Orioles invite 32 players to camp; Kjerstad slowed by myocarditis

The delayed start of the minor league seasons have resulted in the Orioles inviting 32 players who aren’t on the major league roster to spring training, which begins February 17th in Sarasota, Florida.

Ten players are listed as non-roster invitees and 22 are on the new camp reserve list.

On the non-roster list are: left-handed pitchers Fernando Abad and WadeLeBlanc; right-handers Marcos Diplán, Thomas Eshelman, Conner Greene and Félix Hernández; catchers Nick Ciuffo, Taylor Davis and Austin Wynns; and infielder Stevie Wilkerson.

Camp reserve pitchers and catchers will report along with the rest of the pitchers and catchers on Wednesday.

Those scheduled to report are: Right-handers Cody Carroll, Jay Flaa, Eric Hanhold, Mickey Jannis, Dusten Knight, Evan Phillips, Konner Wade and Spenser Watkins; left-handers Zach Mucknhirn and Josh Rogers; catchers Brett Cumberland and Adley Rutschman; infielders Adam Hall, Gunnar Henderson, Mason McCoy, Seth Mejias-Brean, Ryan Ripken, Terrin Vavra and Jordan Westburg; and outfielders Heston Kjerstad and Chris Shaw.

Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said that Kjerstad, the team’s top draft choice and the second overall last June, who did not appear at October’s Instructional League, had been suffering from myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart muscle.

“He’s doing really well, and we’re going to have him at the camp,” Elias said. “But we’re still emerging from the timeline of that. It’s a bit of a lengthy recovery timeline. There are also risk factors associated with the ongoing pandemic that we’ve had to be very mindful and careful about with that as well. He won’t be there immediately.”

Elias said Kjerstad would talk about the issue after his arrival in Sarasota. He also said that issues with players coming from abroad could delay arrivals as well.

The Orioles are limited to 75 players, so three openings remain.