standpoint, just try and be the best shape I can be - flexible, functional - and whatever can get me on the field, good enough to be on the field every day."

Mostly in right as he continues making the transition from the infield.

"Probably because his arm will play out there," Showalter said. "I like to go where the arm is and then work our way around. He'll focus more on right. He may get some reps in left.

"We talked about it last September. It was something that we kind of came to the conclusion, for him to continue down a better path ... If he could present himself.

"I'm going to be surprised if he can't do it. Pretty athletic. Kind of fits his skill set, too. He's got a plus arm and he's going to work hard at it.

"I know Brady had talked to him a lot about it. Kind of similar to Mancini. He's going to work there exclusively. Hopefully, we'll have a feel for it by the time we get toward the end. We've got plenty of time."

Pedro Álvarez prepares for outfield drills after rejoining the Orioles.