Duquette and Showalter talk about Kim, the roster and more

The Orioles are continuing their workout today at chilly Camden Yards, many players wearing wool caps and hooded sweatshirts.

Hyun Soo Kim is on the field with his teammates after the club failed to convince him to extend his spring training in the minors.

"Kim's been on the roster and we asked him to take some more time to get the at-bats that we felt he needed to show the form that he had shown in international competition," said executive vice president Dan Duquette. "It was his option. We asked for his consent because we thought that was the best way to prepare him. He didn't see it that way.

"The good news is, if he hits like it says he can hit in the book, I think that we have a need for a left-handed hitter on our roster and hopefully the next part of his hitting will be a stronger sample of what we saw in the spring."

Has it created an awkward situation in the clubhouse?

"These are all management issues," Duquette said. "There's also player decisions that enter into it. But at the end of the day, we have 24 other players on the team and the 24 other players are going to do everything they can to have the best team that we can have here, and I'm sure Kim will do the same."

Kim isn't expected to be in the opening day lineup, and how he's used has yet to be determined.

"That's up to Buck (Showalter)," Duquette said. "We'll have to wait and see how that develops."

Showalter spoke again today with Kim.

"That's kind of between he and I," Showalter said. "We've had a lot of conversations since the day he walked in. I had him in my office today just checking in. A lot of private things between he and I. Let me tell you this, he's picking up the language day by day. That's good to see. Normal things you'd do, but just checking on where he is. He's in a good place. He's ready to go.

Showalter reminded reporters that Kim got about 64 plate appearances this spring, third on the team, if you factor in games played at the minor league complex.

"I'm going to use everybody and I think he has a chance to contribute," Showalter said. "We'll figure that out as we go, how that's going to be. The other team will have something to say about that. We have a lot of guys with track records and a lot of guys who don't have track records at this level. He's one of them. Joey (Rickard) is one of them. Track records make managers, coaches, some cases teammates more comfortable.

"Because the unknown is kind of ... what drives things is curiosity. But it's like opening up things and see what you are going to get. Joey has had a good spring, and Kim, we'll see what happens when a different microscope goes on, so to speak."

The Orioles set their roster at noon today.

"I like where we are. We're ready to go," Showalter said. "In a few days, maybe tomorrow, how we got here, it's about the standings and who has got more runs after 27 outs. Or maybe more outs. We'll turn our attention to the competition. We've been preparing, in the process of preparing for the competition. Now the competition is here. And the competition will not be ourselves."

Duquette said he likes how the team is "shaping up" and noted its local flavor on the pitching staff.

"It looks like we're going to have a pretty good ballclub," he said. "I'm particularly happy about the fact that we've got four pitchers who came through our farm system who are going to be on our opening day roster. Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson made the team, two former minor league Pitchers of the Year. And Mychal Givens is on the opening day roster. He had a great year last year. He found the American League actually easier than the Eastern League when he came up. And we have Dylan Bundy. Dylan Bundy's got the opportunity to fulfill all the promise that he's shown over the years.

"When four pitchers come up through your farm system, that tells you, one, you're in transition with your major league pitching staff, and then two, you've got a productive farm system. And for these guys who are on the roster for their first opening day, it's got to be a great thrill for them. It's a good story for the major league team, it's a good story for the organization."

Four spots in the rotation have been confirmed with Chris Tillman, Yovani Gallardo, Ubaldo Jimenez and Wright.

"I like the track record of Tillman and Gallardo and Ubaldo Jimenez," Duquette said. "They've all won more games than they've lost and they should provide some good leadership to the team. And if you look at what Mike Wright has done, he's got good stuff. He looks like he's going to be a good winning major league pitcher. And then we've got Kevin Gausman in the wings. We've got a pretty solid starting rotation.

"Ideally, and I've said this several times, that we'd like to have a left-hander, so we've been trying to stock up on left-handers in the bullpen and we're going to continue to look around. We have a good defense. Infield defense should be good, one of the tops in the league. I think we've strengthened our outfield defense when we added Joey Rickard. He looks like he's going to be very helpful on defense, and when you have good defense in your outfield, all of your pitchers are better."

The roster apparently won't change before Monday at 3:05 p.m.

"After you put your roster together, it becomes like the regular season, so the deadline is to set your roster and then you can start making moves like you would anytime during the season. We try to put the strongest roster we can out there day in and day out. To answer your question, I expect this will be our roster for tomorrow," Duquette said.

"There's a lot of players available this time of the year. We probably vetted 10 or 12 over the last couple of days. Friday was a really busy day. I was encouraged by some of the young players that we brought up from the minors that looked very good, particularly Garabez Rosa. Xavier Avery had a good camp. Those guys looked really good the last week."

Rickard is the fourth Rule 5 pick to make the club in the past five years, joining T.J. McFarland, Ryan Flaherty and Jason Garcia.

"Joey Rickard earned his way to the big leagues and our analytics people and Felipe Alou Jr., who recommended him after he played on his team in the Dominican, they deserve a lot of credit for identifying his skills," Duquette said.

"We're just giving Joey Rickard a chance and it looks to me like he's taking advantage of every single opportunity he gets to help the team win a game. He gets on base, he steals bases, he plays good defense, he's shown some power and he's gotten hits all over the field. So far, so good."

Showalter will let his players know who's in Monday's lineup before they leave the ballpark today.

"I have one in strong mind," he said. "There was one little thing I wanted to think through a little bit more. It's very obvious we are going to be pretty right-handed."

Showalter is considering whether to use Rickard as the leadoff hitter. Asked if he has any reservations about it, he replied, "Yes."

"That's one of the things I want to think through a little bit," he said. "There's some advantages, disadvantages. I think we all understand what that spotlight is like. If you ever feel challenged by a day, I've seen his face twice down the hall and it's fun to look at. I'm living through him. That's pretty cool. Fun to watch him."

This will be Showalter's sixth opening day with the Orioles, the first since his mother passed away in October.

"I was thinking about that the last few days," he said. "Picked up the phone about three times to call her. So, all of you call your mom, for me.

"But the anticipation, we are putting something out there we want our fans to be proud of. You're doing something important, you're going to be critiqued and our guys are all looking forward to playing some games. They spent lot of time preparing for this and it's not just tomorrow. It's a new beginning."

Note: Former Orioles pitcher Miguel Gonzalez has signed a minor league deal with the White Sox, according to reports. The Orioles wanted to keep him in the organization, but the White Sox were aggressive from the outset.