The minor leaguers

Eight of last year’s Orioles — seven of them pitchers — opened the 2018 season with another MLB organization but not on a major league roster (including Hellickson). Perhaps the most high-profile is the previously mentioned Wade Miley, who signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in February. Miley hoped a return to the National League would help him rebound from his forgettable season-and-a-half with the Orioles, where he went 10-20 with a 5.75 ERA in 43 starts.

He hasn’t gotten the chance to find out. Competing for a rotation spot in spring training, Miley tore his left groin in his final start and is now recuperating. And it’s no sure thing that he’ll be added to the Brewers’ roster once he’s healthy.

Toiling in the Nationals’ system is journeyman righty Edwin Jackson, who last year made three lackluster relief appearances for the Orioles — his 12th major league team — before the Nats scooped him up and squeezed 13 starts out of him. Jackson is now at Triple-A Syracuse and has made two starts, allowing two runs in nine innings.

Remember Vidal Nuno or Richard Rodriguez? Pro tip: don’t look for their statues in the Camden Yards picnic area. Nuno was a frequent passenger on the Norfolk-Baltimore shuttle last year and had no success in the majors, allowing 33 baserunners and 17 runs in 12 games. He’s now in the Tampa Bay Rays’ system and has a 3.38 ERA in two starts for Triple-A Durham. Rodriguez, meanwhile, got a September call-up from the Orioles last season but lasted only five games, posting a 14.29 ERA. The Pirates signed him and assigned him to Triple-A Indianapolis this year, where he pitched five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts to earn a call-up to Pittsburgh on Friday.

The lone position player of this group, second baseman Johnny Giavotella, went 1-for-10 in a brief stint with the Orioles last year, then underwent right hip surgery after the club designated him for assignment. This spring, he was a non-roster invitee with the Miami Marlins, going 0-for-6 in Grapefruit League play. He hasn’t yet played for a Marlins’ minor league affiliate this season.

The two newest additions to this list are righties Alec Asher and Stefan Crichton, both of whom the Orioles designated for assignment on Opening Day to clear space on the 40-man roster. Asher, who pitched in 24 games (six starts) as a swingman last season, was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers initially, but then was waived by the Dodgers and claimed by the — you guessed it — Brewers on Tuesday and assigned to Triple-A Colorado Springs. At Triple-A Oklahoma City in the Dodgers’ organization, Asher allowed two runs in three innings in his first start.

Crichton, whom the Orioles recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on six separate occasions last year, was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 2. He’s off to a rough start at Triple-A Reno, allowing three earned runs in four innings so far.

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