McFarland to pitch Monday in Frederick (and other notes)

OAKLAND - Left-hander T.J. McFarland will begin his injury rehab assignment Monday night at Single-A Frederick.

McFarland could throw three innings, as he did today while shutting out the Gulf Coast League Twins in Fort Myers.

McFarland is scheduled to have a work day Friday in Sarasota before heading to Frederick.

Bullpen coach Dom Chiti may watch McFarland in Frederick while the Orioles are off.

The Orioles want to hold McFarland to three innings and try to "keep him in play here if there's a need," said manager Buck Showalter.

The reports on McFarland today were positive, which led to the decision to send him on a rehab assignment. He didn't allow a hit, walked one batter and struck out one. Most important, he no longer feels any discomfort in his left knee.

"He threw the ball well," Showalter said. "I'm sure he's ready to get out of there. I know I would be."

Showalter sounded more flexible today with the deadline for deciding whether Steve Pearce needs to go on the disabled list. It may not be determined on Thursday.

"Hopefully, but I wouldn't be held to it," Showalter said.

"I felt good about the progress he made. Richie (Bancells) did, too. He felt better today. He's got a shot of staying off. Hopefully, not too far away."

Does Pearce need to be a contributor in the field to remain on the active roster?

"Not necessarily," Showalter said. "There's a lot of ways. I'm not going to broadcast what he can do and not do if we get to that point. I'm just hoping he has a good 24-48 hours. He hasn't really done anything to test it, but there's a lot of things he can do now that he couldn't do two days ago."

Showalter always is amused by the infatuation with the lineup and players moving up or down. Chris Davis is batting sixth tonight. J.J. Hardy is batting second. He doesn't understand the curiosity.

"What does that mean?" Showalter asked. "I'm always, not amazed, but the batting order, what does that mean? Our guys really don't care, but I guess the people who want to know ask. I don't know.

"We're facing a left-handed pitcher (Ross Detwiler) and we don't have Steve Pearce. There's a lot of different reasons, but nothing really noteworthy in our mind. It's our best presentation tonight. We'll see what tomorrow brings. The best we think we can go out there right now."

Showalter said Hardy probably will move back down to ninth in the order Thursday afternoon against Athletics right-hander Andrew Triggs.

"It's just the presentation, where they are in the bullpen," Showalter said. "They took a left-hander out of there, they've got a left-hander (starting) tonight. It was the best fit with Jon (Schoop), to be able to put him in a different place.

"Sometimes, when somebody hits here and who hits there, you've got to think about all the tentacles of it, too. When you're having some challenges, you find yourself starting at the bottom of the order and working your way up instead of the top of the order and working your way down. That's kind of where we are right now.

"I think we're like fifth or sixth in the league in runs scored, so a lot of people would like to have our problems, if someone perceives them as such."

Showalter said he'll try to pitch Brad Brach and Zach Britton tonight to give them some work. However, he also must consider Thursday afternoon's quick turnaround while managing his bullpen.