McCann on his return, Hyde on decision to option Stowers, and more Orioles notes

Catcher James McCann didn’t make it to Baltimore for Opening Day, his injury rehab stint beginning that night at High-A Aberdeen. He needed only two games to convince the Orioles that he was ready to join their active roster.

Better to be a little late than spend most of the summer away from Camden Yards.

“I was watching on TV when I was in Aberdeen,” he said this morning after attending a meeting and getting ready to catch Tyler Wells in the series finale against the Yankees.

“I was excited for the win. It looked like a fun atmosphere, and hopefully we can get a few more days like that.”

McCann had two hits as the IronBirds’ designated hitter and two more yesterday while catching the first game of a doubleheader. The discomfort in his left oblique didn’t do the same damage to his season as in 2022 with the Mets.

“I’m very excited to be here,” he said. “It kind of stunk sitting there watching the team play and knowing I couldn’t be out there, but I’m excited to be here and I’m thankful that it was a short stay on the IL.”

As a wise veteran, McCann knew to be careful in spring training after the pain surfaced about a week prior to the Orioles breaking camp. He mentioned how the younger version of himself would have tried to push through, perhaps fearing for his roster spot, and likely worsened it.

McCann was confident that he’d come back quicker based on comparisons to last season and the differences in how he felt, and the way he was progressing in his recovery.

“I felt good that it was going to be a shorter stay,” he said, “and I’m thankful to be back today.”

“We got lucky, we got fortunate with that,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “He missed a lot of time last year with an oblique injury, and this, fortunately, we caught it in time. It was in Clearwater and he came up to me and said he was feeling a little bit tight, so I got him out of the game, and that was smart by him to not try to push through anything.”

The Orioles have three catchers on their roster, with outfielder Kyle Stowers optioned this morning rather than the club designating Anthony Bemboom for assignment. McCann also can play first base.

“I don’t really know,” he said. “We’re going to go out and try to win ballgames. That’s the most important thing.”

Hyde spent part of his pregame media session explaining the decision to option Stowers, who received only six plate appearances.

“We want to see Kyle get everyday at-bats, see him get four at-bats a game,” Hyde said. “Still really early in his career. And with the row of left-handed starters that we’re going to be facing here, not only today but in the Oakland series, we thought it was important for Kyle to go get some everyday at-bats in Triple-A. I’m sure he’ll be up here at some point.

“Adley’s bat, we want in the lineup, and so days he doesn’t catch, a lot of times he’ll DH. So, to add the third catcher we thought was important.”

The outfield is crowded with Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and Austin Hays the primary starters, Ryan McKenna the main reserve, and Terrin Vavra, Adam Frazier and Jorge Mateo capable of moving from the infield.

To get consistent at-bats in the majors, Hyde said Stowers needs to “keep doing what he’s doing, putting up numbers in Triple-A and waiting for opportunity.”

“When you get more talented in the big leagues, it’s harder to break through,” Hyde said. “We have a bunch of guys in Triple-A right now who are off to good starts and playing well and have a lot of talent. That’s what good teams, good organizations, have.”

The Orioles could have optioned Stowers before breaking camp and maybe held onto one of their left-handed hitting non-roster first base/outfield types. It isn’t clear whether the club anticipated more at-bats for Stowers early in the season, but he got caught in a logjam, with Vavra’s hot spring and high-contact bat pushing him ahead.

The improved depth on the roster led to Stowers’ removal. It does him no good to sit here.

“You see the group of outfielders we have, it’s kind of hard,” Hyde said. “Vavra played last night, we have guys we want to play. And we want to see Kyle play, too. That’s just really the decision behind that, to play every day.”

Stowers hit .326/.430/.547 in 95 at-bats against left-handers last summer with Triple-A Norfolk. He’s 1-for-2 with a home run in four plate appearances in the majors.

“I’ve got a switch-hitter in Santander, McKenna and Austin Hays, and Ced two years ago swung the bat well against left-handed pitching. He’s off to a good start this year,” Hyde said.

“More of just a numbers thing.”

In other news, Mychal Givens had a bullpen session yesterday to test his left knee.

“It went well,” Hyde said.

Too early for the Orioles to know when Givens might face hitters and get back on the 26-man roster.

“Going to need more sides, maybe a couple live batting practices,” Hyde said.

Kyle Bradish threw in the bullpen for the first time yesterday since taking a line drive off his right foot, which led to Wells making today’s start. Bradish said he felt great and is on track to return April 19.

“Kept his arm moving, the foot’s feeling a lot better,” Hyde said. “We got lucky there, too.”

John Means incorporated breaking balls into yesterday's bullpen session.

Left-hander Cole Irvin starts Thursday afternoon against the Athletics. The spot was TBA.

The Orioles are facing left-hander Nestor Cortes today, their Rule 5 pick at the 2017 Winter Meetings. He’s 3-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 0.853 WHIP in 34 career innings against the Orioles over seven appearances.

Cortes has allowed four runs and struck out 51 batters. He made three starts against the Orioles last season and blanked them on 10 hits with 31 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings.

“We had a tough time with him last year, but he was really good around the league, too,” Hyde said. “An All-Star, pitched extremely well, just really keeps you off balance. Different arm angles, really good command of all his pitches. Understands how to disrupt timing at the plate. Just knows how to pitch. Hopefully, we can swing the bat a little bit better than we did last year.”

For the Yankees
DJ LeMahieu 3B
Aaron Judge CF
Anthony Rizzo 1B
Giancarlo Stanton DH
Gleyber Torres 2B
Oswaldo Cabrera LF
Jose Trevino C
Franchy Cordero RF
Anthony Volpe SS

Nestor Cortes LHP