When the Orioles sent some of their top spring training performers — including Austin Hays, Chance Sisco and Anthony Santander — to the minors to start the season, it was a clear indication that the club didn't much value a month in the warm climes of the Grapefruit League to determine who is ready for the big leagues.
What's less clear is how long those players must stay in Triple-A before that determination changes.
With Sisco and Ryan Mountcastle starting to really hit at Triple-A Norfolk, Santander hitting a home run in his 26th-man cameo Wednesday before returning to Norfolk to continue swinging a hot bat, and Hays likely to get out of extended spring training soon, it's worth looking back at some of the precedents from executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and assistant GM Sig Mejdal when they were with the Houston Astros.