Orioles Toy With Moving Dariel Alvarez To Mound

SARASOTA, Fla.—The Orioles continue to discuss the possibility of converting outfielder Dariel Alvarez to a pitcher, a role he handled for parts of three seasons in the Cuban League.

Alvarez still prefers to remain a position player, however, and the idea has been put on hold. In fact, he was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk last week.

The Orioles had 12 outfielders in camp after signing Craig Gentry and Michael Bourn to minor league deals and it probably would take multiple injuries to open a spot for Alvarez, 28, who received a $800,000 bonus in July 2013 after defecting from Cuba six months earlier.

Alvarez has gone 8-for-32 with one home run in 14 major league games. He hit .288/.324/.384 with 38 doubles and four home runs last summer at Triple-A Norfolk.

“At the moment, I’m a hitter,” he said through interpreter Ramon Alarcon. “That’s where my mindset is right now, to be a hitter, the things that I’ve done so far as a hitter. So I look at myself as a hitter right now.”

Alvarez’s best asset is his plus-arm and he throws a fastball, curveball and slider. There are people in the organization who believe he could succeed as a pitcher in the majors, though he’d probably have to start out at the Class A level.

Alvarez made 22 relief appearances over three seasons in Cuba in 2006, 2007 and 2009. He was 1-4 with a 3.62 ERA in 32 1/3 innings, allowing only one home run, walking 12 and striking out 18.

“I did pitch in Cuba,” he said. “That’s something very common over there, to hit and pitch, as well.”

He’s only interested in doing one of them in the U.S.

“Right now, pitching is not in my mind,” he said,

Alvarez played for Camaguey in the Cuban League from 2007-2011. In his final season, he set career highs with a .363/.404/.613 slash line, 20 home runs and 81 RBIs at age 22.

A year later, he batted .317/.355/.464 in 192 plate appearances for Tuxpan in Mexico.

BIRD SEED

• The Orioles summoned infielder Garabez Rosa from minor league camp and he responded with a single in his only at-bat in the exhibition opener against the Tigers. The hit made Rosa 16-for-28 (.571) in Grapefruit League games, though he’s never received an invite to major league camp.

• The Orioles are considering whether to assign lefthander Chris Lee to Double-A Bowie or Triple-A Norfolk. A strained lat muscle limited Lee to eight games (seven starts) last summer at Bowie, but he’s healthy and one of the organization’s top pitching prospects.

— Roch Kubatko covers the Orioles for MASNSports.com