SARASOTA, FLA. — Orioles manager Buck Showalter expects to make "five or more" cuts after the split-squad games on Sunday. Most will be position players; at least one will be a pitcher.
** Showalter said J.J. Hardy, who injured his left shoulder on Friday diving for a ball, seemed to be much better Sunday. Showalter said he would wait until the club gets results from Hardy's MRA, scheduled for Monday, before deciding the next step.
"He was a lot better. I'm not going to say definitively until we get the MRA (Monday), but it's encouraging today," he said. "His facial expressions alone, you can tell he slept (Saturday) night without any discomfort. The night before he was tossing and turning all night."
** Showalter was considering going to Dunedin to watch Ubaldo Jimenez make a start against the Toronto Blue Jays' starting lineup, but needed to stay in Sarasota to make the cuts.
It's possible Jimenez could face the Blue Jays in the first week of the season, and Showalter usually prefers his starters don't face division rivals this late in spring. But, with Jimenez, he wants him to get as much exposure to big-league lineups as possible.
"The most important thing this spring is for him to pitch as many innings as he can pitch regardless of who it's against. If a starting pitcher is on his game it doesn't matter who he is facing if they are on their game," he said. "But there are certain things that lend to it. But it doesn't mean they'll face them during the season. With the off day (on April 9) we can do about anything we want to do."
** Outfielder David Lough (back spasms) will start in Monday's game, Showalter said. He could have played Sunday, but the athletic training staff decided he should take one more day of workouts before getting back into a game.