FanPost

Markakis makes the cut

From The Post:

Nick Markakis has made the Opening Day roster with the O's. After hemming and hawing all spring, Perlozzo finally decided to give the kid a shot.

There was speculation earlier in the day that Markakis would be sent down after the Orioles claimed catcher Raul Chavez off waivers Friday (Chavez, 33, is a career .215 hitter who has spent parts of eight seasons with Montreal, Seattle, and most recently, Houston).

Instead, reliever John Halama will be reassigned, meaning the O's are going forward with an 11-man pitching staff. The other final cuts were Ed Rogers, Eddy Rodriguez, Brandon Marsters, Cory Morris, Eli Whiteside and Tyler Yates.

Perlozzo:

"We felt Nick could play in the major leagues but we were trying to get the roster to work to where the people who deserved to make the team made the team...He played extremely well and he forced our hand. I was impressed with everything he did out there."

In other news:

  • Sandy Rleal who, like Markakis, has never played above AA, also made the cut (yay!)
  • According to The Sun, Mora has dropped his demands to three years, $27M. The two sides are purportedly "close". Mora is "optimisitc" a deal will be done, but insists he'll cut off negotiations Monday if the two sides don't reach an agreement
  • According to Roch Kubato's blog, Unless there's a drastic change, Jeff Conine will be your left fielder for the opener, with Luis Matos starting in center and Jay Gibbons in right against Tampa Bay left-hander Scott Kazmir. Kevin Millar will be the first baseman.
  • To bring the roster down to 25, Todd Williams and John Parrish were officially placed on the DL
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