After their shorthanded bullpen was taxed by brief starts in the first half of the Texas Rangers series, the Orioles scratched right-hander Tyler Wilson from his scheduled start at Triple-A Norfolk and summoned him to the major league bullpen Wednesday.
Manager Buck Showalter said in announcing the addition of Wilson that a corresponding roster move was pending, and would be announced before the game. Showlater said executive vice president Dan Duquette was working on "a lot of things" in relation to the roster move.
However, he indicated in his pregame comments that in their moment of roster inflexibility — none of the six relievers other than Wilson have options, nor do any of the team's glut of outfielders — the Orioles may be designating a player for assignment.
"We've got a lot of good players," Showalter said. "I take solace, not satisfaction, but feel good that someone's going to end up in the big leagues that's in the big leagues with us. That's why the system's there to protect those guys, and it should be, to keep certain teams from hoarding players."
Outfielders Delmon Young, David Lough, Steve Pearce and Nolan Reimold are not in the lineup Wednesday. All four were seen in the clubhouse before the game and were taking batting practice on the field.
Duquette said that sometimes roster decisions work themselves out and others require a difficult decision, with Wednesday's situation in the latter category.
Showalter didn't say how long Wilson's stay would be, though he noted Wilson could be useful in a long-relief role today if necessary.
"You've got a left-handed pitcher today [starter Wei-Yin Chen], so the right-hander would figure in a little bit more in the length with Tyler," Showalter said. "Tomorrow, Brian Matusz comes into play a little bit more. We know that we've got some other things wired about the way it goes after tomorrow, so we're going to take it day-to-day."
In his last stint in the majors, Wilson relieved fellow rookie Mike Wright in the second inning of the Orioles' 5-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on June 19. He gave the team 5 2/3 innings of one-run relief, saving the bullpen in the first game of a grueling three-game set with the Blue Jays.
In five appearances (one start) with the Orioles, Wilson is 1-1 with a 2.12 ERA. Wilson threw seven scoreless innings on June 24, his last appearance for Norfolk.
Here are the lineups for tonight's 7:05 p.m. game with the Texas Rangers:
Orioles
Manny Machado 3B
Jimmy Paredes DH
Adam Jones CF
Chris Davis RF
Chris Parmelee 1B
J.J. Hardy SS
Travis Snider LF
Caleb Joseph C
Ryan Flaherty 2B
Wei-Yin Chen LHP
Texas
Hanser Alberto 2B
Elvis Andrus SS
Prince Fielder DH
Adrian Beltre 3B
Mitch Moreland 1B
Ryan Rua LF
Shin-Soo Choo RF
Robinson Chirinos C
Leonys Martin CF
Nick Martinez RHP
Baltimore Sun reporter Dan Connolly contributed to this story.