Pending moves and Machado's suspension (O's down 4-1)

The Orioles will activate pitcher Yovani Gallardo from the disabled list before Saturday afternoon's game against the Blue Jays. That's the one certain move for the weekend.

How they make room for him on the 25-man roster is another story.

There's also the chapter on shortstop J.J. Hardy, who could join Gallardo or continue his injury rehab assignment at Single-A Frederick. He's already played three games at Double-A Bowie, but he may want to test the foot again before returning.

"He did early work every day over there," said manager Buck Showalter. "I was impressed he was six, seven and nine innings and got all his at-bats. He finished the game last night. Got a great scouting report on Bowie from him. He went down the whole roster. He's a watcher.

"We're leaning on J.J. on this. He knows he's real close. I know there's one little thing he wants to feel good about. He's moving around well defensively. Plus-plus speed has not been his forte, so we're not looking, but he wants to be able to score from second on a single and from first on a double and do the things he needs to do. But we're looking forward to getting him back.

"It's been a long road. And once again, those guys down in Sarasota, Dave Walker and them, they do some kind of job for us."

The Orioles will have to remove an infielder to make room for Hardy after he comes off the disabled list. Ryan Flaherty has options, but they could choose to designate Paul Janish for assignment.

Showalter loves Janish's defense and was glad the veteran infielder chose to re-sign as a minor league free agent over the winter instead of accepting the Astros' offer. However, the Orioles may have to risk losing him on waivers. We'll see how it plays out.

Hardy's return ties in nicely with Manny Machado's pending suspension. He's going to be added to the roster before Machado's scheduled hearing on Tuesday. Machado could choose to drop it and begin serving the four games.

"We'll see how it shakes out and then we'll talk about it," Showalter said. "Probably shouldn't, but we will anyway."

Should Machado go through with a hearing, the Orioles may know the outcome within 24-48 hours.

In that sense, Major League Baseball decides when Machado serves the suspension. Otherwise, it can stay in the Orioles' hands if he drops the appeal.

As an example, Machado could choose to start serving it on Monday while the Orioles are in Texas for their makeup game - the dreaded one-day road trip. The suspension would continue Tuesday and Wednesday while the Orioles play the last-place Padres, carry past Thursday's off day and end after Friday night's series opener against the Rays.

The Orioles would consider it a win if Machado missed only one division game.

Showalter said he already spoke to Machado about relinquishing the shortstop position when Hardy is activated.

"Why would I wait until he came back?" Showalter asked.

"Manny's got a lot of respect for J.J. and so does Jon Schoop. I was talking a little bit the other day. He's really looking forward to him coming back because it makes us a better team."

The suspension will provide a brief rest period for Machado that could prove beneficial. He's the current active leader in consecutive games played with 227.

"The one good thing I said before, I was going to give him a day or two, like a Sunday before a Monday off-day, so that part of it is good," Showalter said. "I was hoping it was like two days instead of four or three, whatever it ends up being, but I think Manny could use a few days. He won't ever admit it. I think with this thing, I'll be glad to kind of get it behind us."

Update: Mike Wright threw 37 pitches in the top of the first inning and surrendered a three-run homer to Michael Saunders.

Wright allowed two hits, walked a batter and struck out two. Leadoff hitter Ezequiel Carrera worked him for nine pitches before grounding out and Josh Donaldson drew an eight-pitch walk.

Update II: The Orioles got a run back in the first on consecutive singles by Adam Jones, Hyun Soo Kim and Manny Machado. Chris Davis walked to load the bases with no outs, but Aaron Sanchez didn't allow another run.

Sanchez threw 32 pitches in the first.

Josh Donaldson homered into the Orioles bullpen in the third to give Toronto a 4-1 lead.