Their time will come later
No. 1 pick Rutschman among 8 younger players cut from camp
With a round of roster cuts Friday out of major-league camp, the Orioles continued to show that development of their young prospects was still paramount while at the same time expressing some confidence in their presence.
Top prospect Adley Rutschman, along with well-regarded prospects Dean Kremer and Ryan McKenna, was part of an eight-player group sent to minor-league camp in a largely expected wave of moves as the full collection of minor-leaguers begins preparations for the season across town at Twin Lakes Park.
But in returning Rule 5 draft picks Brandon Bailey and Michael Rucker to their previous clubs after each showed signs of being able to contribute to the major-league team in 2020, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias made a vote of confidence in the veterans he’s brought in to be in the Orioles’ Opening Day rotation.
“We came in with a very large camp, and we’ve got to get to 26 players here in the next two weeks and a couple of days,” Elias said. “We’re kind of accelerating that process a little bit.”
There’s nothing remarkable about sending out the group of young players the Orioles did. Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft, collected his first hit in a Grapefruit League game Thursday in a pinch-hit opportunity to end his time on a high note.
He was in major-league camp along with six other catchers to learn major-league routines and launch himself into his first full professional season, which could start at High-A Frederick. Elias said it was “really impressive how he handled himself.”
“That’s not easy to do — a No. 1 pick and all the hype, and you kind of have to handle that but also act like the minor-leaguer that you are around the other players,” Elias said. “I think he managed to do that, and he’s just got a good head on his shoulders. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does this season in the minor leagues.”
Rutschman will go to minor-league camp, which begins in full Sunday, after pitchers and catchers reported Thursday and the rest this weekend, along with right-hander Kremer and outfielder McKenna, among others. As recent 40-man roster additions, Kremer and McKenna had to stay in camp a certain number of days before being sent out.
Elias said Kremer is a “long-term rotation piece here for the Orioles” but needs Triple-A time and success at that level. McKenna was part of a crowded outfield group in major-league camp and hasn’t played above Double A.
While they’re all part of the Orioles’ long-term plans, the team made an early decision that satisfying the Rule 5 roster requirements for Bailey and Rucker and keeping them in the major leagues for the entire season wasn’t feasible.
Bailey, a Houston Astros farmhand, and Rucker, who came from the Chicago Cubs, would have been upgrades to the Orioles’ stable of young pitching talent, Elias said. But he cited MLB rule changes that limit roster flexibility by having a three-batter minimum for pitchers and force players optioned to the minors to stay there for 15 days instead of 10 as factors in how difficult it would be to have two pitchers the Orioles couldn’t be flexible with roster-wise on the staff the entire year.
“These were tough decisions, especially with the Rule 5 guys because both are impressive,” Elias said. “It’s why we drafted them. They have big-league stuff and they’re big-league pitchers, and [they] will be pitching in the big leagues in the future.”
Along with the roster-flexibility considerations, Elias also noted that the way the Orioles’ pitching plans are shaking out this spring means they’ll be adding pitchers in camp who aren’t on the roster, such as Wade LeBlanc and Tommy Milone, to the 40-man roster come Opening Day. Elias also said a non-roster position player could be added, with the utility infield battle and bench outfield spots still open.
Even as Milone, who has tightness in his trapezius area, and major-league free agent Kohl Stewart (biceps) both deal with injuries this spring that have hampered their progress, Elias said “all indications are they’re going to be able to jump back into the rotation battle.”
With LeBlanc seemingly a shoo-in, Keegan Akin, Bruce Zimmermann, David Hess, Chandler Shepherd, Thomas Eshelman and Ty Blach are all being groomed to pitch multiple innings so far and remain in the rotation race to pitch alongside John Means, Alex Cobb and Asher Wojciechowski.
“We will still assess other internal options, and then external options toward the end of camp as other teams make roster moves and perhaps players exercise out clauses and things of that nature,” Elias said.
Around the horn
Once Bailey and Rucker hit waivers, the Orioles will have two open 40-man roster spots. Other players reassigned to minorleague camp were catcher Martin Cervenka and pitchers Brady Rodgers, Hunter Cervenka, Marcos Diplán and Cristian Alvarado. The camp roster is currently at 54 players. … Right-hander Evan Phillips returned from Los Angeles, where he got a second opinion on his sore elbow and said it was a good-news/ bad-news outcome. He does not have any serious structural damage but will be shut down for several weeks and will not be able to start the season on time.