Injuries to Mark Trumbo and Colby Rasmus have forced the Orioles to make Anthony Santander an everyday player this season despite only a handful of games above Single-A.

Save for some rookie moments, Santander, the Rule 5 outfielder who entered 2018 with around seven weeks of his 25-man roster requirement left, has played steady defense. What’s lagged behind is the bat that had been his calling card. He entered Wednesday hitting .153/.194/.254 with a home run and three doubles in 18 games, 16 of which have been starts.

Manager Buck Showalter said the team hasn’t soured on him despite the struggles, and that this could be a valuable moment in Santander’s inconsistent career.

“It’s expected, some of the challenges,” Showalter said. “He’s facing really good pitching. ... But I like him as much as we did the day we drafted him, and when we came out of camp. He’s got a good future ahead of him, but we’ve had to really expose him, and I look at it as good for him. It may not be statistically pleasing, for him or anybody, but there are some positives to gain from it.”

Specifically, Showalter said Santander is encountering tougher two-strike pitches than he did in the Carolina League in 2016, where he batted .290 with an .862 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and 20 home runs in the Cleveland Indians system before he had shoulder surgery in the offseason and was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Orioles.

“The level of two-strike pitches is one of the big challenges when you get to the big leagues, the out pitches that everybody has,” Showalter said. “When they get you ahead in the count, they really do that. That’s why it puts more premium on guys like Anthony. They’ve got to be on it. He’s had some good swings.”

Santander will have satisfied his Rule 5 requirements May 12, and by that point, the Orioles will be able to get him the regular at-bats a 23-year-old could benefit from in the high minors.

With Rasmus’ return not necessarily close and Trumbo still a few days away, at least, Showalter believes there’s a chance that still might not be required.

“I’m hoping he gets hotter than you-know-what and May 12 isn’t a date that anybody is looking at,” Showalter said.

“Sometimes you’ve got to keep in mind he’s 23 years old, basically a senior in college, learning at a very tough level.”

Peterson in lineup: Infielder Jace Peterson went from waiver-wire limbo to the Orioles’ starting lineup in the span of about a day, and sees his arrival as an opportunity to both add some stability to a career that’s had little of late and fill a need for his new club.

He had a two-run double in his first at-bat Wednesday for the Orioles against Tampa Bay.

Peterson, 27, comes to the Orioles after an April spent on the fringes of the New York Yankees’ roster. He began the year in Triple-A and spent three days with the major league club earlier this month before he was outrighted and chose free agency April 15. He knew from that time on the waiver wire that the Orioles had some interest, but instead went back to the Yankees a day later before being designated for assignment again Sunday.

The Orioles claimed him Tuesday, with second baseman Jonathan Schoop on the disabled list for over a week with an oblique strain, infielder Tim Beckham landing there Wednesday with a left groin strain, and backups Engelb Vielma and Luis Sardiñas underwhelming with the big league team.

Rotation pushed back a day: Showalter had a chance to shuffle his rotation with Tuesday night’s postponement, but chose to keep all five starters in turn rather than keep people on regular rest and give Chris Tillman more time off in between starts. Instead, Tillman starts Friday, following Dylan Bundy on Thursday.

Around the horn: Outfielder-designated hitter Mark Trumbo went hitless in four at-bats for Double-A Bowie on Wednesday and reported no problems with his quadriceps. Showalter said: “He’s not feeling anything like he did when he shut it down. We’re in the mode of just get the at-bats where he feels comfortable. The physical part of it, he feels completely at ease with.” ... Closer Zach Britton (Achilles) did pitcher fielding practice again Wednesday before getting back on the mound Thursday. ... Cody Sedlock, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2016, had a platelet-rich plasma injection in his ailing right shoulder, Showalter said.

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