O's release veteran outfielder Young

SARASOTA, Fla. --- The Orioles continued to prioritize youth with their latest roster decision, releasing veteran outfielder Eric Young Jr. on Friday after he declined an invitation to Minor League camp.

A non-roster invitee, Young did not have an opt-out in the Minor League deal he signed Feb. 11, and reported to Sarasota with a chance to win a spot in the club’s crowded outfield picture. That didn’t happen despite a good showing from Young, who hit .323/.462/.452 with a home run and a pair of stolen bases in Grapefruit League play.

“Eric has looked and played great this spring,” Orioles general manager and executive vice president Mike Elias said in a statement. “Once we determined he was unlikely to make our Opening Day roster, we felt we would allow him to look around for a little while. We plan to keep talking to him in case he doesn’t find a better opportunity.”

The move all but guarantees the club will head north with a starting outfield alignment of Trey Mancini (left), Cedric Mullins (center) and Joey Rickard (right), and leaves Dwight Smith Jr. as the lone full-time outfielder still in the mix for a bench role. Smith’s chances of making the team still hinge on a few factors, namely whether the Orioles head north with 12 or 13 pitchers and the health of Mark Trumbo, who remains questionable for Opening Day as he rehabs from knee surgery.

If they carry Trumbo and an extra pitcher, the Orioles could potentially break camp without a true fourth outfielder. That scenario would require Rule 5 pick Drew Jackson to absorb some of those duties; Trumbo’s status also factors into whether the club can open with Renato Nunez and Rio Ruiz both in the fold. Hanser Alberto is the other position-player option remaining in camp.

Young, 33, has played parts of 10 seasons with the Rockies, Mets, Braves, Yankees and Angels, most recently appearing in 88 games for the Halos over the past two seasons. The former stolen-base champion owns 162 career steals and an 80.6 percent career success rate.

One out, one in
Speaking to reporters prior to their night game against the Blue Jays, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde all but confirmed Jesús Sucre has won the backup catcher job. Sucre had an opt-out in his Minor League deal that triggered if the club did not offer him a roster spot. He then traveled to Dunedin and started behind the plate, hitting sixth in Hyde’s Friday night order.

Sucre, 30, has spent parts of the past six seasons in the Majors with the Rays and Mariners. He appeared in 135 games for Tampa Bay over the past two seasons, during which he earned a reputation as a defensive stalwart. That skillset is what attracted him to the Orioles, who were lacking in veteran depth behind Chance Sisco and are set to feature a lot of young pitchers in 2019. After his arrival was delayed by three weeks due to visa issues in his native Venezuela, Sucre eventually rose to the top of a four-man field consisting of Carlos Perez, Andrew Susac and Austin Wynns.

Wynns, who appeared in 42 games for Baltimore in 2018, has been sidelined for several weeks with left oblique soreness. Adding Sucre will require the Orioles to clear a place on their 40-man roster, possibly Wynns’ if he doesn’t begin 2019 on the injured list.

O's to use opener Sunday
After weeks toying with the possibility internally, the Orioles will test-drive an “opener” for the first time on Sunday, when left-hander Paul Fry will start one side of a split-squad doubleheader against the Phillies. Right-hander Gabriel Ynoa was originally slated to start, but now he’ll enter behind Fry, a reliever by trade who has made just 10 professional starts dating back to 2013. Fry was used exclusively out of the bullpen as a rookie in 2018, when he pitched to a 3.35 ERA across 35 appearances, 10 of which were multi-inning.

The timing of the experiment is not a coincidence. The Orioles are still tossing around ideas about how to set their pitching up for the regular season’s opening week, and the Phillies just plopped a brand-new, big money left-handed slugger into the top of their lineup: Bryce Harper.

Up next
Baltimore will go more traditional on Saturday by trotting out No. 1 starter Alex Cobb for his final tuneup for Opening Day. It comes against the Twins and right-hander Jose Berrios under the lights at Ed Smith Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. ET.