Notes on Hays, Rodríguez, Britton and Mesa

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 a reminder that he's staying humble and putting in the work despite the hype.

Austin Hays swinging grey jersey Os 0918 tall--sidebar.jpgThe Orioles are expected to sign a left-handed hitter to at least platoon in right field. Hays could be the other half of it. He could back up at all three positions. No one knows the outcome in February and Hays won't speculate on it.

"I'm just coming in here trying to get my body right, get healthy, get my swings in and just get ready for a good season," he said.

Hays batted a combined .329/.365/.593 with 32 doubles, five triples, 32 home runs and 95 RBIs at Single-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie to earn a September promotion and the award as the organization's Minor League Player of the Year. The Orioles are confident that he's going to hit. They want to determine his level of performance in the field and whether he can back up Adam Jones in center.

"I have to do everything well," he said, downplaying the importance of just one facet of his game. "I'm going to have to play defense well, I'm going to have to run well, throw well, hit well. I've got to get better throughout spring training the whole time."

You can't rattle the kid.

Hays' placement on the 40-man roster assured his presence at major league camp. He would have been invited anyway, since the club summoned outfielders DJ Stewart and Cedric Mullins and third baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

"I'm just trying to keep everything simple and as similar as possible," Hays said. "Have the same mindset and just focus on the little things, taking care of my routines and getting my body ready to go out and play."

Playing games through September didn't cause Hays to adjust his offseason routine.

"Not anything too different or crazy," he said. "I stayed pretty healthy throughout the year, so I felt like my offseason regiment and workout plan worked out well to keep my body right for a long season."

You can't unnecessarily speed up and distract the kid.

"I'm just trying to slow everything down, don't get caught up in the moment or caught up in the fans or anything like that," he said. "Just focus on pitch to pitch what you need to do. Everything else takes care of itself."

* Manager Buck Showalter has been impressed with left-hander Joely Rodríguez, signed as a minor league free agent.

Rodriguez, 26, could use a bounceback season after posting a 6.33 ERA and 1.926 WHIP in 26 games with the Phillies and 6.33 ERA and 1.815 WHIP in 22 games with Triple-A Round Rock. He had a 2.79 ERA in 12 appearances with the Phillies in 2016 and a 7-0 record and 2.35 ERA in 53 combined appearances at three levels of the farm system.

"We're trying to figure out why and it's worth taking a chance," Showalter said. "He's got a good arm and good presentation. Real professional. He reminds me a little bit of (Antonio) Bastardo and (Fernando) Abad, that kind of look. But he may have a little better arm, pure arm."

* Closer Zach Britton, moved to the 60-day disabled list last night, hung around the back mounds yesterday and watched the bullpen sessions. He also contributed to the discussion on the Camden Yards replica field during one of the drills.

"That doesn't surprise me," Showalter said. "I want him to feel welcome to do it and I've said that. I know he was really wanting to watch Tanner (Scott). He sees a lot of some of the challenges that he faced and Tanner faced as being similar. He was talking to me about Austin Wynns, how much he reminded him of Caleb (Joseph) in a lot of ways when he threw to him.

"He was talking about how he was throwing a rehab over at Bowie and he was warming up to start the inning, bounced a sinker and hit him right in the neck. The guy went down to block it warming up. He goes, 'Hey, dude, you don't have to block that while I'm warming up.' This big welt was on his neck the whole outing, every time he'd look in there.

"He thought that was why he was up a little bit in that game. He didn't want to hit him again. Because he knew that he was going to try to block it."

* Would it be meaningful for Showalter to have Rule 5 pitcher José Mesa on the team because his father also pitched for the Orioles?

I didn't sense a wave of nostalgia.

"The excitement would come if he was good and pitched well for us," Showalter said. "No. I'd like to say so, but... I didn't know Jose that well. Saw him from the other side.

"That's one of the challenges that I spoke of yesterday, to not think of him as a closer or a reliever. He's a different guy. You can tell he can spin the ball."

The Orioles have decided to make Mesa a starter in camp based on his numbers out of the rotation in the minors. However, they know that they're dealing with a small sample size. Eight starts last summer between Single-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton.

"That's the challenge," Showalter said. "What else are you going by then? It is what it is. I couldn't call the Yankees last year and say, 'Hey, we're going to take him in the Rule 5. Would you start him the rest of the year?' I'm kind of glad they didn't. He may not have been available. Some of that may have been by design. I don't know.

He's an interesting guy. He's got a lot of things going for him. You can tell he's been around baseball. He's pretty comfortable out on the field and he knows how things work. He's been in clubhouses and locker rooms for a long time."




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