Will inevitable pitching injuries have a trickle-down effect on Orioles?

Former Orioles general manager Andy MacPhail said often that pitching is expensive and fragile.

Thus, it was better to "grow the arms," producing as many young, homegrown pitchers as the organization could.

No doubt that every year, the health of pitchers seems to factor into the pennant race. The loss of a key starter hurts one team, while another staff that is fortunate to stay healthy can thrive.

The latest example came Sunday when we learned that Tampa Bay Rays starter Drew Smyly has left shoulder tendinitis. The Rays don't know when he will pitch in an exhibition game and have even left open the possibility he could miss the start of the season.

Tampa Bay acquired him in a three-team trade deadline deal in July from Detroit that also involved Seattle and made David Price a Tiger.

Rays manager Kevin Cash was asked if Smyly will be ready to start the season.

"We just don't know yet," Cash told the Tampa Bay Times. "I think it's fair to say there's a concern, but it's so early we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. The shoulder, he's improving daily. So, he's a big part of what we're doing so we want to be precautionary and cautious with how we get him ramped up here.''

In seven starts with Tampa Bay in 2014, Smyly went 3-1 with a 1.70 ERA. Over 47 2/3 innings, he gave up just 25 hits with 44 strikeouts. The Orioles saw him twice and fared poorly. Over 13 innings, he gave up just six hits and two runs to the American League East champions.

Just days before the news on Smyly, we learned that Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish has an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his elbow and may need to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Meanwhile, in New York, the Yankees are hoping the early positive returns on right-hander Masahiro Tanaka prove true. He is slated to make his first exhibition start on Thursday. The team has proceeded cautiously with Tanaka, who suffered a partial tear of his UCL last July.

There is big money at stake here. Darvish is signed to a six-year deal for $56 million, but that is on top of the $51 million posting fee Texas paid. Tanaka was signed to a seven-year, $155 million deal and is slated to make $22 million in 2015.

Expensive and fragile.

Pitching injuries around the game could impact the Orioles. As some clubs look to add pitching late in spring training via trade, the Orioles figure to be one club fielding calls.

The club has six starters for five spots. They can't send Ubaldo Jimenez to the minors and barring an injury, he will come north with the club.

Several of the Orioles relievers are out of options, creating a further crunch for spots on the pitching staff. A deal could eleviate the crunch and/or allow the Orioles to keep one or both of their Rule 5 picks, Jason Garcia and Logan Verrett.

The six relievers out of options are Brad Brach, Wesley Wright, Ryan Webb, Brian Matusz, Tommy Hunter and Zach Britton.

If the Orioles have a very healthy camp - and they are certainly knocking on wood for that - trying to find roster spots for all those pitchers will be difficult. But there is nothing wrong with acquiring pitching depth and you have to always guard against injuries.

If the Orioles wound up trading a starter, they would still have some solid depth in young pitchers at the higher minor league levels, players like Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson, Eddie Gamboa, Zach Davies and Tim Berry. They could all start in the Triple-A rotation.

The Orioles are likely to have Dylan Bundy, Branden Kline and Parker Bridwell in the Double-A rotation. We know prospects are just that until they actually do something, but the Orioles look to be building some nice pitching depth at the higher levels on the farm and Hunter Harvey could find his way to at least Bowie at some point this year.

You never say you have enough pitching, but the Orioles seem positioned well to deal a pitcher or two over the next few weeks. It could serve two needs - to bring back something needed in return and provide another roster spot for someone that deserves it.

Speaking of pitching: It is probably a bit early to think so, but this Boston Herald writer wonders if Dan Duquette - a man who once acquired pitching aces for the Red Sox - may have traded them one. He is referring to Eduardo Rodriguez, who was dealt for Andrew Miller last July. The lefty pitched three scoreless innings, retiring all nine batters he faced when he pitched against the Orioles on Saturday.