The O’s begin camp with very few spots up for grabs on their 26-man Opening Day roster.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Orioles pitchers and catchers have begun to make their way to Sarasota. By tomorrow they’ll all be in camp, and the rest of the team will follow not long after. Spring training is all but here. Before you know it, there will be baseball. Woo!
The O’s will have roughly a month and a half down in Florida to shake off the rust, get back into their rhythm, and narrow their camp roster of nearly 70 players to their Opening Day 26-man. Except…that last part might prove rather anticlimactic. Barring injuries, the O’s appear to have basically every spot on their season-opening roster already spoken for.
MLB.com beat writer Jake Rill offered his first projection of the Orioles’ Opening Day roster, and it’s exactly the same 26 players I would have picked. It’s hard to find any spots that are clearly up for grabs. The Orioles’ lineup is locked in stone. Their bench is full. They’ve got five clear favorites for the rotation and eight guys who appear set for the bullpen. There’s not much room for any camp competition.
Of course, this is baseball, and things happen. If Jorge Mateo is healthy enough to start the season (Rill is assuming he won’t be), then that throws a wrench into the position player math. If Félix Bautista isn’t ready to start the season (Rill is assuming he will), then another bullpen slot opens up. And there’s still the possibility that Mike Elias makes a surprise addition this month, either major or minor. So don’t write those 26 names in pen just yet.
Still, if there are roster-bubble players who are hoping to scrape and claw their way onto the team in the spring, they probably shouldn’t hold their breath. We already have a pretty good idea of what this Orioles roster is going to look like when the season begins. And that’s not a bad thing.
Links
The teams with the biggest jumps (and declines) in payroll in 2025, plus more MLB notes – The Athletic
If you guessed that the Orioles had the biggest payroll increase of any MLB team this offseason, then you’re smarter than I am. I suppose David Rubenstein delivered on his promise, even if I wish he’d gotten an ace along the way.
How strong is Orioles’ bullpen? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
On paper the bullpen could be pretty good, but there are still a number of guys who will always make me hold my breath when they come in. I mean, if Holds can be considered a legitimate relief stat, then so should Breath Holds.
Some targeted Orioles topics for start of spring training – School of Roch
Kubatko wonders if a dark-horse pitcher like Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott, or Trevor Rogers could break camp with the team. I’m going to say unlikely for the first two and a hard no for the third.
Analyzing the state of the Orioles’ minor league system – The Baltimore Banner
Andy Kostka gives a rundown of the Orioles’ three top-100 prospects and some of the lesser-known names who could rise in the rankings. I’ll be pulling for Keeler Morfe to do all of us 5-foot-8 guys proud.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! And happy 30th birthday to current O’s lefty Gregory Soto. The veteran didn’t make a great impression in his first couple of outings after the Orioles acquired him at the trade deadline, but he improved quite a bit later in the year and figures to have a bullpen spot locked up for 2025.
Other former Orioles born on Feb. 11 include left-hander César Cabral (36) and righty Matt Lindstrom (45). And this would have been the 38th birthday for Brian Matusz, who tragically passed away last month.
On this day in 2020, the Orioles made a seemingly minor move that reaped dividends, claiming Ramón Urías off waivers from the Cardinals. Urías was a minor league journeyman who had bounced through two previous organizations and the Mexican League, but he made his MLB debut for the Birds in 2020 and never looked back. Urías has played 429 games for the Orioles the last five seasons, winning a Gold Glove at third base in 2022, and has settled in as a capable utility infielder. He’s expected to serve in the same role this year.