Orioles move into second half without Machado

The reality that Manny Machado no longer played for the Orioles hit them hardest yesterday as they boarded their charter flight to Toronto and gathered for a workout. It will strike them again today as they convene inside the visiting clubhouse at Rogers Centre to begin a three-game series against the Blue Jays. When the lineup card lists somebody else at shortstop.

Imagine how fitting the moment if Jonathan Schoop homers and his best friend isn't in front of the dugout for the choreographed handshake and salute.

Tim Beckham is expected to move back to short and manager Buck Showalter can choose between Danny Valencia and Jace Peterson for third base.

"I'm prepared for anything the organization wants to do and we'll create the best options for Buck," said third base coach Bobby Dickerson, who also serves as infield instructor. "I'm not positive who we're calling up, if we're calling anybody up, All that stuff is not in my court. I just try to get the guys, whoever they give me, the best they can be."

The Orioles will have to adjust their post-break roster today, with Triple-A outfielder Cedric Mullins in the discussion. They also will consider whether to bring up third baseman Renato Nunez, who was batting .289/.361/.443 with 14 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 25 RBIs in 56 games since they claimed him off waivers from the Rangers on May 13. However, he's regarded as a below-average fielder.

It might not matter as much with the Orioles in rebuild mode and eager to evaluate certain players.

(Update: Nunez didn't play in yesterday's doubleheader and is expected in Toronto.)

The 40-man roster is full, with switch-hitting infielder Breyvic Valera replacing Machado. Do the Orioles give him a look?

Rule 5 pick Pedro Araujo could be moved to the 60-day disabled list if his return isn't imminent - and at last check he was just getting back to flat ground throwing after experiencing more soreness in his elbow. But it's important to do the math and make certain that he can fulfill the requirement that removes his Rule 5 status and allows the Orioles to option him next spring.

Outfielder Craig Gentry and infielder Steve Wilkerson are on the 10-day DL, but they could be back by the beginning of August.

Wilkerson is a candidate to get more starts at third base with Beckham vacating the position. No matter how it sorts out, Machado is going to leave a tremendous void. Can't fill those spikes, can't pretend that it's a normal day.

Can't ignore that it's part of the business for a team that doesn't tailor its uniforms with deep pockets.

"Meeting him at a young age, he was like a little stick, and then watching him grow into this beast has been pretty awesome for myself and the organization," said Dickerson.

"It is part of it. You hate to see him go, but we're in last place and we have to do something at some point. Hopefully, these players that we got back going forward will help us be a better team in the future.

"Obviously, it's bittersweet."

Dickerson grew close to Machado shortly after the Orioles selected the Miami native with the third pick in the 2010 draft. There were sessions in the instructional league, with Machado still playing shortstop, and the conversion to third base that began with Dickerson's tutelage at Double-A Bowie, out of the public eye, that led to a surprise promotion to the majors in 2012.

"I was around through all the transitions and back to short again," Dickerson said. "Watching him do all these things, he's so versatile and so talented, he does things easily.

"A lot of guys will come out and absolutely kill themselves trying to figure something out and work all day every day. Manny is just a super talent. You give him some information, he applies it immediately. He sees things pretty quickly when it comes to a baseball field, so the transitions have been pretty easy for him."

Machado didn't have to relearn how to play shortstop this year, but there were reminders that needed to be implemented. And there's no substitution for real game situations.

"His clock was a little messed up early on," Dickerson said. "He didn't come get balls he should have gotten. There were some infield singles that he turned into infield singles by sitting back, and that's just clock things. Those things, although we try to prevent them, they're just going to happen. It has to take in-game play for them to really kick in and for him to recognize them, and he did.

"If you saw the last two, three weeks, the way he played shortstop, it's as good as it gets."

The defensive metrics deliver a two-fisted beating to Machado, ranking him as the worst shortstop in baseball, including -19 in defensive runs saved per FanGraphs and -7.7 in ultimate zone rating.

"If there's a play, like I can think of Jace Peterson hitting a ground ball earlier in the year at shortstop and (Machado) kind of sat back on it and threw it and Peterson beat it out and got an infield single, and that play is like a 90-95 percent out rate," Dickerson said. "So, that hits him hard as far as the metrics. Here's a ball that 95 times out of 100 it's turned into an out and he didn't turn it into an out. Those things hurt him.

"I remember that same series (in New York), he sat back on ground ball that (Gary) Sanchez hit and there was a question that maybe he was playing too deep and that wasn't it. He just didn't come and get the ball. Those are some of the things that I think hit him hard and in the short sample size after only 2 ½ to three months playing shortstop, it's hard to get those numbers back up in a short sample."