Orioles activate Wade Miley, place Joey Rickard on disabled list

The Orioles began the season with only three starting pitchers on the roster. Days of reckoning would arrive eventually, with the first one being today. The Orioles needed to activate Wade Miley to start the game, which means someone would have to come off the roster, somehow.

It’s outfielder Joey Rickard who loses this round of the roster merry-go-round, with the Orioles placing him on the new 10-day disabled list. Rickard apparently injured the finger while sliding into second base on a failed stolen base attempt in Saturday’s game. That’s not quite as good as the classic “stepped in a pothole” but it’s got to rank high up there.

Miley had been on the disabled list to start the season because he was recovering from an upper respiratory infection.

Manager Buck Showalter told Orioles reporters that the injury to Rickard allowed the O’s to avoid having to make a difficult roster decision today. The move would not have involved Rickard, he said. Rickard hitting the disabled list is convenient for the Orioles in that it avoids them having to make one of those difficult decisions.

Someone gets a reprieve until at least April 15, which is when the O’s have their next day of roster reckoning. Was it Trey Mancini? Oliver Drake? Vidal Nuno? We’ll never know. The 15th is when the fifth starter, whoever it turns out to be, will be called up to MLB.

The Orioles have at least ten days to figure out how to fit Rickard back on the team. They will surely take it. And he won’t be very far away, because Showalter also said that Rickard will travel with the team to Boston.