Orioles have thin bench; Mancini, Santander, Stewart not in starting lineup; Orioles claim pitcher from White Sox

The Orioles have a particularly thin bench for Wednesday night’s game with Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Not only is Trey Mancini out for the second straight game with a calf injury after he fouled a ball off the calf on Monday, but outfielders Anthony Santander and DJ Stewart are both out of the lineup, too. Santander, who missed a month earlier in the season with a sprained left ankle, is being bothered by the ankle, manager Brandon Hyde said. Stewart has knee soreness.

“Santander’s ankle was pretty sore after the game last night,” Hyde said. “So I wanted to give him a day off regardless if Trey was a go. We’re going to give Trey an extra day. He may be available off the bench. His upper calf is still pretty sore, and DJ Stewart’s got a little bit of knee soreness, so wanted to give hima day off, too.”

Players have long pointed out that Tropicana Field has a hard playing surface.

“On this turf, it’s tough,” Hyde said. “More of a necessity.”

Hyde emphasized that Mancini could play if needed.

“I think that if we’re in a pennant race, he’s in the lineup,” Hyde said. “With our situation, I want him to play healthy. I don’t want him to risk anything where he might risk a week because I pushed him out there. With our record, I think the right thing to do was not have him start. Hopefully he’s better tomorrow and possibly have him come off the bench in a big spot.”

As the Orioles attempt to avoif extending their 13-game losing streak, Hyde’s lineup has Pedro Severino as the designated hitter and Jorge Mateo getting a start in left field. Austin Wynns is the catcher.

The Orioles are playing with a three-man bench, and when first baseman Ryan Mountcastle was activated from the injured list on Tuesday, they optioned outfielder Ryan McKenna to Triple-A Norfolk.

Mateo has started four games in left field in the last two years, and also played center and right for San Diego.

“We did some stuff with him yesterday because of this reason,” Hyde said. “He is comfortable. He played a lot in San Diego, was a defensive replacement a lot of times for the Padres. He told me he feels comfortable at all three spots. He’s such a great athlete.

“My concern was the roof here, the dome. He’s never played [the outfield] here before. We wanted to make sure he saw the balls up in the air yesterday pregame, and he’ll do the same today.”

Orioles add another pitcher: The Orioles claimed right-handed pitcher Zack Burdi on waivers from the Chicago White Sox. Burdi, who was the White Sox’s first-round draft choice in 2016 had a 6.00 ERA in six appearances for Chicago this season. In 14 appearances in the last two seasons, the 26-year-old right-hander was 0-1 with an 8.27 ERA for Chicago.

Burdi was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, and to make room for him on the 40-man roster, the Orioles designated left-hander Ryan Hartman for assignment.

Hartman, who was claimed on waivers from Houston on July 30, never pitched for the Orioles, and allowed four runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings in two appearances for Norfolk.

Notes: Left-handed pitcher Ty Blach, who started five games for the Orioles in 2019, and had a 1-3 record with an 11.32 ERA, is now rehabbing at Low-A Delmarva. Blach, who underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2020 after suffering an injury at Summer Camp, was re-signed by the Orioles on March 22. Blach threw seven innings in six games in the Florida Complex League, allowing just two hits and an unearned run. …Right-hander Marcos Diplan, who allowed an unearned run on Tuesday night, became the 10th pitcher in team history to not allow an earned run in his first five appearances. Donnie Hart was the last to do so in 2016.