NOTES
Orioles announce
19 nonroster invitees
All MLB parks to have extended netting; pitch clock on hold
The Orioles announced their list of 19 nonroster invitations to big league spring training, a list that includes 11 pitchers.
Combined with the 24 pitchers on the organization’s 40-man roster, the Orioles will invite 35 pitchers to big league camp with more additions to come if the team delves into the free-agent or trade markets to upgrade a rotation that currently has just two spots filled.
At this point, the Orioles’ big league camp roster will be at 58 since there is still one open spot on the 40-man roster.
Prospects
Many familiar names are included on the nonroster list, including several players who spent time on the 40-man roster last season – left-hander
Longtime Orioles minor leaguer
Here is a list of the team’s 19 nonroster invitees:
“Providing baseball fans with a variety of seating options when they come to the ballpark, including seats behind protective netting, is important,” MLB commissioner
When the Tampa Bay Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks announced Wednesday that they were extending the netting at their stadiums, all 30 teams had taken that step.
The Orioles announced last week that they will be extending the netting beyond the far edges of both dugouts at Camden Yards before Opening Day on March 29 and at its spring training home, Ed Smith Stadium, before games begin this month.
The team has not determined how far the netting at Camden Yards will extend, but it is expected to reach from sections 16 to 58 in the lower bowl. That will put the netting three sections beyond the far ends of the dugouts.
Speaking after a quarterly owners meeting ended Thursday, Manfred said owners authorized him to implement management's proposal from last offseason, which calls for a 20-second pitch clock this year, if an agreement cannot be reached with the players association. Management has proposed a deal that would phase in new rules over the next three seasons.
A person familiar with the plan told the Associated Press the proposal called for an 18-second timer and only with no runners on base, and ball-strike penalties would not start until May 1. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because those details were not announced.
MLB proposed if the average time of a nine-inning game in 2019 is 2:50 or higher, a 20-second pitch clock with runners on base would be added for 2020, the person said.
In other news:
He is expected to compete with
Montero, 34, finished last season with the Toronto Blue Jays. In June, he was designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs a day after he blamed teammate
The highlight of Montero’s Cubs tenure was a big hit late in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series that helped end the team’s championship drought. But he threw out only one of 31 potential base-stealers while with Chicago last season.