Tate (illness) remained away from Orioles camp Tuesday, but manager Brandon Hyde said he's optimistic the right-hander will be part of the team's season-opening bullpen, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
With three scoreless appearances to open spring training, Tate was well on his way to breaking camp with a meaningful bullpen role, but a sore throat that has kept him from pitching since March 26 suddenly puts him at risk of a brief stint on the injured list to begin the season. The Orioles will likely wait and see how Tate progresses over the next two days before determining if he'll be ready to go for Friday's opener versus the Rays. Even if Tate gets the green light to join the club, his lack of recent work could put him behind Jorge Lopez and Paul Fry in the pecking order in the Orioles' wide-open competition for the closer's job. Hyde's comments Monday seemed to indicate that Lopez is viewed as the team's top leverage reliever, though the skipper could end up giving multiple pitchers opportunities to pick up saves before settling on a designated closer.