O's #F16HTing on without Mancini at camp

With staggered workout times and protocols in place meant to keep players a safe distance from one another, the scattered by design nature of Orioles Summer Camp has sometimes made it difficult to determine who is there and who isn’t. But there is one absence that the O's are doing their best to honor, even if they know they can’t replicate what he would’ve brought to their lineup and clubhouse.

That’s Trey Mancini, whose presence is felt in the form of the #F16HT shirts the Orioles are commissioning to support his fight with Stage 3 colon cancer. Several of Mancini's teammates and his manager have worn the shirt during the first few days of workouts as the fan favorite undergoes chemotherapy treatment away from the field.

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“We’re thinking about him constantly,” said manager Brandon Hyde, adding he plans to wear the shirt “every day.” “To not have him in the lineup and not have him around is something that is not easy.”

Production-wise, Hyde believes losing Mancini means the Orioles lost “one of the best hitters in the American League." Now with a 60-game sprint ahead of them and having traded away Jonathan Villar in the offseason, there is no clear replacement for the type of hitter Mancini was last year, when he broke out to hit .291/.364/.535 with an .899 OPS, 35 homers and 97 RBIs. Defensively, DJ Stewart and Dwight Smith Jr. are expected to compete for the right-field reps to start off, with the thought that the O’s try several utility types there as well. No. 4-ranked prospect Ryan Mouncastle could factor in later, too.

But when it comes to the combination of Mancini’s bat, popularity and leadership abilities, Hyde said “that’s going to be very, very tough to replace.”

“That, and how he is in the clubhouse and how he is with the guys, and just not having him around, it’s challenging,” Hyde said. “It already is challenging. Not having him here is challenging. He’s in our thoughts, and I talk and text with him quite a bit. To not have him in the lineup and to not have him around, it’s not easy.

“But we have to have guys step up, and this is just an obviously an extremely unfortunate [situation]. … It’s unfortunate not to have him here, and we’re thinking about him constantly.”

Having been drafted during Mancini’s rookie year and coming up through the Orioles' system behind him, outfielder Austin Hays has “never been a part of an O's locker room that didn’t have [Mancini] in it.” Now as a prominent rookie himself, Hays will likely shoulder more of Baltimore's offensive load without Mancini in the fold.

“It’s very strange,” Hays said. “He is somebody I really look up to. As a young guy, that was the guy I’d always go to, especially if I had defensive questions in the outfield and things of that nature. To not have him around -- he was our leader -- it’s very strange, and I am hoping he continues to see the good progress he has so far."

Summer Camp debuts
Veteran righties Alex Cobb and Mychal Givens and non-roster invitee Cesar Valdez all faced hitters for the first time at Summer Camp on Sunday with no issues, per Hyde. Cobb and Wade LeBlanc completed four “innings” of live batting practice, while Givens’ session was highlighted by a showdown with Chris Davis.

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Valdez, who was not in Major League camp this spring but found his way into the Summer Camp player pool after the shutdown, is one of the few new faces in the fold. The 35-year-old last pitched in the Majors in 2017 for the A’s and Blue Jays before making 23 starts in the Mexican League last year.

Trains running on time
While some workouts across the league were cancelled Monday due to delayed test results, the Orioles have experienced no such hiccups four days into Summer Camp.

“I’ve been really happy with how things are going here,” Hyde said. “We’ve been really lucky to not have those issues. I think our guys are ready to play an intrasquad [game] and ready to get going.”

Since arriving for initial screening five days ago, Hays said Monday he’s been tested three times. He and reliever Miguel Castro echoed the sentiments of many other Orioles players from the last few days in saying they’ve been impressed with the level of precaution taken so far and how seriously protocols are being followed. It's already become “second nature” to do so, Hays said.

“I wanted to come around the facility and see what the environment was going to look like,” he added. “After being here for a couple days and seeing how much time and effort has gone in from the staff and clubhouse personnel, to all the adjustments they’ve been able to make to make it the safest environment possible under the circumstance. I feel very comfortable and very safe here.”

Quotable
? "These first few days have gone really smooth. [Head athletic trainer] Brian Ebel is the MVP of camp.” -- Hyde

? “The great thing about baseball is it’s a very big field and the positions are very spread out. Me, being in the outfield, there aren’t usually too many people around me.” -- Hays