BALTIMORE — Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette hasn’t let the start of the season stop him from continuing to build the 2017 roster.
In addition to acquiring young pitchers Andrew Faulkner and Miguel Castro for players to be named later or cash considerations, Baltimore officially signed veteran starting pitcher Edwin Jackson to a minor-league deal on Friday. In the cases of Faulkner and Castro, it’s all about the Orioles continuing to add young pitching inventory with minor-league options to potentially use in relief or the back end of the starting rotation.
“We’re talking about controllable, optionable, not-on-the-roster guys that we can [acquire],” manager Buck Showalter said. “All three are different, but like I’ve said before, it’s kind of who we are and who we’ve been. That’s the commodity that’s a separator when you can acquire it. It shows you how much confidence Dan and all of us have in our player-development system.
“If [the talent’s] there, it will come out.”
Jackson, 33, has sprinkled a handful of good years into his underwhelming career ERA of 4.64 over 14 major league seasons. He went 5-7 with a 5.89 ERA in 84 innings split between Miami and San Diego last season. He will report to extended spring training in Sarasota and is expected to work as a reliever initially.
The major league results for the lefty Faulkner and the hard-throwing Castro haven’t been impressive, but it’s all about buying low and hoping their imperfections can be ironed out.
Tillman heads to Sarasota
After spending the week with his teammates in Baltimore, starting pitcher Chris Tillman traveled to Sarasota on Friday to continue rehabilitation on his right shoulder.
Tillman’s recent bullpen sessions have gone well, meaning the next step will be pitching in an extended spring game. The right-hander will go two innings or throw 30 pitches — whichever comes first — on Tuesday.
The best-case scenario for Tillman’s return to the major league rotation would be in early May, but the Orioles will be cautious in hopes of him staying healthy for the duration of the season.
What’s next for D. Alvarez, Gunkel?
A day after the disappointing news broke that former outfielder Dariel Alvarez had suffered an elbow injury in his transition to pitching and would likely need Tommy John surgery, the Orioles raised some eyebrows by releasing him to make room on the 40-man roster for Faulkner on Thursday.
Showalter confirmed Friday that the club is attempting to re-sign the 28-year-old to a minor-league deal. It’s believed that the organization took care of Alvarez from a financial standpoint to help facilitate the release of the injured player.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Castro, right-handed pitcher Joe Gunkel was designated for assignment, but the Orioles hope to pass him through waivers to outright him to Triple-A Norfolk.
Sim games on Thursday
Having not appeared in either of the Orioles’ first two games this week, relievers Darren O’Day, Donnie Hart, Oliver Drake, and Vidal Nuno each threw one-inning simulated games during Thursday’s off-day to stay sharp.
