The position players don’t have to report until Monday, so today will be another day for bullpen sessions
Hello, friends.
There are now 39 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. That was Kyle Bradish’s number last year, but he’s traded with new ace Corbin Burnes, who will be wearing it this year. Position players are required to report to camp tomorrow, with spring training games beginning on Saturday. That first one will be on MASN, along with six others.
The most important thing over the next several days before the games get under way is for no new injuries to appear! The excitement that people felt for pitchers and catchers reporting was bruised almost right away with the status update on Bradish, and with news of a minor (for now) oblique soreness issue for Gunnar Henderson. Normally, I’m ready for spring training to be over with as soon as possible, but in this case, if it went on for longer, that would be more time for these guys to be well before the season begins.
We’re still in the period where you could convince yourself that the Orioles might decide to make one more free agent addition to try to bolster the rotation to begin the season. Once we start getting too far along beyond now, pitchers won’t be able to get themselves built up to regular season game workloads.
I don’t think they will add anyone, but you can certainly make the case for spending big money over a short term (three years) for Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, or more cautiously, a modest two-year expenditure for Michael Lorenzen. I’d have an easier time believing in the bigger signing possibilities if David Rubenstein and company had already taken control of the team. That has reportedly remained on a relatively fast track, but even a fast track for that process is not going to be completed before late next month.
You know what I’m waiting for? Spring training photos from the two wire services that we are allowed to access showing up! The ones that SB Nation pays for have not had photographers at Orioles camp for workouts yet. I’m not surprised by this – O’s camp is not usually “interesting” enough until the games begin. So in the meantime you can get a Mike Elias picture at the top of this article.
Around the blogO’sphere
Holliday on Orioles roster bid: “I’m as ready as I can be” (Orioles.com)
The idea of getting to see Corbin Burnes’s Orioles debut and Jackson Holliday’s MLB debut on March 28 is so exciting that I wonder if it’s possible for that to both happen and actually generate joy in my life.
Notes from day 3 of Orioles spring workouts (School of Roch)
The more boring a spring training workout day news roundup is, the better. This one succeeded. If talking to Tyler Nevin and Phil Maton were each among the more interesting items, that means nothing bad happened.
Orioles payroll went up, but not due to flashy acquisitions (The Baltimore Banner)
I think getting the 2021 NL Cy Young winner counts as pretty flashy. The point is right on, though, that the O’s increased the payroll without adding like a $25 million/year free agent. We will probably see that happen again for 2025.
Adam Jones, Eddie Murray, and Scott McGregor among guest coaches at spring training (The Baltimore Sun)
A bunch of former Orioles greats are coming back to offer some spring instruction this season. Hopefully they’ve all got some useful wisdom to impart to today’s players.
O’s 2023 top draft pick is an old-school type leadoff hitter with a few big tools (Steve Melewski)
Enrique Bradfield Jr. was a bit outside of the pattern for Mike Elias high-round draft picks, but with his speed and defensive ability it’s not hard to see what he liked.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 2011, the Orioles officially signed future Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero. Some members of local media at the time memorably claimed it would be a good signing that would excite the fanbase. It was not, and did not.
There are multiple current Orioles who have a birthday today. Happy 25th birthday to infielder Jordan Westburg, and happy 27th to Ryan Mountcastle. This is also the 27th birthday of recent 40-man addition Nick Maton.
A few former Orioles were also born on this day: 2005 first baseman Walter Young, 2009 catcher Chad Moeller, and 1990-91 utility player Jeff McKnight.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: battery inventor Alessandro Volta (1745), actor Jack Palance (1919), Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison (1931), movie man John Hughes (1950), rapper Dr. Dre (1965), and actress Molly Ringwald (1968).
On this day in history…
In 1735, an opera called Flora, or Hob in the Well, premiered in Charleston, South Carolina. This was the first North America-produced operatic work.
In 1885, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published.
In 1979, the Daytona 500 was the first-ever NASCAR race televised live from start to finish. Richard Petty finished first, collecting what was then a record sixth Daytona 500 win, but a post-race fight between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough, who crashed on the final lap, is what everyone remembers.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on February 18. Have a safe Sunday.