Pitcher Evan Phillips talks about joining the Orioles

ARLINGTON, Texas - When the Orioles acquired bullpen righty Evan Phillips in the deal that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O'Day to Atlanta on Tuesday, Phillips had no idea that just days later he would join the parent club.

And, as we found out today, Phillips is joining the team he grew up rooting for as a kid, and the Ironman is his all-time favorite player.

"I guess you could say I'm a little surprised," Phillips said of being with the Orioles so soon. "I didn't expect it to be only a few days, but I was very hopeful to be here as fast as I could and just happy to help.

"I was very shocked (to be traded). I was very surprised, but I was a huge Orioles fan growing up. So, it was a dream come true in some ways and heartbreaking in others. Just very excited to be here, and my family was really happy to hear about the news.

"Growing up, Cal Ripken Jr. was my favorite player of all time. I wore No. 8 as long as I could until single-digit numbers for pitchers became not cool. I grew up in North Carolina and we went to games as often as we could. Whenever we were up visiting family. Camden Yards is my favorite ballpark of all time and I'm real excited to pitch there."

Phillips was born in Salisbury, Md., and spent the first few years of his life in Ocean City before his family moved south. Today he was added to the roster as Jhan Mariñez went to the disabled list with a strained right hamstring.

When he gets in a game, Phillips will become the 25th Maryland-born player to play for the Orioles. He also today becomes the fourth player the Orioles acquired in the recent trades to make the big league roster.

He was pitching for Triple-A Gwinnett at the time of the deal, with very strong numbers. Showing a fastball that sits from 90 to 94 mph, he went 4-4 with a 1.99 ERA and eight saves. Over 40 2/3 innings he allowed 28 hits.

"The past week has been a whirlwind," he said. "It's been a crazy past few days, especially traveling from Atlanta to Charlotte to meet up with Norfolk and back down to Atlanta to catch my flight up here. It's been a heckuva few days, but it's really exciting to be here and happy to do whatever I can to help the team win.

"When I'm at my best, obviously I think I can be a late-inning guy for the Orioles. Whatever they need me to do. I've thrown multiple innings in the past. So if I need to be long relief, middle relief, or a later-in-the-game kind of guy, whatever they need, I feel like I could do it."

The 23-year-old Phillips got his first call to the majors about a month ago. In four games with the Braves he pitched to an ERA of 8.53. He gave up six runs in 3 2/3 in his first two games versus the Yankees and Brewers. Then he pitched two scoreless over 2 2/3 against the Marlins and Dodgers.

So he's got a few big league games under his belt as he joins the Orioles.

"Yeah, absolutely (I learned from that). I got my feet wet. My first appearance in Yankee Stadium was incredible. After that game I mentioned, that was just the first one. Let's get that one out of the way. I had a rough one in Milwaukee. But after that I felt like I got into a good groove. And I feel like that has continued as I've joined the Orioles," he said.

Triple-A Norfolk announced this afternoon that right-hander Luis Ortiz was promoted to the Tides from the Bowie roster. Infielder Breyvic Valera was activated after being optioned from Baltimore. Ortiz is slated to start Sunday at Gwinnett.