Notes on roster moves, injuries, Phillips, Harvey and more

The Orioles chose to deepen their bench instead of their bullpen this afternoon by selecting the contract of infielder Dilson Herrera from the alternate camp site in Bowie.

Outfielder DJ Stewart was recalled as the replacement for outfielder Mason Williams, who's been designated for assignment. But the arrival of Herrera is tied to Hanser Alberto, who's day-to-day with a sore knee.

Alberto jammed the knee on first base yesterday after laying down a sacrifice bunt in the 10th inning. He came out of the game in the 11th.

"He does feel better, so we're encouraged by that, but he is definitely day-to-day," manager Brandon Hyde said this afternoon in his Zoom conference call with the media. "I'm not sure if he's going to be able to play this series, so with an off-day Thursday, we added Dilson."

Herrera debuted with the Mets as a 20-year-old second baseman in 2014. He impressed the Orioles at summer training camp and has the versatility to play three infield positions and the corner outfield.

Stewart is getting another opportunity after going 0-for-14 with six walks and eight strikeouts earlier in the summer. He was optioned to the Bowie camp on Aug. 6.

"DJ's been swinging the bat very well at our secondary site," Hyde said. "Wanted to see him get back up here and he's going to be in the mix. I'm going to try to get him in the lineup also. Another young player that we need to find out more about. Going to try to get him some more at-bats. Got here today and I'm going to try to get him in the lineup."

Williams was 2-for-11 and no longer viewed as necessary outfield insurance.

"Mason was kind of covering us a little bit just with (Ryan) Mountcastle's inexperience defensively, and I think Ryan's starting to get a lot more comfortable there in left field. You saw that the last couple days," Hyde said.

"It was more about getting DJ here than anything else."

The bullpen is down to nine pitchers and no longer includes Mychal Givens and Miguel Castro.

"Well, we're going to see Miguel walking up the ramp going the other way today, so that will be interesting," Evan Phillips said.

"It's going to be weird for the first few days, but those guys really led us is a great direction as a bullpen and we all felt really close as friends to each other and obviously as teammates, so we're going to miss them dearly. But we wish them the best success and we feel like they really left us in good hands. With the group we have down there right now, I think we're headed for a good future with these guys."

Phillips is attempting to stick on the September roster after allowing five runs and nine hits with seven walks and 11 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings.

"My goal every time I go out there to pitch doesn't really change based off situations," he said. "I really want to put us in the best position to win ballgames and I think we all carry that mindset down there in the bullpen and we're all ready to go in any given situation. I don't think anyone down there is focused on selfish goals or what role they might be in. I think this team has a really good focus on winning ballgames and trying to get this team to the playoffs."

Players are discovering that they can get more individual instruction at the Bowie site and are able to work on their development and correct flaws despite the cancelation of the minor league season. In a less-pressurized environment.

"Honestly, yes," Phillips said. "You go down there and there's obviously no fans, you're pitching against your teammates and it really does afford you the opportunity to get some real work in and that's what I was able to do. I was able to pitch twice and I feel like I knocked out a lot of things and cleared a lot of hurdles to get myself back here. And I really hope that continues here.

"It's definitely a different environment being there, not having the fans and facing your own guys and you don't really get to have that game-like experience, but it's more like an elevated bullpen. You can get that work in on some things that you really can't do in a game at Triple-A during the season."

"My focus was to really just get in tune with my delivery again and get more consistency with my body because when things are going bad there's always a root to it and for me it's from the ground up. So getting myself back in the balance of my body and being able to feel that on the mound in a game-like situation where the results really don't matter and I make those quick adjustments and say, 'OK, that felt good.' Or that didn't feel good and make that adjustment and go on and play.

"And really I found a couple things that really helped me get back in my delivery and I'm really happy with how I'm feeling right now."

Hunter Harvey is available tonight. Hyde is going to avoid using him on back-to-back days, having again to proceed with caution after the forearm strain.

The Orioles keep envisioning a season with Harvey on the roster for the entire summer. With no stops on the injured list and no motivation to restrict his use beyond the usual commonsense.

"I want to believe that. I think that he needs to prove health, though" Hyde said.

"He's had some bad luck injuries also in his career. But you look at the guy, watch him pitch, you definitely want him to be available because the stuff is so good. Injuries are a part of this game, some guys have more injuries earlier on in their career and bounce back. I want to believe that he's going to be able to be a reliable backend bullpen guy. Still holding out hope for that because the arm is so special."

Outfielder Austin Hays is expected to start baseball activities in a few days as he recovers from a rib injury. Hyde said Hays could rejoin the team sometime in the next two weeks.

"Feeling a lot better," Hyde said.

First baseman Chris Davis hasn't started baseball activities at the Bowie site.

"He's still resting his knee," Hyde said.

Left-hander John Means is starting Wednesday afternoon.

For the Mets
Brandon Nimmo CF
Michael Conforto RF
Dominic Smith 1B
Robinson Canó 2B
Jeff McNeil LF
Pete Alonso DH
Luis Guillorme 3B
Andrés Giménez SS
Ali Sánchez C

Ariel Jurado RHP