The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – Baltimore Orioles – INSIDE PITCH
For the first time in about 15 seasons, Baltimore baseball fans are hoping for a repeat.
After an unlikely breakthrough playoff appearance in 2012, the Orioles were relatively quiet in the winter. They’ve been without much fanfare in spring training, too — just how manager Buck Showalter would like it to be.
The Orioles will go as far as their rotation and bullpen can take them. The bullpen was a strong suit in 2012, and many of the key arms return in 2013. The rotation remains young and relatively unproven, but the options are better than they were to begin 2012 — and help is on the way in the form of top prospects Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman.
The lineup is crafted around Nick Markakis, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters, primarily, with some extra pop added from J.J. Hardy, Nate McLouth and Chris Davis.
Davis was a breakout player in 2012, and McLouth rejuvenated his career. This season, look for third baseman Manny Machado, who showed glimpses of brilliance in August through October, to take advantage of his first full big-league season.
Second baseman Brian Roberts is an intriguing storyline to follow, as well. The veteran is in the final year of a four-year contract coming off a pair of injury-plagued campaigns. If healthy, he could bat atop the lineup, where he was once one of the best leadoff men in the game. He’d add a new element to the offense if he returns anywhere near the form he showed in his prime.
With few major alterations to the roster, the Orioles are aiming to recapture last year’s magic. However, the club could put together a similar season to 2012 and miss the playoffs entirely. But the challenges of competing in the American League East are no longer an excuse after the club fought its way into the postseason.
Whether the team can repeat last summer’s excitement or not, the Orioles are in a much better place and should at least be a contender in the American League wild-card race.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – Baltimore Orioles – NOTES, QUOTES
–Pitcher Freddy Garcia was signed to a minor-league contract, multiple media outlets reported Friday. Garcia was released by the San Diego Padres earlier this week after having an 8.71 ERA in six spring starts with the Padres. Garcia, 36, had a 7-6 record with a 5.20 ERA for the New York Yankees last season.
–Pitcher Scott Proctor was acquired from the San Francisco Giants for cash, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Proctor will report to Triple-A Norfolk. He had a 4.15 ERA in 13 innings with the Giants this spring. Proctor hasn’t pitched in the Major Leagues since 2011.
–RHP Chris Tillman, in something of an unusual circumstance, will be a part of the Orioles’ season-opening rotation, even though he will begin the season on the disabled list. Tillman was slowed the last two weeks of spring training due to a left abdominal strain. Because the Orioles were able to backdate Tillman’s move to the DL, the right-hander will be eligible to return to pitch the team’s fifth game, April 6 against the Twins. Tillman is expected to be ready to pitch that day.
With Tillman out, the Orioles will be able to keep an extra player on the roster the first four games. According to the Baltimore Sun, both LHP T.J. McFarland and INF Ryan Flaherty are likely to break camp with the team. McFarland was a Rule 5 draft pick from Cleveland in December, and he’d have to stay on the Orioles’ roster all season or be offered back to the Indians.
Tillman, 24, went 9-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 15 starts for Baltimore last year. He had a 4.15 ERA in two Grapefruit League outings before he got hurt.
The Orioles made another roster move March 28, reassigning OF Trayvon Robinson to their minor league camp despite his .326 Grapefruit League average. Robinson played well in spring training, but was hampered by back spasms in the final week of camp.
–RHP Jason Hammel, in his eighth season as a major league starter, will make his first Opening Day start. Hammel will lead the Orioles against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 2 in St. Petersburg, Fla., manager Buck Showalter announced March 27.
“It’s an honor. Very excited,” Hammel told reporters. “Basically what it means is I get to be the one to get us off on the right foot. I don’t take that lightly. Very confident to come out and win there.”
Hammel made 20 starts last year, going 8-6 with a 3.43 ERA. He missed most of the season’s second half due to a knee injury.
–DH Wilson Betemit was diagnosed with a Grade 2/3 posterior cruciate ligament tear in his right knee, and he will be out six to eight weeks. He will stay in Sarasota, Fla., for a few weeks before starting a rehab program. He was told that the injury won’t require surgery. “It felt like my legs, my bones, felt like I had broke everything,” Betemit said.
–RF Nick Markakis returned to baseball action with about a week to go in spring training. Markakis, who missed parts of the 2012 season with broken bones in his wrist and thumb, has been battling a small disc herniation in his neck. He was 3-for-12 in Grapefruit League play before missing time.
–RHP Luis Ayala is available, and the Orioles are trying to deal the veteran reliever to make some space for younger options. Ayala, who opted to return to Baltimore after appearing in 66 games with the Orioles in 2012, likely would have worked in early-to-middle relief.
–RHP Todd Redmond was waived and claimed by Toronto. The transaction freed up space on the Orioles’ 40-man roster. He appeared in five spring games before he was optioned to minor league camp on March 16. He was optioned to Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate upon his claim.
–RHP Julio Rodriguez joined the Orioles in a trade to kick off the final week of camp. The 6-foot-4 former eighth-round pick (2008) was acquired from Philadelphia in exchange for minor league OF Ronnie Welty. At Double-A last season, Rodriguez was 7-7 with a 4.23 ERA in 29 games — all but seven as a starter.
BY THE NUMBERS: 6 — Home runs through 21 spring games for OF/1B Steve Pearce.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “He’s got that grin on his face where he’s going, ‘Why are we doing this? Why don’t we just start playing games?'” — Manager Buck Showalter, on RF Nick Markakis, returning from injury.
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – Baltimore Orioles – ROSTER REPORT
The Orioles had a relatively healthy spring, save for the nagging injuries to OF Nick Markakis and the late-camp knee injury to 1B/DH Wilson Betemit. April will be a good barometer for the Orioles, as they play 15 games against division opponents — nine of them on the road.
ROTATION:
1. RHP Jason Hammel
2. LHP Wei-Yin Chen
3. RHP Miguel Gonzalez
4. RHP Jake Arrieta
There were few questions about the top four spots in the rotation. Essentially, the quartet would have had to struggle mightily — or watch as the Orioles acquired veteran help — in order to be broken up.
Arrieta outpitched a field including lefties Brian Matusz, Zach Britton and Rule 5 pick T.J. McFarland, as well as free agent RHP Jair Jurrjens and 2012 breakout RHP Steve Johnson.
RHP Chris Tillman is expected to come off the disabled list for the fifth game of the season and join the rotation then.
The club has arms in reserve — probably more than at any point in the past decade — with most of them projected as starters. Most importantly, top prospects RHPs Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman are due to join the club later this summer.
BULLPEN:
RHP Jim Johnson (closer)
RHP Pedro Strop
RHP Darren O’Day
LHP Brian Matusz
LHP Troy Patton
RHP Tommy Hunter
LHP T.J. McFarland
RHP Luis Ayala
The club’s strength in 2012 was its bullpen — beginning with Johnson, the All-Star closer. Strop tired down the stretch, but should be a shutdown reliever in the eighth inning.
Matusz contended for a rotation spot, but likely will return to his versatile role from the left side — where the club has more depth than it has in years.
The team isn’t short on long relievers, either, with Hunter, McFarland and RHP Steve Johnson as possible spot starters and long men to start the season.
LINEUP:
1. 2B Brian Roberts
2. SS J.J. Hardy
3. RF Nick Markakis
4. CF Adam Jones
5. C Matt Wieters
6. 1B Chris Davis
7. DH Nolan Reimold
8. 3B Manny Machado
9. LF Nate McLouth
The lineup is flexible, just like manager Buck Showalter intends. There is no clear-cut spot for anyone in the lineup, which is fairly balanced throughout. Roberts could bat leadoff, but so, too, could Hardy, Markakis or McLouth.
Injuries to Markakis and DH Wilson Betemit may force the club to go with some quick fixes to start the season, but both will play prominent roles if healthy. The club likes Reimold’s powerful bat, so he could see action in left field and at designated hitter.
If there is to be improvement amongst the ranks, look for Jones, Wieters and Machado to serve as breakout candidates. There isn’t another Machado on the farm, but INF Jonathan Schoop could be a late-season call-up.
RESERVES:
C Taylor Teagarden
INF Alexi Casilla
INF/OF Ryan Flaherty
OF Steve Pearce
The club upgraded its depth at second base in the offseason with the addition of Casilla. The former Twins infielder can play both middle-infield spots, and he adds a speed element to the infield. Flaherty was on the bubble in the final week of camp and his versatility would give the club depth at second base as well as the corner infield and outfield spots.
Teagarden had a knack for the clutch hit in 2012, while serving as C Matt Wieters’ backup. He worked well with the pitching staff, as well.
MEDICAL WATCH:
–DH Wilson Betemit (torn posterior cruciate ligament in right knee) was hurt March 25. He is out until early to mid-May.
–OF Nick Markakis (herniated neck disk) was sidelined in mid-March. He resumed baseball activity about a week before Opening Day.
–LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (left elbow surgery in May 2012) threw bullpen sessions in spring training and is aiming for a May return.
–RHP Chris Tillman (left abdominal strain) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22. He is expected to be activated to start April 6 against the Twins.
–RHP Steve Johnson (lat muscle strain) might land on the disabled list to start the season, according to the Baltimore Sun.
———————————————–
