Álvarez on return: "Anything is possible, right?"

SARASOTA, Fla. - Pedro Álvarez spent the morning at the Ed Smith Stadium complex fielding ground balls at first base - alternating with Chris Davis - hitting in the cage and engaging in a four-minute interview with media near the home dugout.

The scene was familiar except Álvarez arrived a month earlier than usual and he didn't take fly balls in right field.

The Orioles extended their streak of signing Álvarez to three years in a row, the last two on minor league deals. He's reached the point where he expects to come back.

"Of course. Anything is possible, right?" he said.

"Obviously, this is an organization that's welcomed me with open arms and I have a good rapport with a lot of staff and players here. So, obviously, this is a place where, in terms of fit and a comfort level, this is definitely a place where I saw myself coming to again."

Having a past with the Orioles eases the strain of reporting behind everyone else.

"There's a familiarity," he said. "There's the first couple of awkward days where you're trying to get to know everybody and kind of walking on eggshells. That's eliminated.

"In my case, compared to the last two years, last year I think I was here for 10 days, the year before I was in camp for maybe 15 days. This feels almost like a full camp. I'm excited to be here, to get to spend this time here and to get this opportunity to be here again."

Manager Buck Showalter said Álvarez could be in the lineup within a week. They were going to sit down later today and discuss it.

"He's a great depth piece for us," Showalter said. "I think he really learned some things about himself as a hitter last year, especially the second half of the season. It was fun to watch. When he came up to us, he was really good, I thought. So, it's always comforting to have someone like him as a depth piece."

Álvarez, who's wearing J.J. Hardy's old uniform No. 2, hasn't given up on the outfield experiment. But the Orioles would rather have him focus on first base and swinging the bat, the last trait bringing the most interest and providing a possible ticket back to the majors.

"Last year, I was playing the outfield for the first time," he said. "It's not going to be something I'm going to stop. If anything, it can just help me be more athletic in the infield and more just athletic overall. But no matter the situation, I only try and focus on what I can control and take things one day at a time, one pitch at a time.

"The fact that they want to utilize me the same way or not doesn't change my approach and how I go about trying to handle my business day in and day out. I come to the ballpark every day, see how I can improve to help the team get it done at the end of the day."

Álvarez spent the majority of last summer at Triple-A Norfolk, pushing back his opt-out dates and finally joining the Orioles in September. He may have to take his early swings again at Harbor Park while Mark Trumbo serves as the primary designated hitter.

The experience didn't leave him bitter. He wasn't beneath a player who was the second overall pick in the 2008 draft.

"I think that if you don't take the opportunity to take something from every experience, I think you're doing yourself a disservice," he said. "I felt like I learned a lot. Obviously, everyone wants to play at the highest level, which is here. But again, I try to focus on the things that I can control at the end of the day. All I can do is come to the ballpark every day, ready to play, be ready when the opportunity comes and then the rest is up to other people to decide on."

Showalter has noted on multiple occasions that he saw Álvarez develop into a better hitter. He won't get an argument from the former Vanderbilt University star.

"I feel like every year that goes by, every at-bat that goes by, I feel like I'm learning from each at-bat and building off that," Álvarez said. "And as each year goes by, I do feel I get better. And again, that's the plan, that's the intent and I'm on the same boat as him."

"I could just tell he had a real calmness about him," Showalter said. "He had a plan every time he went up there. He was under control. He made them throw the ball over the plate. He didn't miss many pitches. You could tell he was really in a good place and comfortable hitting with the approach he was taking. It was the same thing they had been saying there.

"Sometimes with a season like last year, it takes about half of it to figure out, 'OK, what am I going to do to get out of this?' He had a plan with (minor league hitting coordinator) Jeff Manto and they stuck with it."

Kevin Gausman worked a scoreless first inning today after allowing back-to-back singles to start the game. He struck out James McCann on a nasty 81 mph slider and induced a 5-4-3 double play from John Hicks, with Tim Beckham making a nice pickup and throw.

Gausman threw 11 of 16 pitches for strikes.

Pedro Álvarez meets with the media after rejoining the Orioles.