O's Likely Will Carry 13 Pitchers, Scrimp on Utility Player

JUPITER, Fla., March 25 -- Early on Sunday morning, Baltimore Orioles Vice President Jim Duquette, like the grim reaper on the prowl, paced from one end of the clubhouse to the other searching for players to whom he would give sad news. Duquette picked off a couple of players in one corner of the clubhouse, then peeked around the corner to look for another.

By the time he was finished, Duquette had executed a series of roster moves that gave a strong indication of what the roster will look like on Opening Day. Pitchers Hayden Penn and Kurt Birkins and infielder Brandon Fahey were optioned to Class AAA Norfolk. Pitchers Rob Bell and Jon Leicester were reassigned to minor league camp. Pitcher Sendy Rleal, nursing a sore elbow, was sent to the minor league complex in Sarasota, Fla., to continue his rehabilitation.

What the moves likely indicate: Jeremy Guthrie is all but certain to be the team's long reliever, the Orioles are still considering putting 13 pitchers on the Opening Day roster and any utility player wanting to make the team better start hitting very soon.

"The early part of the schedule is a factor," Duquette said about the possibility of carrying 13 pitchers. "We don't have many off-days. That's the main thing. We're really weighing whether the utility guy early on in the season gets much playing time or the 13th pitcher. What's going to play more for the team in the first three or four weeks of the season.

"We don't use our bench an awful lot anyway. We didn't last year. We're trying to sort out how many times that guy will be used in a game, whether it's pinch running or defense purposes versus the likelihood of having an extra pitcher, especially since you have a number of guys in the bullpen that don't give you multiple innings. We don't want to wear them out."

For Penn, the demotion was painful and disappointing.

"I thought, for the second straight year, that I did pretty well in the spring," Penn said. "It didn't really seem like it mattered too much, but at the same time, there are a lot of guys throwing well."

Orioles Manager Sam Perlozzo said last week that Penn had a shot to make the team despite several setbacks this spring, which included a sprained ankle and a tardy appearance for one of his scheduled starts.

"We could have, if we wanted to, sent him out after that incident," Duquette said. "But I think the right thing to do is fine him, which is what we did, and bumped him from the start, and kept an open mind for him going forward."

Though Penn had a 1.80 ERA this spring, including four scoreless innings in Saturday's split-squad start against the Mets, the Orioles decided he should begin the year as a starter at Class AAA Norfolk. Penn and Bell had both been mentioned as candidates for the long relief role.

Asked whether Penn had pitched well enough, Perlozzo said: "Not to take someone's job. If he would have wowed us, we seriously would have considered him."

Birkins, at one point last season, was a key member of the bullpen. But the offseason signings of Chad Bradford, Danys Baez, Jamie Walker and Scott Williamson left no room for Birkins

John Parrish, who missed last season following elbow ligament replacement surgery, is the favorite to be the 13th pitcher if the Orioles decide to go that way and could be in the bullpen regardless because of Todd Williams's struggles.

"If there was a surprise, and I say surprise only because the last time I'd seen him [in 2005] he was a little erratic and not under control and the fact that he's come in after a couple of surgeries is amazing," Perlozzo said.

Fahey's demotion makes Freddie Bynum the front-runner for the utility spot should the team carry just 12 pitchers, though he didn't help his chances by going hitless in four at-bats Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals, including his team-high 18th strikeout. Jason DuBois and Adam Stern also are candidates.

The Orioles' roster has to be set by 3 p.m. Sunday, the day before Opening Day. Surely, Duquette will soon be on the prowl again.