Reflections on new reserve outfielders

I feel an obligation to start this morning's blog entry with the following disclaimer:

The Orioles know that they need to upgrade their rotation.

Did they do it? Not unless Drew Stubbs really is Drew Pomeranz and Michael Bourn is really ... not another backup outfielder.

The Orioles filled a different need yesterday. The filled it twice.

They seem confident that Adam Jones will return on Friday, but they wanted an extra outfielder who could play everywhere and was most comfortable in center. They can add Stubbs and Bourn on Friday as part of an expanded roster.

The moves really are tied to Joey Rickard, who's been moved to the 60-day disabled list and can't return before Sept. 19. Rickard will have his right thumb reexamined on Friday, but the drama has been drained like a blister. The Orioles put him on the 60-day without waiting and it's possible that he won't play again in 2016.

Rickard can handle all three outfield positions and he can run. Manager Buck Showalter keeps referencing the impact of losing their Rule 5 pick. A kick in the pants, creating a pain in the same general location.

Showalter prefers Nolan Reimold in left and right field. He hasn't been comfortable moving forward without a true center field backing up Jones. Now, he's got two of them.

The rotation is a much bigger concern, but pitchers have to pass through waivers and the sides need to reach agreement on a trade. It's a more complicated process after July 31.

This wouldn't be an issue if the Orioles received the proper return on their investments in Ubaldo Jimenez and Yovani Gallardo. Jimenez has turned in back-to-back quality starts, but he's still sporting a 6.46 ERA and 1.798 WHIP and Showalter hasn't committed to him heading into the weekend. Gallardo shut out the Jays over the last five innings last night, another quality start in the series, but he's 4-7 with a 5.62 ERA.

Wade Miley raised hopes and lowered his ERA in his last outing, holding the Blue Jays to three runs and striking out nine over seven innings. But he's 1-3 with a 7.14 ERA and 1.655 WHIP in six starts and 29 innings since the trade.

Chris Tillman is on the disabled list. Dylan Bundy is making the transition from reliever to starter in the middle of a pennant race, everyone wondering how many innings are left in the tank. No one in the minors is beating down the door.

Jimenez, Gallardo and Miley are owed around $33.4 million in 2017, another obstacle when considering a pricey veteran at the deadline.

Stubbs owns a career .314 on-base percentage. Bourn owns a .329 OBP, but it's down to .307 this season. His OBP has declined from .348 with the Braves in 2012 to .316, .314, .310 and .307.

We're talking defense and speed with these acquisitions. They may not make it onto the postseason roster if the Orioles qualify. There are no promises. They're useful pieces for a club that's now fighting to hold onto the second wild card spot.

Bourn is a left-handed hitter with a career .253/.308/.331 slash line against southpaws, but it's .348/.362/.409 (23-for-66) this season. He's a career .194/.265/.204 (18-for-93) hitter versus the Orioles and is 14-for-56 (.250) at Camden Yards.

Bourn has a career .308/.368/.375 slash line in 29 games against the Blue Jays and a .333/.407/.396 slash line in 11 games at Rogers Centre. Maybe he was born to ... never mind.

(I'm still drawing groans for tweeting last night that in order to get Bourn, the Orioles had to apply the Heinrich Manuever)

Stubbs is a career .275/.349/.449 hitter against left-handers and a .232/.299/.373 hitter versus right-handers. He's produced a .206/.229/.294 (7-for-34) slash line against the Orioles and is 7-for-29 (.241) at Camden Yards.

Does having Stubbs and Bourn eliminate non-roster outfielders Julio Borbon and Chris Dickerson from the expanded roster? Same with Xavier Avery and L.J. Hoes. Showalter doesn't want guys having to dress in shifts inside the tiny visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park.

I thought that the Orioles would acquire a left-hander yesterday, and they did for a few hours, trading for Kyle Lobstein and designating him for assignment to create a 40-man spot for Stubbs. He could remain in the organization.

I sense that the Orioles were doing left-hander Zach Phillips a favor, knowing that he had a chance to pitch in the majors with the Pirates. It wasn't going to happen in Baltimore. And they must think more highly of Lobstein despite the DFA.

Manny Machado batted .312/.320/.616 with eight doubles, 10 home runs, 25 RBIs and 21 runs scored in 29 August games. He hit .204/.288/.337 with one double, four home runs, eight RBIs and 13 runs scored in 25 July games.

Too bad for the Orioles that they didn't have the same resurgence. They went 14-9 in April, 14-13 in May, 19-9 in June, 12-14 in July and 13-16 in August.