Trumbo focuses on recovery now that he’s bound for DL
Edgin makes his best case for roster spot against former club
SARASOTA, FLA. – Orioles designated hitter will open the regular season on the disabled list after aggravating a quad strain in his right leg, so now his focus turns to resolving the injury entirely before returning, no matter the time it takes to completely heal.
After initially missing a week of Grapefruit League games with the injury, Trumbo returned as the team’s starting designated hitter Wednesday at home against the New York Yankees. He made it through that game, but felt tightness afterward, and an MRI the following day revealed a Grade 2 strain.
“I don’t know how surprised [I am],” Trumbo said. “It’s just unfortunate in a number of ways, but it’s kind of hard to tell exactly where you’re at until you’re going full speed and I think that was the case here.”
Trumbo said the quad wasn’t completely healed when he returned, but with spring training winding down, he hoped he could still get enough at-bats to be ready for Opening Day on March 29. Trumbo hadn’t played in a game since March 6, but after a 0-for-3 outing Wednesday, his quad regressed.
“I wouldn’t say it felt good as it has when I’m 100 percent, but at the end of the day, with where we’re at in spring, it’s important to get the at-bats,” Trumbo said. “You’re kind of taught to fight through and get out there, and that was kind of where my mind was at. I was hoping it would hold up and be good enough to allow me to get the reps needed to perform. But when I got home that night, it simply didn’t feel — didn’t respond too well.”
While manager estimated that Trumbo would return in three to four weeks, Trumbo said he’s preparing to take longer.
“However long it takes is what it takes, because it’s one of those things that can really nag and nag,” Trumbo said.
Trumbo said he hadn’t decided yet whether he will remain in Sarasota to rehabilitate or go north with the team when Grapefruit League games end next weekend to continue his recovery in Baltimore. Edgin makes case: Maybe it was the motivation of pitching against his old team, the New York Mets, at the only spring training ballpark he’d ever known.
Or maybe who sports a shaved head and goatee a la former wrestling star
got an extra boost from pitching on his doppelgänger’s unofficial March 16 holiday.
Whatever it was, the Orioles nonroster left-hander made his best case for a bullpen spot of the spring Friday against the Mets. Edgin, 31, fanned two around a walk in a scoreless inning to bring his spring line to a run on two hits in five innings, and with the end of spring fast approaching, he believes he’s made a good impression for a bullpen role.
Edgin and the remaining relievers in camp outside of the established foursome of
and are part of a tightly packed race. The left-handers in that mix — Edgin,
and — have all pitched well this spring. Rule 5 draft pick
is also a left-hander who could pitch in any role at this point, and Showalter said Saturday before the Orioles played the Toronto Blue Jays that they could keep as many as three lefties, including Bleier, when camp breaks.
of having not a real optionable bullpen, You’ve got to have guys down there who can do multiple jobs.” Orioles react to UMBC:
knows what it’s like to take Baltimore by storm, but as he watched UMBC complete the first first-round upset by a No. 16 seed against topranked Virginia, the Orioles star knew he was watching a sports phenomenon of a different kind.
“This is honestly one of the top things I’ve been waiting for to happen in sports, every year,” said Mancini, who watched the game after returning from the team’s two-day jaunt to Florida’s East Coast. “My uncle, he lives up in the D.C. area — he’s the biggest college basketball fan I know, and he’s gotten me on the train of, ‘This is something that might not ever happen.’ But we’ve been waiting a long time.
“It’s really cool, too, that it’s a Baltimore school that did it, especially against UVA. Two teams in the same area, I’m sure that makes it a little sweeter for UMBC, too. It looks like they have a great team. They’ve got a chance to make a little run here, honestly.” Around the horn: As the Orioles outfield situation gets pared down,
thinks he can provide plenty should the Orioles keep him. Signed as a minor league free agent earlier in camp, Presley is batting .333 (11-for-33) with four RBIs after an RBI triple Saturday while playing all over the outfield . ... First baseman
will play Sunday, Showalter said. Davis tried to talk his way into Saturday’s lineup after an extended absence with an elbow injury, but Showalter said they decided to stick with the plan . ... Former Orioles right-hander signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals on Friday, according to multiple reports . ... Orioles pitchers and
served as bat boy for Saturday’s game as the punishment for their performance in the team’s fantasy football league.