Bannon looks to show his stuff, plus other notes

Whether he has a legitimate chance to break north with the Orioles or not only the O's brass knows for sure, but infielder Rylan Bannon is at camp again this year, this time on the 40-man roster, looking to show his talents.

Acquired by the club on July 18, 2018 in the Manny Machado trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bannon spent some time at the Bowie alternate site in 2020. When last seen in minor league games, during the 2019 season, he had put together a pretty good year.

The right-handed batter hit .266/.345/.421/.766 in 110 games between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He produced 32 doubles, four triples, 11 homers, 63 runs, eight steals and 59 RBIs. In 20 games with Norfolk he produced a line of .317/.344/.549/.893.

Under the Florida sun he continues to work on his game, which includes learning from the more veteran players.

"It's huge," he said. "Definitely being around, like, Trey Mancini. He is a huge inspiration to all of us. And he definitely helps us out a ton. And then Freddy Galvis, he's always staying after, working with some of the guys on infield stuff. We were pointing him out the other day, he was out there helping Richie Martin out with some stuff. And we were talking with some of the coaches about, he's got a lot of time in the big leagues and he's learned a lot and he's definitely been in our shoes before. So, seeing him helping us out, like, all the time is really cool. It's very valuable to all of us."

The Dodgers drafted Bannon in round eight of the 2017 draft after he was named Big East Conference Player of the Year at Xavier, where he played with O's pitcher Zac Lowther. He was MVP in the California League in 2018 and a mid-season All-Star with Bowie a year later.

With Rio Ruiz out with an illness, Bannon played the entire game at third base Saturday. He went 0-for-2 with a walk. Through 10 spring games, he is 1-for-11 with a single, four runs scored and two RBIs. He has drawn seven walks to tie Anthony Santander for the team lead. So his batting average is .091 but his OBP is .444.

"You know, it's definitely been a bit of a slower start for myself," Bannon said. "But I'm taking it in stride. Body-wise, I feel really good. Having some really good days leading up to the games, I'm just not getting the results. It's still early and it's a long season ahead of us. I'm not going to stress about the past few games. Definitely taking it in stride, though, and with a positive attitude. And learning a lot from being up here, being around all these guys."

At 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, he can pack some pop into that package and hopes solid defense and on-base skills will one day get him on the big league roster. A heavy dose of weight-room work, he says, is somewhat responsible for his 43 homers in 1,055 career minor league at-bats.

"Yeah, that is always a big priority for myself," Bannon said. "When I get stronger, I see a lot of good results come out of it. I focused a lot on second base, my fielding and just all around. But getting stronger is always one of my main points in the offseason to hit."

In this entry last month, Bannon told me he took some reps at the catcher position during the fall instructional league. He is by no means changing positions, more like adding to his resume. Maybe he could be a third catcher if needed. He said he hasn't done any work at the position during this spring training, but expects to as camp continues.

Pitcher Dean Kremer became the second player from the Machado trade to play for the Orioles, after Breyvic Valera played a few games in 2018. Now Bannon thinks he could make the jump this season, as Kremer did last year.

"It's awesome. Seeing him getting called up last year was really cool for all of us," Bannon said. "I remember texting him and he kept telling me that I'm going to be up there with him soon. And yeah, it's cool. I was just thinking last night my first spring training with the Dodgers, Dean was my roommate. I was literally thinking about that. It's so cool we got traded over here and now he's in the big leagues and me and (Yusniel) Diaz are right there as well. It would be really cool to get all of us up there."

Sánchez settling in: New Orioles infielder Yolmer Sánchez is 5-for-17 (.294) in spring training. He's not focusing much on the stat sheet right now, but rather prepping himself for a 162-game season.

"You have to know what you have to do to get ready," said Sánchez. "You have to prepare yourself for a long season. I'm trying to play really good defense and make a couple of adjustments I need to do to get ready for the season."

The 28-year-old Sánchez was claimed on waivers from the Chicago White Sox in October. In 2012 he played in the All-Star Futures game, in 2018 he was the White Sox's winner of the Heart and Hustle award, and in 2019 he won an American League Gold Glove at second base.

"We have a really good group here," he said. "For me personally, I don't care about losing in spring training. We are trying to get ready for the season and have to prepare ourselves for the long season. You want to play good, but wins here don't mean anything. It matters during the season."

Support for his teammates: In a brief zoom interview yesterday, O's reliever Tanner Scott got asked about and showed support for two teammates. He's spent many seasons playing alongside right-hander Hunter Harvey, who is dealing with yet another injury.

"I mean, it's definitely tough to see a teammate and a friend (go through this)," Scott said. "He's got unbelievable stuff. He's a great person. I'm hoping he's back as soon as possible."

And, as manager Brandon Hyde did, Scott expressed confidence in his good friend Paul Fry. The lefty has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) in three games over 3 2/3 innings.

"He's going to be fine," Scott said. "I've seen him perform at his best, and he'll be fine."