New Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers starts vs. Guardians as AL East leaders make flurry of moves

CLEVELAND (AP) — On another busy day for the Baltimore Orioles, manager Brandon Hyde spent the pregame hours filling out his lineup card and meeting his starting pitcher.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers made his debut for the AL East leaders on Thursday night, just two days after coming over in a trade from the Miami Marlins.

“I literally just met him an hour ago,” Hyde said of Rogers, who was just 2-9 with a 4.53 ERA this season. “He’s excited and ready to pitch for us. It was an awesome conversation. He’s pumped to be here pitching for a winning team right now.

“Hopefully he can give us a boost.”

Rogers was activated before the opener of a four-game series against the Guardians — a matchup between the teams with the best records in the league.

Among a flurry of moves, the Orioles also activated outfielder Eloy Jiménez, who came over this week in a deal from the Chicago White Sox.

Hyde has known Jiménez since he was 16 and is excited about having him as an offensive weapon.

“One thing Eloy has been able to do is really, really hit,” Hyde said. “A hitter first, but also with huge power. Able to change the game with one swing, but also be able to take really good at-bats. We’re hoping he can bring that for us here. He’s a real threat at the plate.”

The Orioles also placed All-Star infielder Jordan Westburg on the 10-day injured list with a broken right hand and optioned outfielder Heston Kjerstad and left-hander Keegan Akin to Norfolk.

Also, outfielder Cristian Pache was designated for assignment, less than a week after Baltimore acquired him in a trade from Philadelphia. The Orioles traded outfielder Austin Hays for Pache and reliever Seranthony Domínguez last Friday.

Westburg broke his hand when he was hit by a pitch in Wednesday’s win over Toronto. The injury could create an opportunity for top corner infield prospect Coby Mayo, but the Orioles haven’t called him up yet. They do have an open spot on their 40-man roster.

“I’m sure you’ll see Coby here at some point,” Hyde said.

As for Westburg, Hyde remains hopeful he’ll be able to return this season.

“He’s got a fractured hand and we have to wait and see how that heals,” Hyde said. “It’s terrible. He wants to be here. He wants to play. It’s tough.”

Hyde said the decision to option Kjerstad was difficult.

“We think extremely highly of Heston,” he said. “It doesn’t mean Heston isn’t going to be back with us soon. This is just the decision we made for right now where our roster is. We have good outfielders here and everyday playing time wasn’t available right now.

“Hopefully down the road it will be. It’s never easy sending a guy down who is as good a player as Heston is.”

Also, right-hander Vinny Nittoli chose free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A.