SARASOTA, Fla. — The Orioles optioned outfielder Dariel Alvarez to the minor leagues this week with the intention of converting his strong right arm into that of a pitcher.

Alvarez, 28, will spend the rest of this month with the minor leaguers at Twin Lakes Park with the aim of having him break camp with a full-season affiliate as a reliever who will still get time as a designated hitter.

“Alvy needs to get down and start the pitching program,” manager Buck Showalter said Wednesday. “He’s going to start on a very similar plan that Mychal Givens [who converted in 2013] was on. We’ve been talking to him off and on for about a year. You can’t go from A to Z with that.”

He will begin strength-testing and the organization’s pitching program under the watch of minor league medical coordinator Dave Walker. Showalter said such a move became inevitable with Alvarez sliding down the outfield depth chart but having what scouts agree is a double-plus arm.

When Alvarez signed out of Cuba in 2013, many teams were interested in him as a pitcher, but the Orioles made him an outfielder. Over the course of 2015 and 2016, he hit 31 home runs in the minors and made his big league debut in August 2015.

Despite hitting .288 last year at Triple-A Norfolk, the club sees a better future for him on the mound. Alvarez is said to run his fastball up to 97 mph.

Twenty signed for 2017: The Orioles agreed to one-year contracts for 20 players who have not yet reached salary arbitration: pitchers Jayson Aquino, Richard Bleier, Parker Bridwell, Dylan Bundy, Oliver Drake, Jason Garcia, Mychal Givens, Joe Gunkel, Donnie Hart, Chris Lee, Jesus Liranzo, Logan Verrett, Tyler Wilson, Mike Wright and Gabriel Ynoa; infielder Trey Mancini; and outfielders Alvarez, Joey Rickard, Anthony Santander and Aneury Tavarez.

Around the horn: Bridwell was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, while Garcia, catcher Yermin Mercedes and left-hander Jed Bradley were reassigned to minor league camp. … Right-hander Chris Tillman (shoulder) and closer Zach Britton (side soreness) each had a successful bullpen session Wednesday, Showalter said. … Right-hander Logan Ondrusek will have an MRI-arthrogram scan after complaining of soreness in his elbow Tuesday. … Outfielder Chris Dickerson (foot) was a late-inning substitute after sitting out since Saturday with a foot injury.

jmeoli@baltsun.com

twitter.com/JonMeoli