Duquette on Katz, Jackson, Bourn, Britton and more

The Orioles continue to use their international signing bonus slots to acquire pitchers for their system.

In a move announced earlier this afternoon, the Orioles obtained left-hander Alex Katz from the White Sox in exchange for bonus slots No. 45 and No. 75. Katz was assigned to Single-A Frederick, where he'll be used as a reliever.

Katz has appeared in 62 career minor league games and posted a 3.09 ERA with 114 strikeouts in 102 innings.

The White Sox drafted Katz in the 27th round in 2015 out of St. John's University. He pitched in 10 games this season for Single-A Kannapolis and was 0-1 with a 4.40 ERA and 1.60 WHIP in 14 1/3 innings. He walked eight batters and struck out 17.

The Orioles have solid reports on Katz from his stint in the Carolina League, where the Frederick Keys play, and in the World Baseball Classic. Katz threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings over four appearances this spring for Team Israel, which employed Orioles advance scouting coordinator Ben Werthan as a scout.

Orioles scouts Jim Howard and Calvin Maduro also recommended Katz.

"Katz has got a good curveball," said executive vice president Dan Duquette. "A good fastball and an excellent strikeout record. Our guys like him and they project him to be a major league reliever.

"Good fastball and a really good breaking ball in the WBC. We got a couple good looks at him."

Katz will be a multiple-inning reliever with the Keys.

"We like him, obviously," Duquette said. "Good competitor."

The Orioles would rather trade the bonus slots and get minor league talent in return to increase their depth.

"There's a hard cap on the international scouting market, so there are a number of teams that spent beyond their cap and went into the penalty," Duquette said. "With the hard cap coming up next year, teams saw that there was some liquidity in the market for the calendar year that ends July 1. So, the hard cap worked to enhance the value of these picks, and we've been able to use them to acquire some pitchers to help our organization."

Meanwhile, Tyler Wilson was scratched from his start tonight with Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles have a pitcher in place in case they need to make a roster move on Sunday, and Wilson apparently is the choice.

Edwin Jackson had been discussed, but it appears that the Orioles wanted to give him a little more time in Norfolk.

"We're just trying to give him a few more innings and see if he's in a position to come up and help us here," Duquette said.

Outfielder Michael Bourn has an opt-out clause that he can exercise on Monday, and the Orioles aren't certain what's going to happen with him. They don't appear to have immediate plans to select his contract, though it's also a topic that has been discussed.

Creating a spot for him is problematic because the Orioles aren't interested in expanding their bench.

"We'll have to see what he does when he's out and then we can decide," Duquette said. "We went to 12 pitchers to keep the depth on our pitching staff, so I think we'll probably stay with 12 pitchers on the roster."

The Orioles should know early next week whether catcher Francisco Peña is staying in the organization. Peña was designated for assignment and can refuse an outright assignment if he clears waivers.

The Orioles still have two open spots on their 40-man roster.

"There's plenty of candidates in the minor league system that we could call up and help the club," Duquette said. "We want to make sure we get the strongest roster every night. Flexibility is important, too. Flexibility allows you to extend the roster."

Closer Zach Britton has played catch Thursday and again today down in Sarasota. That's the extent of the updates on his throwing program.

"He's been through the prescribed rest period and now he's tossing, just throwing the ball around," Duquette said. "So far he's fine."

For the Blue Jays
Kevin Pillar CF
Ezequiel Carrera LF
José Bautista RF
Kendrys Morales DH
Justin Smoak 1B
Devon Travis 2B
Russell Martin C
Darwin Barney 3B
Ryan Goins SS

Mike Bolsinger RHP