SARASOTA, Fla. — Orioles players are making Brandon Hyde and Mike Elias’ lives hard. Too many of them are playing well.
That is, in comparison to the dreary years of the rebuild, a good problem to have. Before, roster decisions were challenging because there weren’t enough major league-caliber players at Orioles spring training. Now, there are too many.
Many of the players competing for roster spots — from youngsters Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo to veterans Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo to relievers Keegan Akin and Dillon Tate — are putting up stellar numbers this spring.
“We have a lot of guys that are playing really well, and that’s what you want,” Hyde said. “A lot of conversations right now with different scenarios. It’s fun having the competition in camp that we’re having. You might lose guys or send guys down that you like, so hopefully we can stay healthy the rest of the way and these decisions are tough.”
Forty-two of the 47 remaining players at Orioles camp have played in the major leagues at some point in their careers. Of the five who haven’t played in the majors, three are top prospects in the Orioles’ system: Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Connor Norby. The other two are depth catchers David Bañuelos and Maverick Handley.
Only 26 can break camp with the team. Assuming health, about 20 of those spots are locked up. How Elias and company fill out the final six spots won’t be easy, and Hyde hasn’t given many hints as to how it will shake out.
With about one week remaining in spring training, here is a reevaluation of the Orioles’ roster battles and the candidates competing for the coveted open roster spots.
Candidates: Keegan Akin, Andrew Suárez, Nick Vespi
The five rotation spots are seemingly locked up: Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells and Cole Irvin. Kyle Bradish and John Means will begin the season on the injured list, the latter expected back before the former.
Three relievers are guaranteed to make the opening day roster: closer Craig Kimbrel, sinkerballer Yennier Cano and southpaw Danny Coulombe. Three more are near-locks: left-hander Cionel Pérez, right-hander Mike Baumann and now-healthy Dillon Tate.
That leaves two bullpen spots, and while it’s not a guarantee, it’s likely to go to a left-hander given the rotation only has one southpaw and the strength of this group in camp. These three lefties have combined to allow just three runs in 20 1/3 innings.
Akin appears to have an inside track for that spot after spending much of the past three seasons in Baltimore. A former starter, he also has the ability to pitch multiple innings — a trait that Hyde values from his bullpen arms. It also doesn’t hurt that Akin has been one of the Orioles’ best pitchers in camp, striking out eight and allowing just one hit over 6 1/3 innings.
Suárez, a converted starter with four years of big league experience who is at camp as a nonroster invitee, has surrendered just four hits and one run in seven innings. Nick Vespi, who has bounced from Triple-A Norfolk to Baltimore the past two seasons, struck out five across two innings in his most recent outing.
Candidates: Keegan Akin, Bryan Baker, Jonathan Heasley, Kaleb Ort, Albert Suárez, Andrew Suárez, Julio Teheran, Nick Vespi, Jacob Webb, Bruce Zimmermann
This battle is difficult to assess given the different directions the Orioles could go for their final seat in the bullpen.
Another lefty? That improves the chances for Akin, Suárez and Vespi. A traditional long reliever? That means one of Heasley, Albert Suárez, Teheran and Zimmermann would get the nod. A short-inning right-hander? That gives Baker and Webb a good shot.
While a fourth lefty isn’t impossible, it’s perhaps more likely this pitcher will be right-handed. While some big league bullpens have a long reliever who is capable of pitching more than three innings and starting in a pinch, Hyde detailed Friday why it might be difficult to have such a pitcher in the bullpen because the Orioles have five days off in the first month.
Baker, who spent much of the past two seasons with the Orioles, has yet to allow a run in five innings this spring, while Webb, who pitched well down the stretch last year before struggling in the postseason, has given up four runs in five innings, but he’s walked four. Webb might have the upper leg here because he doesn’t have a minor league option, meaning the Orioles would have to attempt to pass him through waivers if he’s healthy and doesn’t make the opening day roster.
Candidates: Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Ryan McKenna, Kyle Stowers
Every roster battle is competitive, but this one might be the most difficult to sort out.
McKenna has been a valuable piece for the Orioles — and a favorite of Hyde’s — but it’s hard to imagine him making this team as the primary backup behind starters Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander. Kjerstad, who hit well after his late-season call-up last year, is a strong candidate to make the club, but that’s more likely if the team keeps five outfielders. Kjerstad can’t play center field, and it’s unclear if the Orioles trust his defense in the corners, especially at Camden Yards’ oversized left field.
That leaves Cowser and Stowers, two left-handed hitters who have some experience playing all three outfield spots, as the likeliest candidates as the fourth outfielder. Cowser, the club’s third-best prospect, according to Baseball America, struggled after his midseason call-up last year, but he’s been perhaps the Orioles’ best hitter this spring with a 1.307 OPS over 37 plate appearances and might have the upper hand to win a job. Stowers, who made the opening day roster last season but had an up-and-down 2023 campaign, is hitting .235 with four homers, all off left-handed pitchers.
This spring has been rocky for Corbin Burnes, but something "clicked" for him Saturday.
Craig Kimbrel is back on track after a rough start to spring training.
Coby Mayo is on fire.
These and more Orioles observations from Saturday in Sarasota: https://t.co/Npwaz7lJhz
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) March 16, 2024
Candidates: Jackson Holliday, Jorge Mateo, Nick Maton, Coby Mayo, Tyler Nevin, Connor Norby, Ramón Urías, Kolten Wong
OK, this is where it gets tricky.
First basemen O’Hearn and Mountcastle are locks, and so are Henderson and Westburg. How the rest of the infield shakes out is something only Elias and company know.
This group can be broken into two: the veterans and the prospects. Holliday, Mayo and Norby have all impressed this spring. Holliday, the sport’s top prospect, has played both middle infield spots and is 11-for-37 (.297) with an .857 OPS. Hyde has praised how Mayo’s defense at third has improved, and he’s been one of the team’s best bats with a 1.099 OPS. However, the veterans — Urías (1.024 OPS), Mateo (.915 OPS) and Nevin (.797 OPS) — have perhaps been just as good.
Mateo and Urías should be seen as having the upper hand in this competition given their importance to the Orioles the past few seasons. Urías is a league average hitter and a plus defender who can play all four infield spots. Mateo is an elite defender at shortstop who can play center field and is one of the fastest players in baseball.
Holliday is more likely to break camp with the team than Mayo, as Elias said during the offseason that it was a “very strong possibility” that the middle infielder begins the season in Baltimore. But if the team deems the youngster isn’t ready, Wong is an option given the club’s preference in recent years of having a left-handed hitting second baseman.
Candidates: Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, Jorge Mateo, Ryan McKenna, Nick Maton, Tyler Nevin, Connor Norby, Kyle Stowers, Ramón Urías, Kolten Wong
How the previous two competitions shake out will impact this one. But the crux of the dilemma is whether to keep a fifth outfielder or not.
If Mateo makes the team, it’s possible he could serve as another center field option behind Mullins, with O’Hearn also able to play the corners. That would allow another infielder, perhaps Holliday, to make the team.
But if Mateo doesn’t break with the club, or if the Orioles’ brass decides to keep him as just an infielder, that means the last spot would likely go to an outfielder. That could allow a left-handed slugger like Stowers or Kjerstad, two prospects who have plus power, to be an extra bat. Or it could open a spot for McKenna, who is out of options, to serve in his role of a defensive replacement, pinch runner and occasional starter against left-handers.
