With Brian Matusz expected to make his first start of the season on Wednesday in Seattle, we pretty much knew that the Orioles would need option either Chris Tillman or Brad Bergesen to triple-A Norfolk. In the wake of the Birds being swept away in Oakland over the weekend, Buck Showalter finally played his hand after yesterday's game; both were sent down. That was a bit unexpected, however not necessarily the wrong move. Tillman only lasted 4.1 innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) over six hits in Friday's game. Bergesen gave up three runs over 5.2 innings on Saturday night. For the record, neither pitcher was horrible in their starts, they just didn't grab the bull by the horns enough to stay at the major league level.
Bergesen was optioned immediately following Saturday night's loss in Oakland, which made everyone think that the five-man rotation would continue to inclide Tillman. However after yesterday's game the Orioles announced that they had optioned Tillman to Norfolk as well. If you think about it, that kind of makes some sense. The Birds have five off-days during the month of June, so the times when they might need a fifth starter will potentially be few and far between. The corresponding roster moves were that the O's called up Pedro Viola and Chris Jakubauskas from Bowie and Norfolk respectively. The O's will have to send someone down when Matusz is activated on Wednesday, however this move will give the O's some added bullpen support over the first two games in Seattle.
While these moves will hopefully send messages to Tillman and Bergesen about what's acceptable at this level, it should also give them some hope. The fact that they were sent back to Norfolk should tell them that the Orioles are committed to them as starting pitchers. Had they gone to the bullpen ala Jason Berken, odds are they would have ended up as career relievers. (That could still happen...) It could also indicate that the O's might want to get them some innings and work out their kinks so they can be traded, however if that was to be the case odds are they would be traded as starters. My personal opinion is that their little "battle" whereby they were competing for that roster spot will continue at Norfolk, and whichever one looks better will get called back up when the Orioles are in need of a fifth starter.
In other news, Adam Jones left yesterday's game in Oakland early due to shoulder soreness. Buck Showalter said after the game in his press conference that Jones had been dealing with the soreness for a few days, and that it had been "barking" at him all day. Jones said that he's ready to play in today's series opener in Seattle, however I guess we'll find out for sure when the lineups are posted. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but Jones potentially being out for an elongated period and going to the DL would be a bit overly cruel to a team who's been marred by injuries for the better part of two years.
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