Morning notes on Gallardo, Fowler, Rickard and Janish

SARASOTA, Fla. - The rain was coming down hard this morning at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, just as the Orioles anticipated while arranging for indoor workouts. Pitchers will throw inside the covered cage while hitters do some tracking. Bats remain on shoulders.

The Orioles aren't expected to make a final decision today on Yovani Gallardo's physical. It could drag out through the rest of the week.

There's growing speculation that the Orioles may attempt to restructure the three-year, $35 million deal due to concerns about his right shoulder that surfaced after they studied the results of his MRI. Gallardo has been a durable pitcher, making 30 or more starts in seven consecutive seasons. The snag is a shocker, even in this organization.

Is this just the normal wear and tear in Gallardo's shoulder or are they seeing something more alarming? If it's the latter, does it explain his drop in production in the second half, when he registered a 4.69 ERA and 1.718 WHIP in 14 starts?

Maybe it's just coincidence. What's certain is how the situation has become a hot topic of conversation in the clubhouse.

For everyone asking what the Orioles will do about their rotation if Gallardo's deal falls apart, I honestly have no idea at the moment. They're intrigued by Tim Lincecum, but if Gallardo can't pass their physical, does this guy have a shot? They may have to settle for opening up the competition to their in-house candidates, which include Vance Worley, Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson.

No word on outfielder Dexter Fowler's physical. I'm told he isn't expected to fly into Sarasota today.

Fowler agreed to terms yesterday on a three-year contract for a reported $33 million. He's penciled into right field and atop the order - as long as he passes the physical.

Non-roster outfielder Alfredo Marte definitely is in camp. He was spotted at his locker this morning. My sources tell me it wasn't an impostor.

Outfielder Joey Rickard didn't know about the Orioles' rich Rule 5 history until his new teammates began to introduce themselves. He got a quick education from infielder Ryan Flaherty and pitchers T.J. McFarland.

"I didn't know that until a couple days ago," said Rickard, 24, a former ninth-round pick in the 2012 draft out of the University of Arizona. "A couple guys came up to me and were like, 'Yeah, I was a Rule 5 guy, too.' I was like, 'Oh, cool.' We kind of bonded about that.

"Just learning from those guys, it's a unique opportunity. "Walking in here and seeing all these big-name guys and seeing how they go about their business, it really is a learning process. I'm just trying to follow their lead."

The bench has a few openings and Rickard is trying to seize one of them - his speed would be a valuable asset - but there are other benefits to being in a major league camp.

"I come in here with intentions of doing my best and, if worse comes to worse, I'll see how this professional atmosphere is and kind of take that to my game," he said.

Rickard is a career .283/.390/.397 hitter in four minor league seasons with the Rays. He hit .360/.437/.472 last year in 29 games at Triple-A Durham.

"They chose me, so I know they liked what I did last year, so I'm just going to try to stay within myself and do what I did last year," Rickard said.

Infielder Paul Janish is back in camp after re-signing as a minor league free agent. He also considered an offer from the Astros, but decided to stay in the organization.

"There was some more stuff going on, but at the end of the day I still felt like this was the best opportunity for me baseball-wise," said Janish, 33, a defensive specialist who also went 10-for-35 with three doubles for the Orioles. "Some of the other stuff, especially with Houston was a little bit emotional. Obviously, that's home, that's where I'm from, but there really wasn't a competition in terms of what I felt like was the best baseball opportunity after being here last year and knowing how everybody feels about me and stuff and how I enjoyed being here in the clubhouse.

"At the end of the day it wasn't really that tough of a decision. That being said, I'm glad to be back and hopefully have a good spring training and see where things fall."

Janish will compete for a utility job, but he may have to start out again at Triple-A Norfolk.

"Yeah, that's kind of just the nature of the game," he said. "For somebody like me, I can't worry about the numbers game. It's going to be what it's going to be. I guess I just have to kind of hope things fall in my favor, if that makes sense. All you can really do is play well. I feel like if I play good in camp ...

"One of the reasons I came back here is I felt like I had an opportunity to play in the big leagues, and I still feel that way. We'll see how things go and just kind of hope for the best."

Janish was held back from workouts last spring following surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow. He's a full-go this year, which automatically brings a different feel to camp.

"Last year, I couldn't do anything, so this is better," he said, smiling. "Healthy, body feels good for being as old as I am. It's a completely different dynamic this year, so I'm excited to play a little bit and get through camp healthy."

Though primarily a shortstop, Janish could move around to other positions this spring. He'll gladly initiate it.

"I do more of that, trying to remind them that I can do other stuff and ask them if I can," he said. "Over the course of my career, I've just always been, not in a bad way, pigeonholed for short because I've always been considered to do a good job. That's really more me, trying to embrace that I can do more stuff. Hopefully, they'll buy into that.

"I've been trying to put the outfield on the resume for a few years and I just can't get anyone to let me get out there. Maybe somebody will get banged up in a spring training game and they'll put me out there and they'll let me do something, but I'm open to suggestions."

Dark clouds brought downpours, moving O's workouts in Sarasota indoors on Wednesday

The Orioles had a backup plan in place for today's rainy weather in Sarasota.