Brach's debut and Presley's uniform digit

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Reliever Brad Brach threw a bullpen session yesterday and confirmed that his first exhibition appearance comes Sunday afternoon against the Red Sox at Ed Smith Stadium.

Brach is fine physically. He's just on a more deliberate pace, which isn't uncommon in Orioles camp. Darren O'Day didn't make his debut until Feb. 28. Closer Zach Britton also is held back each spring, though his Achilles surgery forced him on the 60-day disabled list.

"Just taking it a little slower," Brach said. "No reason to rush and that's pretty much it. Just trying to throw a little bit more bullpens and stuff like that. No rush. That's really it."

Brach said his health hasn't been an issue in camp.

"Everything's been pretty good at this point," he said. "Just kind of taking it a little slower."

Pitching in the home game allowed Brach to miss today's trip to Clearwater.

"You just get torched in the bullpen," he said.

Outfielder Alex Presley switched from No. 47 to 0 yesterday and was subjected to the silliness of explaining his decision to a few members of the media.

Slow news day.

"I wanted a low number," he said, after chuckling at the situation unfolding at his locker, "and I figured zero is a number now apparently in the league, so I asked if I could have it and they approved it, so it's kind of how it went."

Presley didn't request the number after signing his minor league contract.

"There were so many people in camp when I got here and I had to have a higher number, 47, and I kind of thought about it for a week or so and I thought, 'Maybe I can get zero,' " he said. "I think Mallex Smith in Tampa has zero. A couple guys have zero. I asked and it went through the higher powers and they approved it, so here we are.

"No sentimental value or anything toward the number zero."

Or any number. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Presley has been assigned No. 75, 44, 7, 1, 8, 3, 15 and 14.

The Orioles never had a player wear No. 0. I remember Al Oliver donning the digit with the Rangers, Expos, Giants, Phillies, Dodgers and Blue Jays, though more of a nod to the first letter of his last name.

For the Phillies
César Hernández 2B
Rhys Hoskins LF
Odúbel Herrera DH
Carlos Santana 1B
Nick Williams RF
Maikel Franco 3B
Jorge Alfaro C
Collin Cowgill CF
J.P. Crawford SS

Thomas Eshelman RHP