Last night, the Orioles sent outfielder DJ Stewart to the team's alternate training site at Double-A Bowie after an 0-for-14 start to the season. The move got the roster down to 28 players ahead of the deadline.
But even with Stewart now down and the roster full, it's natural to be curious where the organization's most pro-ready prospect, Ryan Mountcastle, is and why he hasn't been called up yet.
The Orioles have four outfielders on the 28-man roster currently: Austin Hays, Dwight Smith Jr., Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander. They'll have to make another roster move in the coming days, when pitcher John Means comes off the bereavement list, too.
Still, there is a natural curiosity about what the International League's Most Valuable Player from a year ago could accomplish at the major league level.
Last year at Triple-A Norfolk, Mountcastle slashed .312/.344/.527 and had 25 home runs in 127 games. While he predominantly played the corner infield spots, he played the outfield for the first time in his professional career.
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Now, the Orioles want to develop him as a corner outfielder.
What Mountcastle's time at the development site shows, however, is that they value the camp more so than regular games for him right now.
With Hays and Santander in center and right field, the two options for left field are Mullins and Smith, who are batting .083 and .167, respectively. Neither is getting on-base at a clip better than .250. In terms of hindrances to Mountcastle's job in the major leagues, there aren't many right now.
The Orioles are carrying three catchers, which is one area the eventual roster move could come from when Means is back on the roster, but until Mountcastle comes up, those questions won't be quelled.
The team has already acquired an extra year of club control by keeping Mountcastle down for the first week of the season, meaning the reasons for keeping him down at this point relate strictly to his development.
That means he'll be in Baltimore once the Orioles think he's ready to play major league defense and take major league at-bats.
As for when that is, however, is solely up to the organization at this point.
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Orioles fans hoping for a Ryan Mountcastle sighting in majors soon as MLB rosters adjust originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
