Brian Matusz has been suspended eight games by Major League Baseball for Saturday's 12th-inning incident in Miami in which he was ejected for having a "foreign substance" on his right forearm.
Matusz, who had never been ejected before in his professional career, is appealing the suspension and will be able to play with the Orioles until a hearing is held.
The announcement was made by Joe Garagiola Jr., MLB's senior vice president of standards & on-field operations.
One arbiter appointed by the commissioner's office will make a determination on the appeal after both sides present their cases. A hearing date for Matusz has not been announced.
"Everything is based off of precedent," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Each case is different and that's why you have the appeal process to make sure it's not just some blanket punishment. Each case is different. I'm sure that's why [the appeal] is in place to find out if this is different."
Matusz's eight-game suspension was expected since Milwaukee's Will Smith was ejected Thursday and suspended eight games Friday for having a foreign substance on his non-pitching arm. It is believed the pitchers used the same substance – a combination of rosin and sunscreen – which created a stickiness that can help with gripping a slick baseball.
Matusz has not directly addressed the incident since Saturday because he is waiting for the suspension process to unfold. Approached Monday about the potential suspension, Matusz said politely that he had nothing new to say on the subject.
Showalter, who for years has lobbied for tackier baseballs so that pitchers can have better grips and put hitters in less peril, said he supports his player but also wants them to understand that actions come with consequences. Because Matusz was ejected in the middle of the inning, T.J. McFarland had to come into the game and warm up on the mound without getting loose in the bullpen. McFarland and the Orioles lost in the next inning.
"It's one of those things that publicly, you're always supportive of your players. Privately, you're always trying to make people aware of their actions," Showalter said. "I'm sure T.J. McFarland has some ideas about it. A lot of people are affected by things."
At this point, the Orioles are in a waiting game.
Milwaukee's Smith has not had his appeal hearing yet — which gives Showalter hope that Matusz will continue to remain on the roster at least through Thursday, when the club plays a makeup doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox.
Smith's appeal "hasn't been heard yet. I don't know what they're going to do. It's all in their hands," Showalter said of the league-appointed arbiter. "I got it. We've got to play every day like today's the day it's heard and decided. So, we've got a lot of different moving parts and things that we have to be ready for in case it happens and understand the rules for the doubleheader. I'm more focused on getting through today and [trying] to win a game and see what each day brings. But we have to be ready to react quickly."
The Orioles must play one man down during the length of Matusz's suspension — whenever it begins — meaning the club will use either a six-man bullpen or three-man bench during that time. Showalter's overwhelming preference is for his roster to be at full strength for the doubleheader. But it's not like he'll make that point to MLB.
"Can I make a request of Major League Baseball after they suspend a player to bend the rules for us?" Showalter said. "That's not going to happen."
Showalter also made a point about the inconsistency in suspension rules. He loses Matusz's roster spot due to the "foreign substance" situation, but he could replace Chris Davis on the roster last year when the slugger failed an amphetamines test.
"It's kind of strange. With Chris' situation, you could replace him and he didn't count on our 40-man roster," Showalter said. "There's a difference somehow made between the two."
A fairly new rule should help the Orioles this week, however. The club can add a "26th man" for both ends of scheduled doubleheaders. At this point, that 26th man on Thursday likely will start one of the two games against Chicago. Right-hander Tyler Wilson and McFarland, both of whom were sent back to Triple-A Norfolk this weekend, are the leading candidates to be the 26th man. Wilson starts for the Tides on Monday night, but his innings will be limited in case he gets the call for Thursday.
The 26th man rule also allows for players who were recently sent down to be recalled for a doubleheader; normally, once a player is demoted to the minors he must stay there for 10 days unless he is replacing an injured player in the majors. The 10-day clock does not reset if a player is used as a 26th man.
dan.connolly@baltsun.com
twitter.com/danconnollysun
Baltimore Sun reporter Peter Schmuck contributed to this article.