Means added, could start this week
Pitching shortage might provide chance; Jones gets a shot in LF
BOSTON — Left-hander John Means joined the Orioles for the first time Monday from Triple-ANorfolk — or more aptly, Sarasota, Fla. — as they looked to cover themselves on the pitching front for the remainder of the season.
The club is in the midst of an unprecedented September pitching shortage even with expanded rosters this month, and if Means is tapped for one of those games against the division champion Boston Red Sox, his path to his major league debut will be a unique one.
“I’d love for him to get his feet on the ground, but obviously, we’re going to need a starter tomorrowand it looks like we’re going to need a starter for Wednesday, too,” manager Buck Showalter said.
Once the season ended in Norfolk on Labor Day, Means said he went home to Kansas City, and two weeks in, was sitting on the couch when he got a call from director of minor league administration Kent Qualls asking what he’d been up to.
“I’d been throwing every other day just in case, making sure,” Means said. “So he said, ‘Can you go to Florida and get warmed up a little bit?’ Of course, I was like, ‘Sure,’ and here I am.”
Means, 25, spent most of this year with the Tides after opening the year at Double-ABowie, andhada3.72ERAover1571/3innings between the two teams, striking out130 against 32 walks with a1.26 WHIP.
Before that, Means had spent parts of two seasons with Bowie. An 11th-round draft pick out of West Virginia in 2014, he has a career 3.83 ERA in the minors. While not considered one of the organization’s top prospects, Meanshasbeenareliable minorleague contributor andmade at least 20 starts in each of his full minor league seasons.
While the Orioles have added plenty of pitching this month, they’ve had right-handers Alex Cobb, AndrewCashner( knee) and Luis Ortiz (hamstring) suffer injuries andhaveshutdownleft-handerJoshRogers and right-hander Evan Phillips after they hit their innings limits.
Showalter said Wednesday’s projected starter, Yefry Ramírez, will likely require a couple of extra days of rest to allow a cut on his hand to heal. Cobbthrewjust four pitches Sundaywhiledealing with a cut onhis finger that developed from a blister. Miguel Castro is also working through a knee injury.
Means, along with right-hander Dillon Tate, had been sent to Sarasota to begin throwing again in case the Orioles needed them. Tate couldn’t get going again once he was shut down, though.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Orioles recalled outfielder Austin Hays to place him on the 60-day disabled list. Hays recently had ankle surgery. John Means Jones starts in left field: Veteran outfielder Adam Jones got his first start with the team in left field as an opportunity to play in front of Fenway Park’s Green Monster on Monday night, in part to fulfill what seems to be Jones’ desire but mostly to provide experience in right field for rookie DJ Stewart.
Jones celebrated when seeing his name listed as the starting left fielder in the Orioles clubhouse, and Showalter said the position doesn’t matter so much for his veteran outfielder, who ceded center field to rookie Cedric Mullins over a month ago.
Showalter said Stewart would get a chance in front of the Green Monster later this week. Around the horn: Outfielder John Andreoli, who grew up in Shrewsbury, Mass., was preparing for a busy week of guests at the ballpark as he made his first trip to Fenway Park as a player. … Showalter said he was preparing to use infielder Jace Peterson on the mound if Sunday’s game went into extra innings. … First baseman Chris Davis sat out asecondstraight gameMonday, andthetopleft-handers pitching for Boston might mean he sits the entire series.