The Birds’ exhibition season begins Saturday with Albert Suárez scheduled to start.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
It’s almost time. The Orioles have done their workouts, their batting practices, their bullpen sessions, and just about everything you can do without facing an actual opponent. Tomorrow, for the first time in 2025, they’ll be playing competitive baseball. That is, if “competitive” means using mostly backups and non-roster invitees in a game whose outcome doesn’t actually matter.
Still, baseball is baseball. At 1:05 on Saturday, fans will get their first look at this year’s team in action as they host the Pirates in the Grapefruit League opener at Ed Smith Stadium. It’ll even air on MASN, a rare occurrence for the Orioles-owned network that is airing less than a third of the club’s spring games.
We also know who’s going to start on the mound, as manager Brandon Hyde announced yesterday that Albert Suárez will get the ball for the opener. He’ll likely go one inning, maybe two if the O’s are feeling frisky. A friendly reminder that the Orioles’ choice of starting pitcher for the exhibition opener has no bearing on their rotation plans for the regular season. Last year, ace Corbin Burnes started the first Grapefruit League game as well as Opening Day, but in previous years the Birds used the likes of Drew Rom, Spenser Watkins, and Thomas Eshelman to kick off their spring slate. So don’t pencil Suárez into the Orioles’ season-opening rotation just yet.
As for the offense, we should see quite a few of the Orioles’ projected starters in the lineup, getting one or two at-bats apiece. Perhaps those brief appearances will be enough to answer the questions we’ve been pondering all winter. Is Adley Rutschman about to launch a redemption tour? Will Jackson Holliday have a new and improved plate approach? Is Tyler O’Neill as jacked as everyone says?
We’ll find out soon. At long last, we’re about to watch some Orioles baseball.
Links
Suárez chosen to start first exhibition game – School of Roch
This time last spring Suárez was a random non-roster invitee who hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2017. A lot can change in one year, huh?
Britton brothers Zack, Buck reunite at Orioles Spring Training – MLB.com
It’s nice to see Zack Britton back at Orioles camp. It’s also nice that the team is finally spelling his first name correctly after failing to do so for his entire previous tenure with the organization.
Orioles third baseman Jordan Westburg has his sights set on a Gold Glove – The Baltimore Banner
Brooks Robinson, he ain’t. But I was impressed with Westburg’s defense last season, even if his plays weren’t always graceful. It’s still an out in the box score.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! The only player in Orioles history with a Feb. 21 birthday is 1970s outfielder Tom Shopay, who turns 80 today. Enjoy your day, Mr. Shopay.
On this date in 2018, the Orioles made a double whammy of ill-advised signings. Most egregiously, they signed outfielder Colby Rasmus, who the previous year had quit his team (the Rays) and walked away in the middle of the season. With the Orioles in 2018, Rasmus…quit the team and walked away in the middle of the season. Who could have seen it coming?
That day, the O’s also re-signed Chris Tillman to a one-year, $3 million contact. Their intentions were noble, as Tillman had been a reliable top-of-the-rotation starter for the Birds during their five-year run of success, but his arm was truly cooked by then. He went 1-5 with a 10.46 ERA in seven starts in 2018 before the Orioles released him in July.