A look at a rather newsy first week of camp

Here a few thoughts on the first week of spring training. There have been a few concerning moments already after the initial excitement that baseball was back.

Chris Tillman's shoulder: It was not great news when we found out Tillman's streak of opening day starts will likely end at three. But for now there is no evidence that his shoulder problem will turn into a major issue. But, as with most arm and shoulder injuries, we also won't know it is nothing to worry about until he returns and makes several starts (maybe more) and looks like his normal self. So, it's going to be a while.

The analysts on MLB Network actually had this one wrong the other day when they discussed basically how concerning it is to have an issue develop on Day 1 of camp. They implied that Tillman threw and was then shut down during workouts at Ed Smith Stadium. Actually he was shut down long before that - in December when he got the PRP injection.

Since then the Orioles have actually traded away a starting pitcher when Yovani Gallardo was moved for outfielder Seth Smith in January. They recently added Gabriel Ynoa but didn't seem to go that hard to bring back Vance Worley and have said to be pursuing starters for depth only. It would seem the Orioles might have been more aggressive in pursuing another starter if the concern over Tillman missing a lot of time was high. Also the fact the club has put a date on Tillman's first spring start - they are shooting for March 17 - for now leads one to believe the team is confident that this issue will get resolved.

J.J. Hardy's back: Manager Buck Showalter quickly said "nothing is in jeopardy" about this issue of Hardy's back spasms. The concern level is low at the moment. As with Tillman, we won't know Hardy is fine for a while though, until he plays and proves it.

But he had several tests including an MRI, CT scan and bone scan and that apparently rules out anything more serious, which is big. Hardy could be playing by March 10.

At a time when there are so many young, talented shortstops in the game - from Carlos Correa, to Francisco Lindor, Xander Bogaerts and Corey Seager to name four - the Orioles truly need their veteran shortstop.

Hardy no longer seems to be a threat to hit 20 or more homers and maybe he has lost a step or two on defense. But he is still very solid with the glove and means so much to both Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop. Even some of the defensive metrics rate him well.

Did the O's get their outfielder?: All the time that we've discussed and speculated on which outfielder the Orioles might add, I don't think anyone had Craig Gentry in the pool. But if he truly proves to be healthy and a plus runner and plus defender, he could prove to be a solid addition. He was added on a minor league contract on Saturday, so he is not even taking a 40-man roster spot yet.

Gentry earned 15 Defensive Runs Saved in 654 outfield innings in 2012, 11 DRS in 648 innings in 2013 and 9 DRS in 560 innings in 2014. He has played just 232 outfield innings the last two seasons, but said he is healthy now.

Gentry is a career .261/.335/.333 hitter who batted .304 in 2012 and .280 in 2013. He has two seasons of 20 or more steals. A right-handed batter, he is a career .268/.350/.357 hitter against left-handed pitching.

If he makes this team as a fourth or fifth outfielder, it could potentially push one of many players off the roster. Would his addition potentially send Joey Rickard and/or Trey Mancini to Triple-A? What about the two Rule 5 players? Gentry probably becomes among the players most worth watching in spring to see how well he does defend and what his addition could mean for other players.

The first week of camp also featured first baseman Chris Davis providing a clean bill of health on his left thumb, Smith settling in with his new team, pitcher Brad Brach winning his arbitration hearing and several minor league signings. It certainly has not been boring. And that is before even an one intrasquad game has been played.

Elsewhere around the American League East:

* They say arbitration hearings can cause hard feelings and that seems to be exactly what happened with Yankees reliever Dellin Betances.

* The Red Sox really like their super-utility player.

* Toronto's Josh Donaldson is dealing with a right calf strain.

* Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria likes the Rays' offseason moves.