Left-handed relief pitcher T.J. McFarland became the second player to make his debut with the Orioles this season, when he pitched 3.1 innings in Saturday's loss against the Twins. His performance was likely the highlight of the game, as he entered the game in the fourth inning to relieve a struggling Chris Tillman. He struck out five and gave up just a single hit in his Major League debut. It appears as though T.J. is currently filling the role of the long reliever out of the 'pen, but if he continues to perform at that level, he could easily grab a rotation spot from Tillman or Arrieta.
T.J. was selected by the Orioles from the Indians in last years Rule 5 draft and he beat the odds by making the team out of Spring Training. I had no idea what to expect of him at the MLB level, but his debut was a rousing success, albeit against a relatively weak offensive team.
After both Alexi Casilla and McFarland have now made their Orioles debuts, there currently are no other players on the 25 man roster who have not appeared in a game with the O's. However, it does seem likely that infielder Yamaico Navarro will play for the O's at some point, since he was briefly a member of the team over the weekend, being called up and sent back down to AAA Norfolk without appearing in a game. He was actually sent to Boston on Sunday/Monday as well as a member of the "taxi squad" due to the possibility that Nolan Reimold would have to head to the DL, but Nolan is OK for now and Yamaico is back at Norfolk. But I certainly wouldn't be surprised if Navarro becomes Oriole #945 at some point. And that kind of sucks because he was one of the very few players who managed to avoid signing anything for me on my Spring Training trip.
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