Meisinger, Fry added for bullpen help
O’s pay tribute to shooting victims; O’Day might get hamstring surgery
Relievers Ryan Meisinger and Paul Fry joined the Orioles on Friday, providing cover for a bullpen that’s been stretched thin over the past week.
“Just pitching well, and they’re our best options,” manager Buck Showalter said. “We need some people here.”
Meisinger, a Dunkirk native who played at Northern High and then Radford, has a 2.05 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 22 innings at Triple-A Norfolk after beginning this season with Double-A Bowie.
An 11th-round draft pick in 2015, Meisinger, 24, has a career 2.37 ERA in 120 games with a1.11 WHIP. He said he was trying to scrounge up 18 tickets for friends and family Friday.
“I grew up watching the Orioles with Cal Ripken and all those guys,” Meisinger said. “It’s very exciting. I have a lot of family around, a lot of friends in town, so we’ll see what happens.”
Fry, a left-hander acquired from the Seattle Mariners last April for international signing-bonus slots in the transaction where the Orioles designated Parker Bridwell for assignment, spent two days with the major league club last year but didn’t pitch.
“Just being around the guys all the time, it was a great learning experience,” Fry said. “I got my heart racing when I got up twice. I’ll probably black out tonight, but I’m ready.”
Like Meisinger, the 25-year-old Fry split time this year between Bowie and Norfolk, with a 3.19 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP between the two levels.
Both pitchers said they struggled with consistency earlier in the season, but pitched well enough for the past month or so to earn their call-ups.
To make room for them on the 25-man roster, the Orioles optioned Jimmy Yacabonis and Yefry Ramírez to Norfolk, where they’ll rejoin the rotation Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Darren O’Day (hamstring) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list, and infielder Corban Joseph was designated for assignment to create 40-man roster spots. Orioles honor Capital Gazette victims: The Orioles on Friday left a copy of The Capital in which its reporters wrote of the shooting in their own newsroom, as well as a bouquet of white lilies, at the newspaper’s Camden Yards press box seat. Five Capital Gazette employees were killed in Thursday’s shooting at the publication’s Annapolis office. In addition to that display, the team held a moment of silence for the five victims — Rob Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman, John McNamara, Wendi Winters and Rebecca Smith — with a message of remembrance for those who lost their lives to “another senseless act of gun violence.” Surgery possible for O’Day: O’Day saw a specialist in Nashville on Friday for a second opinion on his strained left hamstring, and was deciding whether to undergo surgery. “We knew it was a pretty extensive injury, and even without surgery, it would probably be a potential 60-day [DL],” Showalter said. “I think that’s one of the ways that we’re making room for these guys today. But Darren is contemplating surgery now. He’ll make the decision if, when and where here shortly. [Head athletic trainer Brian Ebel] just talked to him. He just got through seeing the doctor there, and Brian is speaking to the doctor.” Around the horn: Five members of the Orioles’ Double-A affiliate, the Bowie Baysox, were named Eastern League All-Stars on Friday: left-hander Keegan Akin, third baseman Ryan Mountcastle, left-hander Luis González, infielder Corban Joseph and catcher Martin Cervenka. ... Cody Sedlock, the Orioles’ 2016 first-round pick who made just three starts at High-A Frederick this year before going on the DL with a shoulder injury, threw a 30-pitch bullpen session this week in Sarasota, Fla., as he progresses back to the mound. ... Grayson Rodriguez, the Orioles’ top pick in the 2018 draft, will make his debut in the Gulf Coast League on Thursday.