Roster expansion and Showalter expanding on rebuild (O's down 5-3)

The Orioles can expand their roster in less than a week and names continue to be discussed inside the warehouse and manager's office.

Manager Buck Showalter said they're not necessarily close to solidifying the choices and he's checking on Triple-A Norfolk's bid for a wild card spot in the International League playoffs.

"We haven't really gotten there yet," he said. "It's a few days away. I'm sure Dan (Duquette) has got it wired with what he's thinking and when there's the best moment to present it, so to speak, I'm sure he'll let me know. But I'm more about the next few days."

The Orioles returned starter Jimmy Yacabonis to Norfolk yesterday after he came up as the 26th man for the doubleheader, and an innings limit could shut him down next month. Infielder Steve Wilkerson was placed on the seven-day disabled list with a hamstring injury, but he's expected to be recalled as soon as he's healthy.

"We've got a big chart with all those guys who may come up here and may not come up here," Showalter said. "Guys that are already here, some guys that we're going to need to probably make some adjustments with their workload before too long."

Double-A Bowie outfielder Austin Hays and Norfolk outfielder Anthony Santander figure to get another opportunity in Baltimore, and the Orioles always recall a third catcher, which likely puts Chance Sisco back into play.

"There are a couple other catchers in the organization that people are talking about, too," Showalter said. "Who knows? Maybe Dan will want to take a look at them. I don't know. We've got plenty of room on the roster."

Baysox reliever Branden Kline also will garner consideration.

Showalter was reminded - and unnecessarily, of course - that this week a year ago showed the Orioles a couple of games out of a wild card spot. How quickly a team's fortunes can change as the Orioles hold the worst record in baseball.

"Thanks a lot, OK?" he quipped.

"Especially in today's baseball world. Whenever I hear somebody talk about an X-number of years plan, it throws up a red flag for me. Usually, it's somebody who's kind of trying to stretch out their window of opportunity, so to speak. I remember when I took over the Yankees, I had a one-year contract and they asked me what kind of plan we were on. I said, 'We're on a day-to-day, one-year, see how good we can get today and see how good we can get the next day and see if we can get closer to the end goal.' And the end goal is always to be the last team standing.

"Hope is a great thing. Hope. It's kind of similar to when I first came here. You've got to know who you are and how you're going to do it, and stay true to it and be honest with the fans. 'Here's what we're going to do and here's how we're going to do it,' and stay with it. And you'll get a return for it. And when? If you think that I wouldn't go into next year trying to win as many games as possible and see what could be ...

"Things snowball up here at the talent level. That's one thing about the major leagues. I know in '98 to '99 (in Arizona) we went from trying to keep from losing 100 to winning 100. You just have to make good evaluations not only on the tools, but the makeup part of it, which is a big separator."

Showalter knew that the Orioles needed everything to fall into the right places last season in order to return to the playoffs as the final month approached. That the team, at that moment, was skating on thin ice.

"Without a doubt, without a doubt," he said. "Of course. You did, too. I knew that, I knew we were playing with ... But it's about competing. You've got a chance to go for it, you go for it. You never know what can happen.

"Just like it 2012. 'Oh, this is happening. Wow. Hey, we're in the playoffs, let's see if we can beat Texas at Texas. Yeah, we did. Hey, let's go play the Yankees and see if we can get into the World Series, see if things fall, stay hot.' You're not every going to apologize for going for it, but you've got to know who you are and where you are and what's the next step.

"This is about competing and after a while you can just go so far. Wait a minute, where's the return for this? Because people are willing to do just about anything if they know there's hope. That this is going to get better. You want to be part of something that brings that everywhere you turn. It's a presentation of hope."

The markers for Showalter as 2018 winds down include the emergence of rookie Cedric Mullins as the everyday center fielder.

"I think he's presented himself well," Showalter said. "I actually think Austin Wynns has had some moments, too, where you're starting to think he might be getting it. (Renato) Núñez has improved defensively at third. That was a big step for him.

"I can always find something positive without insulting somebody who's purely looking at it statistically. 'Yeah, but he's hitting this and he's striking out this. Yeah, you can look at all that. Depends on the old half-empty, half-full thing."

Improvement won't come unless the defense tightens up. Showalter relishes the idea of having six or seven weeks in spring training to build a more cohesive unit.

"Oh, my gosh, every day," he said. "We have so many things, whether it's a bunt defense, whether it's pickoff plays. All the things when we have Jon (Schoop) and Manny (Machado) and J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis and the utility player, there was a flow. Everybody knew that in this situation here's what we're going to put on, here's what's going to play, here's what we're trying to happen, there's a three-depth, here's a four-depth, here's a two-depth, here's a mandatory pick series, here's a bunt defense. Man on first and second, we're going to run this inside move here in this situation.

"Really, the chance to set that, and you do it every spring. It's, 'OK, here's what we're going to be good at.'"

Showalter wouldn't really bite when asked if he's had a more disappointing season as manager regarding the defensive performance. He paused, grinned and said, 'It's been a challenge for us, it's been a challenge.'

"It has been, not just this season. It's something that we've got to get better at, something we were very good at. Talking to Alex (Cobb), talking to Cash (Andrew Cashner), that was a real selling point to them to them in their mind when they were thinking about coming here. They had other opportunities. It was how good that we had been known for defensively.

"I went over the game last night in my head. There were like 10 or 11 plays that don't show up in the error column. Good and bad."

Showalter elaborated by talking about a failed chance to eliminate a stolen base because the ball wasn't allowed to travel to the infielder covering the bag. The player reached for it. Past middle infielders here learned the proper techniques to applying tags. Hardy excelled at it and offered instruction.

"There were four or five other ones," Showalter said. "There was a positive and there was a negative, but I want all those positives to be on our side instead of the other way around. We were tardy covering the plate. That can't happen."

The elephant in the room, of course, is whether Showalter will be around next spring to oversee the attempts at improving the defense and be thrust into the center of the rebuild. Is it important for Showalter and his players to know that he'll be given the opportunity?

"No, because there's a lot of good baseball people who can carry that same (message)," he said. "I don't put myself ... No, our baseball world is full of really good, qualified baseball people.

"It's like I told Zach (Britton) the other day, 'It's good for you to see another side.' He was being very complimentary toward the organization and to the way he was handled here pitching-wise and what-have-you. But it doesn't make somebody else right or wrong. To know right you've got to see wrong. And I tell people a lot of times, they ask me about managers, Johnny (Oates) was the best I played for probably, one of, but I learned a lot from guys about what not to do. A situation is handled a certain way. You learn as much from being around some things that aren't very good as you do from being around things that are good. You've got to take them all in, decide who you want to be.

"You've got to look at the situation, which is our situation, and say, 'What do you need to bring for that to work?' And it changes. What was needed two years ago is different from what's going to be needed next year, so you as a manager and you as a coach have to bring that. You better identify what's needed, and you better bring it."

Showalter senses that Orioles fans buy into the rebuild.

"I think when you see teams like the Astros and Cubs and where they were and how they did it ... if you look at the way those clubs were put together and also what they were able to acquire with those players that came in the first or second round," Showalter said. "But it comes down to good evaluation and players. Knowing a lot about the 'it' factor. People that can identify the 'it' factor. He's got 'it.' You see that.

"A guy like Manny who's hitting .260 in Double-A. He's got 'it.' Whether it's Schoop or whoever. And unfortunately in today's economic thing with our game, it's not a level playing field. Nobody said it's fair, but you can do it. You've just got to stay true to it and you've got to stay the course and you've got to keep fans, just make sure they know why and what's going on. Especially here.

"They just want the Orioles to be good and they want it to make a commitment and see it through."

Update: Luke Voit hit a two-run homer with two outs in the second inning to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Dylan Bundy has surrendered 34 homers, one shy of the club record.

Update II: Miguel Andújar's two-out, two-run double in the third increased the lead to 4-0.

Update III: Jonathan Villar's sacrifice fly in the fifth reduced the lead to 4-1.

Update IV: Cody Carroll's wild pitch with two outs in the sixth scored Voit and gave New York a 5-1 lead.

Update V: Trey Mancini led off the bottom of the sixth with his 18th home run to reduce the lead to 5-2 and the Orioles scored again on Jace Peterson's RBI single off Chad Green.