ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Steve Pearce has always embraced – and taken pride in – his utility role with the Orioles, but even he was a little surprised when he was approached Wednesday about playing second base.
And as the Orioles opened their three-game "home" series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Friday, Pearce saw his name in the starting lineup at second, marking the first time he has's played there in his career.
Pearce has mostly played the corner-outfield positions in the majors, but he was an All-Star shortstop in high school in nearby Lakeland, Fla., and he played short up until his sophomore year of college at South Carolina. He saw time at third base in the minors and majors, and has developed into a plus first baseman since the Orioles began playing him there last season.
But he has never played second base. Orioles manager Buck Showalter presented him with the idea on Wednesday. Since then, Pearce has been working closely with infield coach Bobby Dickerson, learning on the fly.
"Pretty surprised, but Buck feels I can play other positions, not just first base," Pearce said. "I came up playing other positions, so it's just all about getting the reps, getting the timing down and the mental baseball clock programmed. The more positions you play, it's better. They'll find a spot for you if you can play other defensive positions and I know I can do it. I worked with Bobby today, the off-day. We're going to go out."
Before Friday's game, Pearce worked with Dickerson and practiced double-play balls with injured shortstop J.J. Hardy. Pearce also worked with third baseman Manny Machado during batting practice.
"They feel like I can play this position and I feel like I can, too," Pearce said. "I came up as a utility guy. They tell me to play a job, I'm going to do it. It wasn't that much of a heads up, so they feel I can do it. I'm going to do everything I can to do it. ... I'm not going to be a second baseman. I'm going to be Steve Pearce out there. I'll be trying it the best way I know how. It may not look the best, but I'll get the job done."
But with the Orioles middle infield devastated by injuries to Hardy, second baseman Jonathan Schoop and utility player Ryan Flaherty, there aren't many options at second. If Pearce can hold his own there, it gives the Orioles an easy way to keep his bat in the lineup.
"I'm not any more concerned about it than I was, but what if Jonathan doesn't come back? What if Ryan has problems with the groin all year?" Showalter said. "We are who we are. We're not going to go buy another second baseman. … We have to look at every possible scenario. Stevie, I talked about him playing third base. He may not be pretty at times, but Steve's not into looking aesthetically pleasing. His ball security is good. What he won't be able to do initially, Steve always has a way to figure it out."
Hardy said he knows that Pearce will do what it takes to help the team no matter where he plays.
"I think he's going to be all right," Hardy said. "It's hard to tell in practice versus game speed, but the thing we know about Pearce is that he's going to go out there and work on it as hard as he can and you know he's going to get as good as he possibly can. I think that's where all the confidence comes from."
Pace-of-play fines won't be implemented
Friday was supposed to be the first day that violations of baseball's new pace-of-play rules were going to be enforced with fines, but after seeing significant decrease in game times, Major League Baseball and the players' union have agreed to not implement the fines, according to ESPN.
Through the season's first month, the new rules have done their job. The average time of a nine-inning game was down by an average of nearly 8 ½ minutes to 2 hours, 53 minutes, 40 seconds, according to MLB.
"The commissioner talked about it in our meeting the other day," Showalter said of new commissioner Rob Manfred's visit to Camden Yards on Monday. "[He said,] 'I really appreciate your cooperation,' and he had some great facts to back up trying to make our game better and stay the great game it is. It's the cooperation of the players. … I guess they're pretty happy with the way things are going so far not to be reprimanding a whole lot more."
Despite receiving – at his count – eight infraction letters in the season's first month, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said the rules are serving their purpose.
"Anything under three [hours] is good," Jones said. "I think it has made the games go a little crisper. The only time I think it bothers the hitters is when we get that tough pitch called on you and there's a little bit of disagreement with an umpire. You need your five, 10 seconds, whatever to gather yourself. I think that's the only thing sometimes with the new rule – sometimes you just have to stand there and wear it.
"It's been going good. I'm glad they've seen that the players have honed into it. 'OK, we'll make sure that we're prepared and we're ready,' as opposed to doing whatever we want to do. … It's more than an experiment now since there's an eight-minute difference, but I actually like that the innings are getting crisper."
Under the new pace-of-game rules, batters must keep a foot in the batter's box at all times barring a series of reasonable exceptions.
A countdown clock has been implemented between innings — 2 minutes, 25 seconds for locally televised games and 2:45 for nationally aired contests.
Pitchers must complete their warm-up tosses with 30 seconds remaining on the clock and hitters must be in the batter's box with five seconds to go.
"I've been notified a few times, as long as you're not there on the grass, [you're OK]," Jones said. "They just want you right around the plate and ready to go. And I understand that. Let's get the game going. Let's get some action going."
Hardy progressing, could go on rehab assignment Monday
Showalter said that Hardy, still on the disabled list with a left shoulder strain, could begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Bowie as soon as Monday.
Hardy, who said a cortisone shot he had has helped alleviate discomfort in his shoulder, traveled with the Orioles to St. Petersburg and fielded grounders, including balls to his backhanded side, for about 20 minutes and participated in batting practice.
"It's just a matter of how many times I need to do it," Hardy said. "I really haven't swung for five weeks, so it would be like coming into spring training, practice for five days and go right into the season. There's a little bit of progression there or building up strength, but the main thing is if it feels good, that's a start."
Hardy will continue to do that during the weekend, and if all goes well, he could go then head out on a rehab assignment.
"It was a good day for J.J. today," Showalter said.
How many games Hardy would need to play in before being activated from the disabled list is unclear. Friday marked five weeks since he has played in a game, so he will need might need some time to get his timing back.
"It's just a matter of how many times I need to do it," Hardy said. "I really haven't swung for five weeks, so it would be like coming into spring training, practice for five days and go right into the season. There's a little bit of progression there or building up strength, but the main thing is if it feels good, that's a start."
Hardy has been uncomfortable giving timetables because he's frustrated he hasn't been able to meet previous ones, but it appears he's making significant progress and the injection has quelled his pain.
"I think the biggest think for me is if I can play three, four, five games in a row and my shoulder doesn't bother me at all, then I'm going to be pretty happy," Hardy said. "I don't know what they're going to want me to do ... whether more games to get my timing down, or they just want me to come back up here. I don't know if its 100 percent up to me or not, but if it feels good I'm going to be pretty darn happy."
Around the horn
Flaherty (right groin strain) could also begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Bowie as soon as Monday, Showalter said. ...Pitching prospect Hunter Harvey, who is rehabbing a partial fracture of his left shin, pitched two innings in an extended spring training game Friday. He threw 32 pitches, struck out two batters and his fastball was between 90 and 95 mph. … While attendance figures for this weekend's series will be recorded as Orioles home games, the statistics will count as road stats, according to Rule 2.00 of the MLB rulebook. So, the Orioles' stats will have them playing 84 road games this year. … Several injured players who were rehabbing injuries in Sarasota, including Schoop, catcher Matt Wieters and left-hander Wesley Wright, are here with the team this series. … With the Orioles' spring training home less than an hour south in Sarasota, spring training season ticket holders were offered tickets at a discount. A group from Visit Sarasota County, a tourism entity for Sarasota County, also brought a group of 100 fans to The Trop.
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