The Orioles won’t allow their roster to stop evolving. They are adding players for Friday’s expansion and figure to keep shuffling through the month of September.

The first two moves are decided, with outfielder Colton Cowser and reliever Joey Krehbiel joining the club in Arizona, according to a source. The club hasn’t made an announcement.

These are initial reinforcements who don’t close business.

Cowser made his major league debut on July 5 in New York and appeared in 26 games before the Orioles optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. He went 7-for-61 with two doubles, four RBIs, 13 walks and 22 strikeouts.

Over 69 games with the Tides, Cowser batted .314/.440/.524 with 15 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 45 RBIs in 315 plate appearances.

The Orioles gained a starting outfielder today and created a little more balance in their bullpen.

Cedric Mullins was reinstated from the 10-day injured list, and the Orioles recalled reliever Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk.

Outfielder Ryan McKenna and reliever Joey Krehbiel were optioned. The move with McKenna came after yesterday’s game.

Mullins is expected to lead off and play center field tonight in Seattle, where the Orioles begin a three-city West Coast swing. He hasn’t played since sustaining another groin injury while running the bases July 15 against the Marlins at Camden Yards.

Four rehab games with Double-A Bowie were deemed sufficient to activate Mullins, who went 3-for-20 with a couple of leaping catches.

The Orioles haven’t been swept in their last 75 multi-game series. The streak could end this afternoon.

If the rain does.

They will try to play and win, board their flight to Seattle and resume the countdown until their final road trip of the regular season.

They’re down to only three – Seattle, San Diego and Oakland; Arizona, Anaheim and Boston from Sept. 1-10; Houston and Cleveland from Sept. 18-24.

The questions about this team never run out. I’ve got a few more.

Claimed on waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Monday, right-hander Jacob Webb is the newest member of the Orioles bullpen. He is at Camden Yards today after being activated for tonight's game as right-hander Joey Krehbiel was optioned back to Triple-A after Tuesday’s loss to Houston.

Webb was DFA by the Angels over the weekend after going 1-1 with a 3.98 ERA over 31 2/3 innings and 29 games. He gave up 23 hits with 20 walks and 34 strikeouts, recording a 1.358 WHIP with a 5.7 walk rate and 9.7 K rate.

“I’m very happy. From a fourth-place team to a first-place team,” Webb said of joining the Orioles. “Obviously, pretty good scenario. Just trying to come in here and do what I do. Help the team as best I can.

“Yeah, kind of (the DFA was surprising). Situation over there – I was the odd man out in that scenario. But coming here is a nice little surprise. Ready to get to work.”

Webb is pleased for the most part with his season numbers. In his last game for the Angels on Friday against Seattle he pitched a scoreless inning. 

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Activated RHP Jacob Webb. He will wear No. 66.
• Optioned RHP Joey Krehbiel to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday’s game.

The Orioles optioned reliever Joey Krehbiel to Triple-A Norfolk after last night’s game and activated reliever Jacob Webb, who was a waiver claim Monday from the Angels.

Krehbiel made two appearances with the Orioles and retired all five batters he faced.

Webb, who’s wearing No. 66, was designated for assignment Saturday after posting a 3.98 ERA and 1.358 WHIP in 29 relief appearances. He walked 20 batters and struck out 34 in 31 2/3 innings.

The Braves drafted Webb in the 18^th round in 2014 out of Tabor College in Kansas. Prior to this season, he had appeared in 78 games over three seasons and had a 2.47 ERA and 1.304 WHIP in 76 2/3 innings.

Reliever Reed Garrett wore No. 66 earlier this season. It previously belonged to Tanner Scott and T.J. McFarland.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Reliever Joey Krehbiel has it figured out. He knows why he’s giving up so many runs this spring.

The mission is to correct it.

Krehbiel has pitched twice in exhibition games and allowed eight runs and eight hits in 1 2/3 innings. He couldn’t record the third out yesterday in Lakeland, and the Tigers hit two more home runs to raise his total to four.

“I didn’t finish the inning yesterday but I could have thrown 60 pitches and feel fine. Mentally, physically, everything is there,” he said this afternoon.

“If I would have gone out there with the same stuff and punched the side twice – six guys, six strikeouts – I wouldn’t be talking about this, but I would still be in the back of my mind knowing that I don’t have the best stuff. So, it’s kind of good to have a little eye opening and get hit around a little bit, just to, not necessarily wake me up but just know that there’s always room for improvement, especially right now.”

Players are heading down to Sarasota ahead of the designated report dates for spring training, and not just the five hitting prospects attending the development camp that began yesterday. Gunnar Henderson’s flight landed two days ago. The five Orioles participating in the World Baseball Classic – outfielders Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander, pitchers Dean Kremer and Dillon Tate, and infielder Ramón Urías – will arrive early so they can leave camp early.

Rather than getting us closer to identifying the 26-man roster for opening day, it feels like the Birdland Caravan has created more confusion over its composition.

DL Hall may not fit in the mock bullpens, with executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias suggesting that the left-hander could be sent down if unable to make the rotation in spring training.

“That part hasn’t been decided,” Elias said. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

We knew that Hall would arrive in camp as a starter and be stretched out, that the Orioles would keep developing him to occupy a spot in the rotation, but the ‘pen seemed like a solid and logical alternative following his 10 appearances last September. A weapon for the later innings.

The Orioles played their last games on Wednesday, a doubleheader feeling like a kick in the pants on their way out the door.

A gentle nudge would have sufficed, but the sport can be cruel.

Some of my reflections were shared ahead of the finale. Maybe a bit premature, but rules are made to be broken.

I’ve already noted how Matt Harvey never had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk, Gunnar Henderson earned a promotion despite his age, Yusniel Diaz stayed only for a cup of coffee, Rougned Odor lasted into September, we never saw Robert Neustrom, DJ Stewart didn’t make it back to the Orioles after three games to begin the season, Jorge Mateo was exclusively a shortstop, Bryan Baker stuck for the entire season, and Nick Vespi will never give up another Triple-A run.

That last one might come back to bite me, but man, he was good.

When you get pitching like the Orioles did in Minnesota – and have been getting for the most part since mid-June – you are going to have a chance to win some baseball games.

The O’s allowed three runs Friday and lost, and four on Saturday and lost. But they held the lead Sunday and beat Minnesota 3-1 to end the road trip, going 5-5 through Chicago, Seattle and Minnesota. They come home today for game No. 81 at 36-44. At the season’s halfway point after today they will either be on a pace to win 72 or 74 games in this 2022 season.

Orioles right-hander Tyler Wells improved to 7-4 and lowered his ERA to 3.09 with his latest strong outing on Sunday. Wells allowed three hits and one run over six innings, tying a career high for his longest outing, and he set a career high with seven strikeouts. He walked just one and continues to excel in strikethrowing. He has walked one or none in 10 of his 16 starts. And he’s walked more than two in just one outing this year with 17 walks for the season in 75 2/3 innings, or just 2.02 per every nine innings.

Wells pitched around a two-out error in the first, rolled through the fourth on 53 pitches and got a huge double-play ball off the bat of Carlos Correa in the sixth, when he allowed his only run. The bullpen took it from there with Keegan Akin, Joey Krehbiel and Dillon Tate getting the last nine outs. Tate fanned the game’s last two batters to keep the Orioles from suffering a third straight walk-off loss for the first time since Aug. 12-14, 2013 at Arizona.

The Twins had no late-inning magic this time as the Orioles got the win and salvaged a .500 road trip. While they are 18-27 on the road for the year, the Orioles are 12-11 over their past 23 away from Baltimore.

Ryan McKenna dived across home plate today in the second inning, hopped to his feet with hands clenched into fists, and yelled. The energy that’s been running through this team reaching high voltage.

The unfortunate part of the day for the Orioles was how quickly the Rays flipped the switch. The familiar part was the comeback by a team that stubbornly refuses to submit to its apparent fate.

The Orioles had to settle for another moral victory. They’d rather get the kind that's reflected in the standings.

Rookie Kyle Bradish surrendered four runs in the top of the third inning and two more in the fifth before the Orioles stormed back to tie the game in the sixth. Dillon Tate loaded the bases in the ninth, and Harold Ramírez’s sacrifice fly gave the Rays a 7-6 win at Camden Yards.

A walk, single and hit batter set the stage for Ramírez, who lined to right fielder Trey Mancini.

The Orioles bullpen underwent more changes today as right-hander Joey Krehbiel returned to the active roster and righty Logan Gillaspie was optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk. Krehbiel’s last game was June 2, and he's been out since with right shoulder discomfort and inflammation. But he has been throwing while not active and said today he feels very ready for his return to the active roster.

Krehbiel, who has pitched in the majors with Arizona, Tampa Bay and the Orioles, was claimed by Baltimore off waivers from Tampa Bay on Sept. 21, 2021. He was off to a good start to his season before his IL stint, going 2-3 with a 2.74 ERA over 22 games and 23 innings. He has recorded a 1.130 WHIP and has allowed just one run in seven innings over his last six appearances.

“I actually only took maybe like five or six days off in a row not throwing,” he said in the O’s clubhouse pregame. “Just getting in the training room and (they were) taking care of me every day. I have thrown every day. First day I threw, just to play catch, then took a day off and for like the last 10 days, about eight of those days I’ve thrown every day.

“Threw off the mound first time just 15 fastballs, felt great. Next couple days off, then threw like an aggressive full-on bullpen. All my pitches and it felt even better than before. So twice (off the mound) I guess.”

And after pitching well for the Orioles to start this season, waiting out his IL time of 15 days was not easy.

The Orioles activated reliever Joey Krehbiel from the 15-day injured list and optioned right-hander Logan Gillaspie to Triple-A Norfolk. Gillaspie was informed of the move last night.

Krehbiel, who was sidelined with right shoulder tendinitis, has a 2.74 ERA and 1.130 WHIP in 23 innings. Gillaspie has appeared in 11 games with the Orioles and allowed five earned runs (six total) and 15 hits in 10 1/3 innings.

Gillaspie was charged with four runs and five hits Monday in 1/3 of an inning in Toronto.

Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins are on the bench today.

Austin Hays is leading off and serving as the designated hitter. Trey Mancini is in right field, Ryan McKenna in center and Anthony Santander in left.

The Orioles end their road trip tonight in Philadelphia with a few more roster moves pending. Infielders Jahmai Jones and Tyler Nevin have joined the club and could be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. Manager Brandon Hyde said there's also a fresh arm available for the bullpen as a possible transaction. Hyde said, "We have a bunch of things going on right now," which includes pitcher Chris Ellis' arm fatigue, infielder Ramón Urías' sore right upper leg and Anthony Santander tweaking...