Neck strain puts Cashner on 10-day DL
Pitcher receives trigger-point injection; Ramírez called up
The Orioles made a pair of moves Wednesday that will affect the team’s starting rotation during their final series before the All-Star break this weekend, placing right-hander Andrew Cashner on the 10-day disabled list after he received a trigger-point injection in his neck and recalling right-hander Yefry Ramírez.
Cashner received the injection, which manager Buck Showalter said Cashner has had in the past near midseason, Wednesday. And Ramírez, who was optioned before Tuesday’s game after starting Game 2 of Monday’s doubleheader against the Yankees, was able to return before serving 10 days in the minors because he rejoined the team as part of a corresponding DL move.
Cashner’s first half is officially done. He will be eligible to return next Saturday in Toronto, the Orioles’ second game after the All-Star break.
“It’s something he gets a really good return from,” Showalter said. “There’s a lot of things that guys do before the break. Some guys get injections, shoulders, different stuff, position players. It’s pretty common. Hopefully, he’ll respond well. We expect that to be good and he’ll finish the rest of the year.”
Cashner’s next start would have been Sunday — the Orioles’ final game before the break — which opens the possibility of right-hander Chris Tillman’s return from the DLto start that game against the Texas Rangers.
Tillman made his fifth minor league rehabilitation start on Tuesday for High-A Frederick, allowing six runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks over 61⁄ innings in an102-pitch outing against Wilmington. Through five starts, Tillman has yet to record a strong pitching line, posting a 7.59 ERA while allowing 41 base runners over 211⁄ innings. Tillman is scheduled to start Sunday for Norfolk in what would be his final rehab start before his 30-day rehab assignment window expires, but Showalter said the team could activate him to start Sunday’s game against Texas.
The Orioles’ other leading option would be to recall right-hander JimmyYacabonisfromNorfolk to start against Texas.
Ramirez will likely fill Saturday’s rotation spot against the Rangers. Cashner Hart rides Norfolk shuttle: When the Orioles recalled left-handed reliever Donnie Hart before Tuesday’s game, it marked the seventh time the team has summoned him from Triple-A Norfolk this season.
Hehasn’t been with the Orioles more than a week this season — most of his stints with the club have been just two or three days — but Showalter lauded Hart’s dedication to performing every time he’s been optioned.
“Donnie gets it,” Showalter said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a short conversation. But he controls it. He goes down there and pitches well and he comes back. There’s always going to be a need. He’s on the roster. It’s an easy up and down. He can pitch multiple days. We needed some length.” O’s extend contracts with affiliates: With an agreement announced Wednesday, the Orioles will keep their player development relationship with five minor league affiliates in Norfolk, Bowie, Frederick, Delmarva and Aberdeen through 2020. The Orioles have kept that stable of five affiliates consistent since they began their relationship with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides in 2007.
The Double-A Bowie Baysox became an affiliate in 1993, the High-A Frederick Keys in 1989 and the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds in 1997. Short-A Aberdeen joined in 2002, and eventually became the Orioles’ only short-season team when the organization separated from its Rookie-level Bluefield affiliate in 2010. Around the horn: Orioles reliever Mychal Givens will sign autographs and greet fans Friday at Westfield Annapolis Mall from 11 a.m. to noon. The event is free of charge and open to the public. … Three-time Olympic gold medal softball player Lisa Fernandez attended Wednesday’s Orioles-Yankees game. Fernandez is in town for next week’s All-Star Game festivities.