Showalter on Jones' injury, Borbon's addition and more

NEW YORK - With center fielder Adam Jones not starting today because of a left hamstring strain, the Orioles added outfielder Julio Borbon, who is starting in center field this afternoon.

The Orioles selected Borbon's contract from Double-A Bowie and optioned pitcher Mike Wright to Triple-A Norfolk, where he will re-enter the Tides rotation in a few days.

To get Borbon on the 40-man roster, pitcher Logan Ondrusek was designated for assignment. Borbon, 30, hit .275/.336/.362 with nine doubles, four triples, six home runs and 25 RBIs in 106 games with the Baysox this season. He leads the Double-A Bowie in runs (59) and stolen bases (28). In five games with the Orioles this season, Borbon went 2-for-9.

Manager Buck Showalter was asked if Borbon's addition is a sign the club expects that Jones will miss at least a few games.

"Not the only reason (Borbon is here). Adam was trying to talk us into playing today," he said. "I got a feeling if he hadn't had that swinging bunt, he might have played nine without a problem. You know how they wet the field down and he's not going to trot to first base, as much as I talked to him about it before the game. Heck, who knows, he might pinch-hit today.

"We had some other center field options. (Chris) Dickerson has only played little time there considering the amount of time he had off. (Xavier) Avery hasn't been playing much. We thought about Dariel (Alvarez), too. But Borbon is our best option at this point. He's got some foot speed and experience in the big leagues, including here this year."

Showalter was not a fan of the word "shuffling" today - as in the Orioles are doing a lot of roster shuffling lately.

"What else are you going to do?" he said. "We're trying to win here, right? And keep people healthy. I don't quite get the connotation. Somebody has to pitch and somebody has to play. They'd rather rotate than not be called up. If that's a bother for them as a player, then they are probably not going to bite when they're a big dog, too. I like how people look to make that excuse."

Is Wright an option to return as part of the team's September callups?

"He's an option to come back. We'll see. I'm sure we'll have some guys not come up but go to Sarasota. And some guys come to us," Showalter said.

Showalter was asked about pitcher Chris Tillman.

"He's going to throw on Tuesday and I think we have an idea how fast that will move," Showalter said. "If we get through Tuesday, I'll give you an idea when we think he could start again. He's not going to need two or three rehab starts. In fact, he probably won't need any."

Showalter also sounded encouraged about the progress of reliever Darren O'Day.

"Darren is having a good day. Richie (Bancells, head athletic trainer) was upbeat about it. Hopefully we get him on the mound here before too long," he said.

When New York reporters asked the skipper about hot-hitting Gary Sanchez today, Showalter was critical of his own pitchers for allowing 14 runs and making some poor pitches last night.

"We made a lot of bad pitches last night," he said. "We threw a lot of 88, 89 mph fastballs right over the heart of the plate. He's hitting a lot of people now. He's a good looking player and I was impressed with his defensively."