The Winter Meetings begin on Sunday in Dallas, and it’s expected to be a busy time for the Orioles. So far this offseason, they’ve made some additions and subtractions to their 40-man roster, which is at 38.
Opening Day is more than three months away, March 27th in Toronto. There will be moves made before then, but let’s look at what a 26-man roster would look like if the season started today.
Starting pitchers: Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, Cade Povich, Grayson Rodriguez, Albert Suárez.
The guess here is that there will be a least one new starter, perhaps two, by the time spring training begins. Will Corbin Burnes be one of them? While several starting pitching candidates have signed in recent days, Burnes is still available.
If the five above comprise the rotation on March 27th, it will be interesting to see who starts on Opening Day. The guess here is Rodriguez because of his growth over the past two years, but Eflin pitched well in the two months he was with the Orioles.
Relievers: Keegan Akin, Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano, Seranthony Domínguez, Cionel Pérez, Colin Selby, Gregory Soto, Brandon Young
I can almost guarantee that at least one reliever will be added to the mix.
The Orioles hope that Bautista, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, is ready to pitch on Opening Day, and that he returns to his brilliant 2023 form.
Akin, Pérez and Soto would give the Orioles three solid left-handers, and right-handers Cano and Domínguez would help set up Bautista.
The Orioles were impressed with Selby in three brief looks, and Young could be a long man and emergency starter.
The other pitchers on the 40-man roster include Chayce McDermott, Trevor Rogers, Bryan Baker, Luis González, Kade Strowd and Thaddeus Ward.
Starting pitchers Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells are recovering from elbow surgery and will begin the season on the 60-day injured list.
Catchers: Adley Rutschman, René Pinto
The Orioles could still re-sign free-agent catcher James McCann or another free agent to back up Rutschman.
For the moment, they have Pinto, who was claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay last month, and Blake Hunt, who has yet to play in the majors, on the 40-man roster. Pinto gets the nod because he has 225 major league at-bats.
Samuel Basallo has a chance to play for the Orioles later in 2025, but the 20-year-old is not on the 40-man roster and will start the season at Triple-A Norfolk.
Infielders: Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jorge Mateo, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Urías, Jordan Westburg
These seven could begin the season with the Orioles. It will be interesting to see what sort of role Mateo plays, and if he’ll play as much outfield as he does infield.
In this alignment, there’s no room on the 26-man roster for Coby Mayo, Emmanuel Rivera or Liván Soto, all of whom played for the Orioles in the last two months of the season.
Outfielders: Daz Cameron, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Cedric Mullins
It doesn’t seem likely that these will be the outfielders the Orioles will open the season with, but they’re the only four outfielders on the 40-man roster.
If we’re not counting Mateo, Cameron is the only right-handed hitting outfielder, assuming switch-hitting free agent Anthony Santander signs with another team. Cameron was claimed off waivers from Oakland, and returns to the Orioles. If you don’t remember him as an Oriole, that’s fine because though he was with the team in spring training 2023, he spent the season with Norfolk.
Kjerstad will try to make his first Opening Day roster, and from the four extra position players, the Orioles would have to find a designated hitter.
Expect an additional right-handed hitting outfielder or two in the mix.
Note: Cedric Mullins has been elected to the eight-man Major League Players Association executive subcommittee. He’s an alternate pension committee representative.
Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.