Early notes on rotation, Wieters, Machado and Cruz

Orioles manager Buck Showalter, responding today to his daily question about the rotation, confirmed that Wei-Yin Chen and Kevin Gausman remain scheduled to start Sunday and Monday, respectively, against the Twins at Camden Yards. It's not etched in stone, but it's printed on the game notes. Showalter repeated that he's focused on tonight's game. He's left himself some wiggle room if he decides to make a change, but Chen and Gausman remain the listed starters. Catcher Matt Wieters underwent LASIK surgery yesterday, which explains why he's excluded from the team photo. Wieters wanted to have the procedure done in the past, but his baseball schedule prohibited it. Being on the disabled list for the remainder of the season allowed him to do it. Showalter said the team may take another photo later, since Wieters, Chen, Gausman and Manny Machado were unavailable. He joked that the Orioles could do a 40-man roster photo, "but we'd need to get a bigger frame." Machado texted Showalter today and told him everything's good following knee surgery. Machado added that he may rejoin the team on Sept. 17. Outfielder Nelson Cruz told reporters this afternoon that the Orioles reached out to his agent concerning a possible contract extension. However, the talks aren't anywhere near the serious stage. After checking on it, I'd label them as extremely preliminary and not related to a long-term deal. For the Twins Danny Santana CF Brian Dozier 2B Joe Mauer DH Kennys Vargas 1B Oswaldo Arcia RF Trevor Plouffe 3B Eduardo Escobar SS Eric Fryer C Jordan Schafer LF Trevor May RHP