Today's Orioles agenda and more on Valencia

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are making the second of their three trips to Clearwater today to play the Phillies. No split-squad action, however, so I'll be on the road.

I didn't pack gray pants, but I'm still leaving the home facility.

Chris Tillman will throw his two-inning simulated game on one of the back fields at the Ed Smith Stadium complex and manager Buck Showalter will watch before heading to Spectrum Field, where he'll update the media. My guess, and it comes with a spoiler alert, is that Tillman will look good and be deemed far ahead of where he was at this time last year.

Maybe he'll shatter a bat or two like Andrew Cashner. Tillman, not Showalter, unless he's overly caffeinated. The Orioles can do without the kindling, though. Just stay healthy and get outs.

Kevin Gausman is preparing for his second Grapefruit League start and he'll look both ways before backing up home plate.

Danny Valencia is supposed to take his physical today and the Orioles will announce his minor league deal after receiving the results. His hair already passed.

Executive vice president Dan Duquette was intrigued with the idea of bringing back Valencia, who hung on the free agent market despite a track record for mashing against left-handed pitching and the ability to play a variety of positions. There's no obvious spot for him on the major league roster, however, and the signing should be viewed as a depth move similar to Pedro Álvarez.

Valencia could play third base at Triple-A Norfolk and move across the diamond. It reminds me of the Chris Johnson signings last spring - the Orioles released him and re-signed him two days later - except that Valencia isn't related to the Tides manager.

Johnson, by the way, is one of the many former Orioles at the IMG free agent camp in Bradenton. The Orioles had representatives at the two games.

I stress the depth aspect of the Valencia agreement because news of his return brought the predictable responses on Twitter.

"Can he pitch?"

No. Though I guess if the game goes 18 innings ...

"Doesn't Dan know that we need pitching?"

First of all, YOU don't need pitching unless you own a team, run it or manage it. It won't pay your bills, make it easier for you to get dates or improve your kids' grades. But yes, Duquette knows that pitching is the priority and that's why he added Cashner and Tillman and made serious runs at other free agents, including Mike Fiers and Jason Vargas, and engaged in trade talks for Jake Odorizzi and Collin McHugh. And why he's still checking on Jake Arrieta, Lance Lynn and Alex Cobb.

If starters could be obtained as easily as Valencia and Álvarez, he'd stack them like firewood.

"I didn't know he batted left-handed."

He doesn't and I picked up on the sarcasm. The Orioles keep stressing the need to balance out the roster and they bring in another right-handed hitter. But like I said, he's more likely to open the season in the minors. A nice insurance policy if something happens to Tim Beckham or he needs to replace Manny Machado at shortstop. Or if an opponent decides to start left-handers every night for an entire series.

"I'd rather have Ryan Flaherty."

I'd rather have Mike Trout, but he has nothing to do with Valencia. The Flaherty comparison comes up short because Valencia isn't a super utility guy. He's never played shortstop. Not in the minors, not in the majors. And if you've paid attention, you know that Showalter's utility guy must be a plus defender at short. Not just experienced, but actually excel at it.

"I'd rather have Ryan Goins."

(See above)

"Does this mean the Orioles are trading Mark Trumbo?"

That's not the motivation behind the signing.

"Does this mean the Orioles are trading Machado?"

OK, we need to stop this.

Alex Presley entered yesterday's game in left field and wore No. 0 instead of 47. No other Oriole has donned the lowest digit.

And I was afraid that I'd have no reason to stake out the clubhouse this morning.