O's playing it safe with rehabbing Schoop

BOSTON -- Jonathan Schoop started his fifth consecutive rehab game for Double-A Bowie on Tuesday as the second baseman continues to move toward rejoining the Os.

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The Orioles have been careful not to place a timetable on Schoop, who hit the disabled list with a right knee injury on April 18, though manager Buck Showalter said if the team had a need (i.e. an injury), Schoop could return immediately.

Since they don't, there's no rush to push him, although given how Schoop has been in the lineup for Bowie daily, he's clearly feeling good physically.

"Jon's got a lot of confidence in Brady [Anderson] and Brady's very good with this," Showalter said of the team's vice president of baseball operations, who is with Schoop at Bowie. "[Anderson] knows what it takes to play here and he knows what Jon looks like when he's right. He'll still come up here and have to get his feet wet. ... We're not going to get in a hurry with him. Obviously, Ryan Flaherty is playing pretty well, so we're not going to push the envelope."

Baltimore has gotten some good reports on Schoop's defense and range of motion with his knee. He's also heating up at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a solo homer and three RBIs in Monday's game.

Another factor with adding Schoop -- along with starters Miguel Gonzalez and Wei-Yin Chen -- will be the roster crunch that will go hand in hand with the moves. Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette is expected to be in Boston over the next day or two to meet with Showalter about some of those decisions.