Pitching updates, Bourn's arrival and more

SARASOTA, Fla. - Left-hander Wade Miley no longer will pitch in Thursday's rescheduled intrasquad game. Miley has been named the starter for Sunday's home exhibition opener against the Pirates.

Ubaldo Jiménez and Kevin Gausman are starting in the intrasquad game, which has been reduced to five innings.

The Orioles begin Grapefruit League play on Friday in Lakeland with Tyler Wilson opposing the Tigers' Michael Fulmer. Gabriel Ynoa starts Saturday in Bradenton against the Pirates' Steven Brault.

Brault is the former Orioles farmhand who was part of the Travis Snider deal in January 2015.

Jiménez will start Monday against the Yankees in Sarasota and Mike Wright will start Tuesday against the Phillies in Clearwater.

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop will play in Thursday's intrasquad game and in the Saturday, Sunday and Monday exhibition games before leaving camp for the World Baseball Classic.

Zach Britton won't pitch in the intrasquad game, but manager Buck Showalter repeated that the club is being cautious with its closer. Britton felt some discomfort on his left side and the Orioles don't want it to turn into a strained oblique.

"During the season, he might pitch, but we're not going to let the symptoms of that turn into the actual it," Showalter said. "We call it the 'O' word. I hate those things. They're so hard to deal with. You can't go throw because you'll irritate it."

Players are eager to do something besides participate in drills and face each other in intrasquad competition. Let the real fake games begin.

"We're here early because of the WBC," said center fielder Adam Jones. "When your number is called, you show up. The first game is Friday in Lakeland. Caleb Joseph is definitely going to that game. I probably won't. But Saturday's the first game. I think we'll be ready.

"I'm tired of getting on the back fields with (Wayne) Kirby sitting there screaming and yelling, putting the balls in the ponds and making us run. It's part of it. It gets yourself in shape. You get ready to play in a game because at the end of the day, 162 games are a long season. It's tough to get through it. If you go into it in shape, you should be able to get through it."

Outfielder Michael Bourn expressed his joy at returning to the Orioles after agreeing to a minor league deal.

"It's good to be here," he said. "I knew it was mutual interest and I'm happy that it worked out. You never know in free agency. My second time going through it, so you just never know. You hope for the best, and I'm happy I landed here and have a chance to make the team."

The Orioles re-signed Bourn after he batted .283/.358/.435 with two home runs in 24 games following an Aug. 31 trade with the Diamondbacks.

"I had a pretty good, strong month at the end of the year," he said. "It was fun. I was on a team that was winning, a chance to make the playoffs, in the race. That all plays into it and it was a good atmosphere to be in.

"I had never played in the AL East, really. I played against it a lot playing interleague and being in the American League a little bit, but it was just fun to be in. Every game matters. When I was in Arizona, we weren't having a real good season at the time, but when I came over here, it was just fun. You see everybody, a loose clubhouse, but it was serious at the same time and I liked it."

Bourn was counted among the many free agents who stayed on the board through January.

"You know, to be honest with you, in free agency you don't know what to expect," he said. "You have to wait for the dominos to fall, so I had to wait for the dominos to fall. There still are some great players out there right now who aren't signed, so what can you say? I'm just thankful for the opportunity, and just come out there and show what I've got, go out there and play. Get in baseball shape and see what happens.

"You've got a sense of urgency as a human being. Just like anything else, when you want something to happen your urgency starts to every day, wants to go, but you know you've got to be patient at the same time. I'm just thankful that it happened."

It happened because Bourn took a minor league deal.

"Of course, you would love to be guaranteed, but you know it's hard to go that way sometimes," he said. "It just is what it is. You have to accept some things that you don't want to accept. You have to come in and try to do what you do to prove yourself and that's it.

"It's spring training. You're trying to get ready and trying to make sure you try to do what you can at the same time. It's a different role for me because I haven't had this role in a long time. I'll be prepared. I'll be ready to play. We'll see what happens."

Bourn is part of the Orioles' plan, voiced Jones, to become more athletic on the outfield corners. It's also why they traded for him last summer.

"Looking from afar, hearing that you're about to get traded to a team, you kind of know a couple of days before. You hear rumblings," he said. "You kind of take a look at the team and see what they need. When I came in last year, I already knew they had power. I knew they had pitching, all that kind of stuff, defense, but when I came in, I didn't know how the outfield defense was. I didn't know everything.

"I just want to add to it. We have good players in here already. I know what I bring, they know what I bring. I just try to make the most of it."

Bourn doesn't feel like he's behind other players in camp despite his late signing.

"Just have to see a few pitches," he said. "A lot of people haven't seen a lot of pitches at this point. Just need to see pitching and after that I'll get my timing and it'll happen from there."

Bourn is in the unusual position of having to earn a roster spot. It hasn't really been an issue since 2007 with the Phillies.

"It was my time then that I had to do it and I have to do it again now," he said. "That just is what it is. There's no other option for me. You just show what you can do, show your skills offensively and defensively, on the bases, and just show what you can show. Just try to be ready to play when it's time to play, try to get your work in at the same time. And I'm just up for the challenge."

Showalter didn't know when Bourn would make his exhibition debut.

"It's a pretty seamless fit," Showalter said. "He's been pretty active. He's been playing. He'll get into the mix real quickly here. We didn't go through a spring training with him. We know him from the situation he was cast in last year, but there's a lot of other things. Our outfield situation has become, not a problem. It's going to present some good challenges for us. We've got some versatile pieces out there.

"Kirby's talking to him today and we'll sit down as a staff and see what we've got to catch up on. (Kirby) did tell me that (Bourn) has been real active playing and he's ready to go whenever we feel comfortable with it, but I've got to figure out how much of that is false bravado a little bit. Sooner rather than later. He's a good addition."

The Orioles also signed Craig Gentry to a minor league deal. They're serious about improving their defense in the outfield.

"Those are two guys who have great track records of catching the ball," Jones said. "I'm thrilled to have them in camp, but what you have to understand is that the everyday players are probably going to be (Mark) Trumbo and (Hyun Soo) Kim or Seth (Smith) and Kim.

"You see that they're here so that means that the team is, not necessarily listening to me, but they've been watching the game. It's reality. You watch the game and you see what we're lacking. And it's not any jabs against any other person. It just is what it is. Some people just excel at different things. For us to be a very contending team and to get out of that first round and past that wild card, we need to improve.

"At the end of the day, whatever you have to do to win is what you got to. It doesn't matter who's out there. Whatever you have to do, we're going to have to do. If you look at it, our efficiency is terrific. We catch the ball. We throw the ball to the right bases. We catch everything that's in our vicinities.

"The best thing about being a professional athlete is that you figure out that you're a professional and you know how to make adjustments. That's just what we're going to have to do, figure it out somehow, some way."