Bundy pushed back in Orioles rotation (O's down 6-3)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles are making another adjustment to their rotation that involves Dylan Bundy, but isn't due to an injury or other physical issue.

Manager Brandon Hyde explained this afternoon that he wants Bundy to start the series opener Friday night in Toronto and be on the mound immediately after the break July 12 against the Rays at Camden Yards.

The latest tweaking is tied in part to rookie John Means being the Orioles representative in the All-Star Game in Cleveland.

A roster move is expected Tuesday with Asher Wojciechowski on the taxi squad. The Orioles could option Tom Eshelman after tonight's start.

For now, the Tuesday starter is TBD. It has a familiar ring.

"Asher is here and he's a possible probable tomorrow, but we'll see how tonight goes," Hyde said.

"We pushed Dylan back a few days. We had a lot of reasons behind it, and the main is because when John Means made the All-Star team we had to reset some things, so we pushed him back a few days. We want Dylan to start the first game after the break. And he feels fine. It's nothing except we're just pushing him back a couple days so we can reset our rotation following the All-Star break."

Bundy will be working on eight days' rest when he pitches at Rogers Centre and have another extended layoff through the break.

"We set it up for like two weeks after the break and how we wanted to see (Andrew) Cashner, Means and Dylan and who we wanted to throw them against with their rest, so we projected that," Hyde said. "We feel like the best thing to do was to give him enough rest post-break, which mean we wanted him to start the first game after the break. Kind of complicated. It was hours in my office yesterday.

"For that, we had to push him back a couple days."

The Orioles basically worked backward from that point to arrive at their current alignment.

"With Means making the team, we were unsure yesterday obviously," Hyde said. "We didn't want him to start the first game after the break. Then we had the doubleheader the (second) game after the break, so there were a lot of things that went into it."

Hyde said he's hoping Means gets the chance to pitch in the All-Star Game. But the rookie's inclusion certainly has an impact on how the Orioles plot out their rotation.

"I've been in the All-Star Game and I know what that four days feels like and I don't want to pitch him the day after. It's just too much," Hyde said.

There has to be some trust placed in American League manager Alex Cora to be careful with Means.

"I think there's a lot of communication that goes on pregame," Hyde said. "This is my first time going through this from this end. But they talked to us about what his rest was going in and then we talked about what we'd like to see if possible."

Eshelman is here for at least one day and becomes the 45th player used by the Orioles this season.

"I've never seen him throw," Hyde said. "He's real excited, is making his major league debut, always a cool moment. Strike thrower, guy that we hope is going to pound the strike zone. You just never know. Playing in front of a third deck. But he's a guy who's always thrown strikes and forced contact early, let the defense play a little bit, and hope he does that tonight."

Hyde can't find an easy stretch, especially regarding his pitching staff. Eshelman in his major league debut tonight and perhaps Wojciechowski starting Tuesday in his Orioles debut.

"I think we face challenges all year - juggling rotation, not having your normal five starters that you just kind of roll out there," Hyde said. "Mixing and matching all year long with many roster moves and transaction and the Triple-A shuttle.

"We sent Tanner Scott out last night, but he'll be back soon. He threw really well, especially his last appearance when he pitched two innings. We have these off-days to play with and we are, so it's just one of those things, where we are from a pitching staff standpoint right now."

Left-hander Josh Rogers was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create room for Eshelman on the 40-man roster. Rogers is receiving a second opinion on his elbow Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, and is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery.

"It was pretty obvious that it was going to be 60 days," Hyde said. "We're hoping for good news tomorrow with the second opinion and then we'll go from there."

Hyde opened his media session by expressing his grief over the news that Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs passed away this morning at age 27.

"Obviously, our heart goes out to his family, his wife, the Angels organization," Hyde said. "It just happened, so we're pretty shocked right now and feel terrible for everybody involved. Just want to say how sorry we are and our heart goes out to the Skaggs family and the Angels organization."

Hyde was texting one of the Angels players a few hour ago. He hadn't met Skaggs.

"Not a personal connection," Hyde said. "Obviously, seen him pitch and been on the same field as him. It's a small community and we're a small fraternity of guys that care about each other. We compete for three hours every day, but when something like this happens, it affects everybody and it just sucks."

Update: Eshelman allowed two runs and four hits and walked a batter in a 29-pitch first inning and the Rays lead 2-0.

Update II: Hanser Alberto's RBI single in the fourth off Ryan Yarbrough reduced the lead to 2-1.

Update III: The Orioles took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on RBI singles by Pedro Severino and pinch-hitter Rio Ruiz, but Kevin Kiermaier hit a three-run homer off Branden Kline in the bottom half.

Update IV: Miguel Castro allowed a run in the seventh and the Rays lead 6-3.