Bleier on the WBC and Dickerson on his right foot

SARASOTA, Fla. - Third baseman Manny Machado and catcher Welington Castillo stopped by the Orioles clubhouse this morning as members of the opposing team.

Their lockers remain in place with the uniforms and other belongings. They're just in the other lineup today as the Orioles play the Dominican Republic.

Castillo arrived much earlier than his new teammates and said he had no idea who was pitching for the Dominican. He's going to face Kevin Gausman.

A few of the clubhouse televisions were tuned into the World Baseball Classic game between Japan and Cuba. Players kept stealing glances while going about their usual morning business.

Left-hander Richard Bleier already knew that Team Israel improved to 2-0 in the tournament by defeating Chinese Taipei last night. He caught the highlights this morning.

Bleier is in the designated pitcher pool and is eligible to join the team in Japan if it advances to the next round. Team Israel plays Team Netherlands, with Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop, on Wednesday.

Bleier received a text in the middle of the night from a Team Israel representative, checking on his interest in pitching if the club pulls off another upset. He's naturally torn, knowing that his slim chances of breaking camp with the Orioles could be further reduced if he leaves camp. But he pitched for Team Israel in 2013, when it failed to move out of the qualifying round, and would be honored to have another opportunity.

"I'm not 100 percent sure what's happening," he said. "I think we'll figure it out if they advance, but yeah, there's definitely a chance that I could go.

"They have a lot of good players, so I don't see why they wouldn't be competitive. It definitely is exciting to follow and it's good to see them win, as well."

Bleier wants to find out whether Team Israel would fly his wife to Japan, as well.

The Orioles acquired Bleier from the Yankees on Feb. 21 for a player to be named later. They designated Christian Walker, who was claimed by the Braves, placed on waivers and claimed yesterday by the Reds.

Bleier has appeared in two spring games with the Orioles, allowing one run and three hits in three innings. He struck out two batters while retiring the Rays in order on Saturday.

"It's going pretty well," he said. "I've pitched a couple times and I'm happy with the way things are going so far. It's just spring training. It's just wearing a different uniform. It's still the same spring training. But I'm happy. Just looking forward to being competitive and doing whatever I can to make the team.

"I've been fortunate enough to really not deal with too many health issues, so I guess I'm spoiled."

Outfielder Chris Dickerson isn't as lucky. He fouled a ball off his right shin in the exhibition opener on Feb. 24 in Lakeland and continued to play until deciding to try on a new pair of cleats Saturday in Port Charlotte. The swelling moved down to his foot and he hasn't been available.

Dickerson said he fielded ground balls yesterday and has been hitting, and he's going to run this morning.

"This has gone on for a week and I didn't say anything," he said. "I kept going and kept going, and it wasn't until I got new cleats to support my foot better ended up crushing my foot when we were in Port Charlotte. That kind of set it off on a frenzy. But I've just been dealing with it and playing through the pain and doing the necessary things at night, trying to keep it elevated and iced and reduce it on my own, and it just wasn't getting any better. And yeah, Port Charlotte was the final blow.

"Just trying to get the swelling out and just get the mobility back, because it's been a most difficult thing as far as running and swinging. There's no mobility on that front foot. So get out there and run today. I took ground balls yesterday and it felt good. I made progress yesterday.

"The swelling in there was just causing chaos and then just trying to get here early and ice and stretch and do all these different things to try to help it and really didn't get any better. It was a little early in spring to start playing with injuries, but it is what it is."

Dickerson never wears a shin guard, but he decided to put one on before the opener against the Tigers. He was fitted for it a few days earlier in Sarasota.

"Sure enough, I wore one that day and it hit right above it and I started laughing," said Dickerson, who's 1-for-13 with a home run this spring. "I forgot who was behind home plate, but I was like, 'What are the chances? The first time wearing one of these and it doesn't even hit it.' We actually had a good laugh about it until after the game and saw the size of it. When I woke up the next morning it looked like Professor Klump's foot. It's just been a battle trying to get that back. Just dealt with it."