Notes on Carroll injury, pending roster move, Jackson and Davis

NEW YORK - Reliever Cody Carroll, cut from the Orioles' camp roster on March 17 and optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, is headed to the injured list.

Carroll is dealing with some soreness in his lower back that's keeping him off the break-camp roster.

There didn't appear to be any health issues with Carroll before he reported to Twin Lakes Park. He recorded his third save in his final exhibition outing on March 16 and allowed two runs and five hits with one walk and nine strikeouts over seven innings.

A spirited bid to make the club fell short and now Carroll is on the shelf.

The Orioles figure to keep Carroll on the shuttle once he's able to hop on it. An optionable bullpen is a necessity and Carroll can be one of the moving parts.

Acquired from the Yankees in July in the Zack Britton trade, Carroll made 15 appearances as a rookie and registered a 9.00 ERA and 2.000 WHIP in 17 innings. He was much sharper in the spring.

Now it's just a matter of getting him healthy.

* The Orioles will need to make room on the roster Thursday for Alex Cobb's return and manager Brandon Hyde hasn't revealed whether he'll go with 12 or 13 pitchers and a three- or four-man bench.

Infielder Hanser Alberto is out of minor league options and would have to be designated for assignment, a road he's traveled many times. There are a few possibilities in the bullpen, though Pedro Araujo still retains his Rule 5 status and Mike Wright is out of options.

"I think ideally you'd like to have a four-man bench because it creates flexibility, but you don't want to leave yourself short on the mound," Hyde said. "That's your biggest concern. We don't want to be short when it comes from an innings standpoint.

"Because we have two off-days in the first eight days or so, that's kind of why ... I think if we didn't we'd have one more pitcher. But how it went the other night when I'm pinch-hitting for guys late and utilizing my bench, that's going to happen throughout the whole year. I want everybody to play and I want everybody ready to play. I think guys play better when they know there's a chance they're going to get in there at a certain point in the game

Alberto left Orioles camp after a waiver claim, returned to it and headed north as a utility infielder.

"He's got great intangibles," Hyde said. "An unbelievable teammate, really good with younger guys. He's got the ability to play multiple positions, especially short, and he's the best fit for our roster because of his ability to play short as well as second and third very well. And give you a pro at-bat like he did the other night.

"The shortstop was the main part."

* The first pitch thrown yesterday by Nate Karns was redirected by Brett Gardner to center fielder Drew Jackson. One play and the rookie had his first putout.

Don't get too used to Jackson in center. Maybe he returns today with the Yankees starting left-hander J.A. Happ, but otherwise he's going to be bouncing around.

"I thought he had a great spring training," Hyde said. "I love his versatility. I think center field is really natural for him. He's played a lot of center field. But you're going to see him move around quite a bit. You'll see him at second, short, third, left, center, right. He's going to be all over the place."

Jackson has found that it's "the same game" in the majors - except for the differences.

"Just a few more people out there watching you," he said. "And the energy is so much different up here in the big leagues and that natural adrenaline rush you get is something I've never had before."

Jackson appreciated how Hyde checked on him and the other younger players on opening day.

"He was great," Jackson said." He kept me loose. He was just telling me to enjoy it, have fun out there, and not much more you can ask from a manager than just keeping everyone loose."

* We'll find out later this morning if Chris Davis stays out of the lineup against Happ.

Davis is 4-for-25 with two doubles, two home runs and 12 strikeouts lifetime against Happ. He did some extra hitting yesterday, but sat against left-hander James Paxton and the relievers who followed.

The Blue Jays start left-hander Clayton Richard on Monday. Does Davis continue to sit until Tuesday against right-hander Marcus Stroman?

Hyde indicated that he wouldn't go with a strict platoon and cited various reasons for Davis' exclusion yesterday. It's hard to imagine Davis matched up against Happ.

Davis is 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts against Richard.