SARASOTA, Fla. -- Knowing Alex Cobb’s status will remain uncertain for at least another day, the Orioles are prepping right-hander Andrew Cashner to start Opening Day should Cobb be sidelined.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde confirmed the arrangement shortly before Cashner took the mound to start Sunday’s 1-1 tie with the Pirates, one morning after Cobb left his final preseason tuneup with a strained right groin. Cashner had planned to stretch out with an eye toward making his regular-season debut sometime next weekend; instead, he was limited to two innings in case he’s needed Thursday in New York, when he’d technically be on three days' rest.

“[The difference] is how I prepare this week going into it,” Cashner said. “It's still the same team, whether its Thursday, Saturday or Sunday. Get my pitches down, keep my mental state the same and keep working on what I’m working on.”

The Orioles don’t plan to make a final decision until Monday at the earliest, when Cobb will be reassessed by the club’s medical staff. His injury was not considered serious enough to require an MRI, but Cobb was visibly frustrated when discussing it Saturday night, calling the injury “concerning.” He would not commit to being ready for Thursday, and remains a candidate to begin 2019 on the injured list if the discomfort lingers.

“If he feels nothing and feels like he’s good, he’ll at least play catch and do something. If not, we’ll take the necessary steps to do the next best thing,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said, of Cobb. “We wait and see tomorrow, then we go from there. We’re not going to take any chances, with [it being] the start of the year, the cold weather. There are a lot of factors.”

Cashner threw 27 pitches over his two innings Sunday, allowing a run on two hits, one a solo home run to Jung Ho Kang. His only previous Opening Day assignment came in 2014 with the Padres.

Cobb has never pitched on Opening Day, though he’s earned the nod twice: this year and in 2015 with the Rays. That time, Cobb missed the start due to Tommy John surgery.

“I’m sad for him,” Cashner said. “He’s one of my best friends on the team. This happened to him before and you pull for your teammates. It’s definitely special so I want him to get that day. I’ve had an Opening Day and he hasn’t.”

Baltimore’s contingency plans don’t involve Dylan Bundy, who remains on track to start Monday’s Grapefruit League finale. That would keep him in line to pitch again over the weekend. The club still has several other roster decisions to make, including who fills out No. 4 and No. 5 spots in its rotation.