Manny Machado looks to be the Orioles regular shortstop, or at least for now. He's sitting at that position in Wednesday's lineup for the second consecutive game.
Whether this is the long-term solution for the duration of J.J. Hardy's absence is another question. The O's still figure to add Paul Janish in another couple of days. Janish, who filled in when Hardy was hurt late last year, is going on paternity leave today, making him unavailable for an immediate callup.
Caleb Joseph is the catcher for the game, so at least for now it seems like he and Matt Wieters will be back to alternating games. Wieters caught games on consecutive days on Friday and Saturday for the first time all year, but that was with a Sunday afternoon game and a Monday off day.
Here's how the starting nine lines up in support of Tyler Wilson:
1. Joey Rickard - RF
2. Manny Machado - SS
3. Adam Jones - CF
4. Chris Davis - 1B
5. Mark Trumbo - DH
6. Nolan Reimold - LF
7. Jonathan Schoop - 2B
8. Caleb Joseph - C
9. Ryan Flaherty - 3B
They'll be going up against Yankees lefty CC Sabathia, who's sitting on a 5.06 ERA on the season.
The Orioles remain limited in how much they can really shift around the lineup, especially against lefties. The bench for tonight will be Wieters, Pedro Alvarez, and Hyun Soo Kim.
Could it be time to make some lineup adjustments? Rickard and his .296 OBP no longer look like a good idea in the leadoff spot - and it's not like he's stealing bases when he does reach. He only has one all year. Jones remaining high up with a .213/.289/.307 batting line is also a bit of a problem.