FORT MYERS, Fla. - Outfielder Colby Rasmus will make his Orioles debut Monday afternoon against the Tigers in Sarasota. Rasmus will play right field. "I had a good talk with him a couple days ago," said manager Buck Showalter. "I told him if he doesn't think so, I could wait until Wednesday, but that's what he wanted to do." Showalter views Rasmus as a platoon player at this point in camp. Rasmus is a career .211/.290/.366 hitter against left-handed pitching. "I think, looking at the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Austin Hays is serving as the designated hitter today and Craig Gentry is leading off and playing center field, as the Orioles make the trip to Fort Myers to play the Red Sox. The lineup is missing a projected starter for the 2018 season. Joey Rickard is in right field - he could work into a platoon - and Anthony Santander is batting cleanup and playing left field. Austin Wynns is catching after hitting a home run last night to give the Orioles a 1-1 tie with the Twins. For the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The deal is official. Chris Tillman is coming back to the Orioles for the 2018 season, a match that made sense since the early days of free agency. Tillman passed his physical and signed his one-year contract worth a guaranteed $3 million. Incentives can push it to $10 million. There was a delay in the Orioles getting the necessary paperwork, which forced Tillman to miss yesterday's workout. The delay carried through the night. But nothing that threatened to nix the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles will conduct their first full-squad workout this afternoon after the remaining players in camp have passed their physicals and are cleared for baseball activities. Utility infielder Éngelb Vielma isn't expected to arrive until perhaps later in the week due to a visa issue in Venezuela. Everyone else should be in camp. How could practically every team in baseball claim Vielma over the last few months and no one applied for a visa? Chris Davis and Craig Gentry...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Austin Hays will let others debate whether he should be the Orioles' starting right fielder. Whether he belongs in the majors in any role or should accumulate more at-bats with the Triple-A affiliate. A quick interview at his locker this week confirmed that Hays is keeping it simple. His approach and his answers. "I'm just coming back and looking forward to putting the extra reps in and time in and just hoping to have a good year," Hays said, setting the tone and providing...

SARASOTA, Fla. -Sixteen pitchers threw in the bullpen today, including José Mesa, who is vying for a spot on the 25-man roster as a Rule 5 pick and perhaps in a rotation that has plenty of room. Also throwing today were Josh Edgin, Asher Wojciechowski, Darren O'Day, Brad Brach, Mike Wright, Mychal Givens, Chris Lee, Gabriel Ynoa, Perci Garner, Andrew Faulkner, Tim Melville, Alec Asher, Tanner Scott, Michael Kelly and Yefri Ramírez. Jesus Liranzo had a bullpen session early yesterday and...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Andrew Susac has a plan. And a color scheme. Susac feels right as home with the Orioles, who acquired him on Feb. 2 to compete for a job as backup catcher. It isn't strictly his welcoming teammates or a hankering for grouper. Orange and black work for him. "I think it's awesome," he said. "It seems like I can't get out of an orange and black jersey. Ever since Little League. I played for the Orioles in Little League. Funny story. From there to Oregon State and then the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Rule 5 pick José Mesa will be used as a starter in camp instead of working out of the bullpen. The Orioles added him to the mix earlier today, with the right-hander joining Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman, Mike Wright, Gabriel Ynoa, Miguel Castro, Hunter Harvey and Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes Jr. Mesa, son of the former Orioles pitcher of the same name, has made nine starts among his 78 minor league appearances in the Yankees system. He's gone 12-4 with a 2.86 ERA and 1.15 WHIP...

With exactly one week remaining before pitchers and catchers must report to the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, the task of submitting a mock 25-man roster hasn't grown much easier since my attempts two months ago. The rotation still has openings behind Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy, with only in-house candidates in the mix. The bullpen includes only one left-hander, Richard Bleier, who seems assured of breaking camp with the team if he stays healthy. There's supposed to be another...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Orioles have taken two players before in the Rule 5 draft. They topped that today, adding three selections in the major league phase. They chose three pitchers. They selected lefty Nester Cortes from the Yankees organization. In 30 games (13 starts) this season, he went 7-4 with a 2.06 ERA. He pitched at three levels in 2017, but mostly at Double-A and Triple-A. He's 25-14 with a 2.08 ERA in 84 career minor league games, including 40 starts, with 344 strikeouts in...