Mancini (elbow) expected to avoid IL

SEATTLE -- Still nursing a sore right elbow, Trey Mancini was out of the Orioles lineup for the second consecutive day Friday. Manager Brandon Hyde said he hopes Mancini can return by the end of the weekend, reiterating that the injured list is not a possibility for the Orioles’ best player.

Mancini sustained a severe contusion Wednesday when he was struck by a 92.2 mph sinker from A’s righty Chris Bassitt.

“He feels better, he feels better. Still sore,” Hyde said. “We’ll talk about tomorrow in the morning. I think he’ll be back in the next day or two.”

Consider that good news for the Orioles, whose offense has sagged amid their current nine-game losing streak. Mancini leads Baltimore in nearly every major offensive category, hitting .304 with a .919 OPS and 16 home runs in 71 games. The Orioles rank last or next-to-last among AL clubs in runs, batting, OBP and slugging in June.

Roster moves

Ahead of Friday’s bullpen game, the Orioles added two fresh arms to their ever-shuffling bullpen, recalling left-hander Tanner Scott and righty Branden Kline.

Kline was with Double-A Bowie, which had just finished a game in Hartford, Conn., when he was summoned late Thursday night. Kline rode the team bus from Hartford to Harrisburg, Penn., flew to Chicago and caught a connecting flight to Seattle. Scott, who was with Triple-A Norfolk, took a bus from Scranton, Penn., to Buffalo, then flew to Chicago and connected to Seattle.

Both were on the same connection in Chicago, where they ran into right-hander Evan Phillips -- who was optioned in a corresponding move Thursday night -- at the airport.

“They’ve had quite a travel day,” Hyde said. “It’s a long way to go. But the adrenaline will be there, and they’re in the big leagues. I think it’s well worth the long day.”

The roster moves were the 19th and 20th the Orioles have made over the last week, and the 14th and 15th pitching moves in that span -- a dizzying stretch even for a club that needs to reconfigure its pitching situation daily.

“It’s just how our team is right now,” Hyde said. “As our guys start to develop more, as we get starters here that are able to go a little deeper in games, bullpen guys who can throw multiple innings without throwing 40 pitches every time out, then it gives guys breathers. But we are just not there yet. So we have to shuffle between here and Norfolk a lot. That’s just how we are.“

Old friends, new places

Designated for assignment last week, Joey Rickard’s tenure with the organization is officially over after the outfielder was claimed on waivers by the Giants on Friday. A Rule 5 pick by Baltimore in 2015, Rickard spent most of the past four seasons with the Orioles, hitting .245 with a .671 OPS in 317 games. He was Baltimore’s Opening Day right fielder this season before slumping at the plate, sliding into a reserve role and eventually being passed on the depth chart.

Rickard was designated June 17 when the Orioles, starved for pitching, selected the contract of Sean Gilmartin from Norfolk. Gilmartin started Friday against the Mariners.

When a player's contract is designated for assignment -- often abbreviated "DFA" -- that player is immediately removed from his club's 40-man roster, and 25-man roster if he was on that as well. Within seven days of the transaction (it was previously 10 days), the player must either be traded, released or placed on irrevocable outright waivers.