John

Parrish

It appears that all six pitchers are just about guaranteed jobs, so if Matt Riley wins the fifth rotation spot, the Orioles would either go with 12 pitchers or cut Omar Daal.

He will take the place of Matt Riley, who was optioned to Ottawa this past Saturday. Parrish will make his first major league start since the 2001 season. The lefthanded reliever has pitched fairly well out of the bullpen (5-2 and a 3.91 ERA) but is not recommended at this time.

The Orioles were hoping Parrish would return from Tommy John surgery around this time, but he just hadn’t been able to make any progress. He’ll probably be booted from the 40-man roster over the winter and offered a minor league deal.

He won’t return from the DL at the minimum, but the good news is that the inflammation in his rotator cuff has improved. He’s currently free and easy in his throwing program, but there’s no timetable for his return.

The bullpener will be his first and will mark a significant step in his ongoing recovery from rotator cuff inflammation if it is completed successfully. Parrish opened the season with six straight scoreless appearances and left behind a 3.00 ERA over nine total relief outings.

There must be some incentives involved. Parrish asked for $825,000 in arbitration and was offered $575,000.

Parrish has already been sidelined for a couple of months. He might not be back with the Orioles next season.

“I’m ahead of schedule,” Parrish said. “I’d think I could be ready in the spring. I feel strong. There’s no soreness. I probably feel better than I did last spring.”

James Baldwin has pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings in his mop-up role, but Parrish is clearly the better bet of the two. He had a 3.12 ERA despite all of his command problems this season.

Parrish might have been a candidate to replace Hayden Penn on the roster if not for his injury.