Showalter on today's roster moves (O's lead 3-0)

Orioles manager Buck Showalter apologized this morning for his late arrival to the daily media briefing. He's had a busy day.

Showalter didn't want the roster moves revealed until the arriving players reported to Camden Yards. Outfielder Joey Rickard and left-hander Donnie Hart walked through the doors and the transactions were official.

Rickard appeared in two games with the Orioles on April 28-29 and went 1-for-5 with three walks and two runs scored. He's batting .301/.424/.462 in 27 games at Triple-A Norfolk.

Hart has allowed one unearned run and three hits in 2 2/3 innings with the Orioles. He's posted a 2.87 ERA in 13 games with Norfolk and threw 12 pitches last night while retiring all four batters he faced.

Hart hasn't allowed a run in seven of his last eight appearances and 11 of 13. He gives the Orioles three left-handers in their bullpen today with Richard Bleier and Tanner Scott.

Anthony Santander's 44 days expired and he's no longer holding Rule 5 status. He's been optioned to Double-A Bowie and will play regularly in left or right field.

Santander batted .198/.250/.297 with five doubles, one triple, one home run and six RBIs in 33 games.

Asked why Santander was assigned to Bowie, Showalter replied, "It's a good level for him. I don't think it really matters that much. We take a lot of guys from Double-A, Triple-A. He kind of fit better for his development and for everything we're trying to do at those two levels with the personnel.

"It's a changing landscape. But if you look at Anthony's experience, background, you can make a case for it."

Santander made the jump from the Single-A Carolina League to the majors. Bowie seems reasonable.

"Let's face it, there's two or three reasons why he was here," Showalter said. "He's a Rule 5 guy and I was hoping that he was hitting .280-.300 here and taking off and we didn't have this, but as much as we like Anthony, there were some challenges for him here that showed up. But this guy has turned into a good defender, good runner, great teammate, plays the game right. He's got a lot of attributes you're looking for. It's just, this guy is a college senior, OK? He's going to be one of the younger guys in our Double-A and Triple-A outfield.

"If he had never appeared here, you'd be real excited about where he was and his status here. We still are."

Rickard's arrival gives the Orioles another right-handed bat against Rays left-hander Blake Snell.

"We've got an off-day (Monday) and we'll see if there are any adjustments to be made," Showalter said.

Jimmy Yacabonis was recalled on Friday while Chris Tillman went on the disabled list, allowed one run and walked three batters last night in 1 1/3 innings and returned to the Tides.

"He's going to hopefully continue to work on his command and backing up third base," Showalter said.

Andrew Cashner is listed as Tuesday's starter against the Phillies at Camden Yards and Wednesday is TBD. The Phillies haven't confirmed their starters.

Miguel Castro could be a candidate for Wednesday's assignment.

Kevin Gausman gets an extra day's rest and starts Thursday night's makeup game in Boston. As I wrote earlier, David Hess is a consideration for the series after the Orioles returned him to Norfolk last night.

Hess doesn't need to stay down 10 days.

"We're going to play 20 days in a row after (Monday)," Showalter said. "Every chance I can give guys an extra day, I'm going to, with very few exceptions. But I want to give Gaus (a day). He had two extended outings.

"I'm looking forward to them getting on more of a set routine, too, if the weather will cooperate. The doubleheader kind of moved some things around, too. I'm hoping that the off-day helps us get back on our feet a little bit. We're kind of resetting some things after today."

Update: Danny Valencia and Rickard went back-to-back to open the second inning, giving the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Trey Mancini homered onto the flag count with two outs to increase the lead to 3-0.