Irons in the fire, Tillman's schedule, Asher's debut and more

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said again today that executive vice president Dan Duquette has lots of "irons in the fire." He's checking the waiver wire and it's possible that someone else could be claimed before opening day.

"The tiebreaker is going to be the people who are here that we know and we know what we're getting," Showalter said.

The trick is determining if the available players are an upgrade.

"It's tough," Showalter said. "This is where your professional scouting comes into play, Dan's trust factor on those evaluations. For me, I've got to really get sold on it to go take somebody that analytics are trumpeting over someone that we know a whole lot about here.

"I don't have any trepidation about the people we've had here all spring. We have a pretty good feel for what we're going to get. There are a lot of guys who are going to be down at Norfolk that we could have easily taken or feel like they're going to be able to come up and do the job for us."

Chris Tillman's schedule has been laid out for us.

Tillman will long toss on Thursday to his maximum comfort and, assuming his right shoulder feels good, have bullpen sessions on Saturday, Monday and next Wednesday at Camden Yards. He'll fly back to Sarasota and throw live batting practice on April 8 before pitching in his first game on April 11 at extended spring training.

Alec Asher will make his Orioles debut on Thursday against the Tigers at Ed Smith Stadium, throwing one or two innings. He's playing catch today.

"He needs to pitch," Showalter said.

Asher pitched for Orioles third base coach Bobby Dickerson in the Dominican Winter League.

No updates on Wade Miley beyond how he feels good after yesterday's start. He could be the third or fourth starter, or the Orioles could put him on the disabled list after he was sidelined with an upper respiratory infection.

Ubaldo Jiménez will stay in Sarasota while the Orioles break camp, allowing him to pitch on Friday.

Showalter hasn't named his starter for Friday's exhibition, weather permitting, in Norfolk.

Catcher Audry Perez, 28, may be assigned to Double-A Bowie because Chance Sisco and Francisco Peña are ticketed for Norfolk. Perez batted .291/.343/.386 last season in 84 games with the Tides and he's respected for his work behind the plate.

"I'm really excited about our catching depth," Showalter said.

I wrote earlier today that the Orioles re-signed Chris Johnson to a minor league deal and assigned him to Norfolk.

"Dependable, durable, reliable, experienced corner infielder," Showalter said. "He's going to hit left-handed pitching well, and he's a guy who's going to be able to give us some experienced depth down there if we have a need. It's a big upgrade over where we were last year."

Showalter includes infielders Paul Janish and Robert Andino in his depth evaluation, and the Orioles could hold onto Johnny Giavotella, who is going to be cut at some point this spring. We're running out of time before opening day.

The Rays scratched starter Erasmo Ramirez and are going with left-hander Xavier Cedeno.