Baltimore Orioles: Unpacking The Last 24 Hours Of Movement

A lot has happened in the last 24 hours for the Baltimore Orioles.

Have you been able to digest all of the movement over the last 24 hours surrounding the Baltimore Orioles? I step out for a nice brunch with friends and family and apparently missed a bunch of news out of Orioles camp, so let’s unpack everything.

Some of the news was expected, some of it is head-scratching, and some is a little depressing.

First, a review of Friday’s moves. The Orioles added two new faces into the roster picture, claiming catcher Pedro Severino off waivers from the Washington Nationals and trading away minor league outfielder Mike Yastrzemski to the San Francisco Giants for RHP Tyler Herb.

Severino is out of minor league options, meaning he will likely be on the active roster for Opening Day. Although, the O’s could try and sneak him through waivers this week. Jesus Sucre is still in camp, but according to MLB.com’s Joe Trezza, Sucre hasn’t been guaranteed a roster spot and could still exercise his opt-out if he receives a major league offer.

Carlos Perez and Andrew Susac aren’t options to make the 25-man anymore, but that still leaves the biggest question mark of them all, Chance Sisco.

Does this mean Sisco begins the year in the minor leagues? I’m betting my money on yes. If it’s Sucre and Severino behind the plate to start the year, the Orioles will need to clear another roster spot to place Sucre on the 40-man.

So to recap, Opening Day is Thursday and I’m thinking way too much about the current catching situation that involves Pedro Severino and Jesus Sucre. That’s about as Baltimore Orioles 2019 as it can get.

Who will be the Opening Day starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles?

Friday evening was supposed to be Alex Cobb‘s final warmup for Opening Day against the New York Yankees, unfortunately, Cobb exited the contest after one inning with a groin strain. Cobb claimed that if this was the regular season he would be able to push through it and as of Sunday afternoon, there hasn’t been more definite news surrounding his status for Thursday.

Andrew Cashner was limited to two innings in his start today, Sunday, in case he needs to go on Opening Day. It’s likely that more news will come out on Monday about Cobb’s situation, but in the meantime, the 2019 season is starting out on a sour note.

Injuries all around for the Baltimore Orioles.

There is still a chance that Cobb feels well enough to go on Thursday, but this type of injury can also continue to nag. Third baseman Renato Nunez is also suffering from a nagging injury that may lead to him beginning the year on the injured list. Nunez continues to experience bicep discomfort. Although, it hasn’t impacted his bat, hitting a home run this weekend, and could allow him to slot in at DH until he heals.

We know for certain that Mark Trumbo will not begin the year with the Orioles and it could be a long time before he’s in the lineup. Brandon Hyde has announced that Trumbo will begin the year on the Injured List. As pointed out by The Athletic’s Dan Connolly, Trumbo could remain out for a few weeks or a few months. I’d go with the latter.

If Nunez isn’t healthy enough for the field, that means that Trey Mancini will likely stay in the outfield for a majority of the time. Expect to see a very different lineup on a game-by-game basis until the dust settles.

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It was assumed that Trumbo would begin the year on the IL, but not Austin Hays. After a hot spring training, Hays was sent to minor league camp and was informed that he would begin the year in the minors to continue his development. It caused an initial uproar among some fans, but after so much missed time due to injury and his limited amount of time in the minors, adding Hays to a 100-plus loss team just didn’t make a lot of sense.

Now it appears that Hays could find himself missing time, again. Hays suffered a thumb injury in a minor league spring training game and will be evaluated further on Monday. There has been no official news and Hays may not have an MRI until Monday so this isn’t any sort of speculation, but when I first heard the news, I immediately thought of Fernando Tatis Jr.and his thumb injury that kept him out for eight weeks last season. This is the Orioles we are talking about, which is why my mind instantly went worst case scenario here. Until we know anything further, all we can do is hope for the best for Austin Hays.

*Editors update- MASNSports’ Roch Kubatko has reported that Hays underwent an MRI Sunday morning, but results have been disclosed.*

Stay tuned as I’m sure plenty of moves will be made over the next three days as the Orioles try and assemble a full 25-man roster for Opening Day against the Yankees. Follow us Twitter @BirdsWatcherFS and Like us on Facebook!