The 26-man roster for today will change a lot as the season goes along.
Opening Day has finally arrived, and with it, the deadline for teams to do their final roster maneuvering to get themselves from a spring training camp roster to a 26-man roster to start the season. The Orioles, as is often their custom under Mike Elias, waited as long as they possibly could before making the final official decisions to set their roster.
There was one last surprise as the roster was set. Yesterday, beat writers indicated Livan Soto was present in Toronto but not Jorge Mateo, indicating Mateo would begin the season on the injured list. However, when it came time to check in the clubhouse today, Mateo had a locker in the clubhouse and Soto did not. Mateo is not beginning on the IL after all.
The other big sign yesterday was Bryan Baker being there, but not Matt Bowman or Roansy Contreras. That showed which of the out-of-options bubble relievers had made the team. These were the two lingering question marks as the team left Florida on Sunday and they got their answers today.
Here’s the first 26-man roster of the season:
Pitchers (13)
- Keegan Akin
- Bryan Baker
- Félix Bautista
- Yennier Cano
- Seranthony Domínguez
- Zach Eflin
- Dean Kremer
- Charlie Morton
- Cionel Pérez
- Cade Povich
- Gregory Soto
- Albert Suárez
- Tomoyuki Sugano
Catchers (2)
- Adley Rutschman
- Gary Sánchez
Infielders (6)
- Jackson Holliday
- Jorge Mateo
- Ryan Mountcastle
- Ryan O’Hearn
- Ramón Urías
- Jordan Westburg
Outfielders (5)
- Colton Cowser
- Heston Kjerstad
- Ramón Laureano
- Cedric Mullins
- Tyler O’Neill
The big missing names are Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez. Get well soon, guys. The Orioles said the hope was “days not weeks” for Henderson, which has been going on for about a month now. Rodriguez is reportedly going to have to start back over from zero in building up for the season, meaning it’s unlikely we’ll see him before mid-May.
If Henderson truly does only miss days, it won’t be long before the Orioles have to decide who to squeeze out of the roster picture to get Henderson back in. I’d say Heston Kjerstad being optioned is the most likely possibility there. It is a good sign that Henderson is starting a rehab assignment on Friday, when Triple-A Norfolk’s season begins.
Not on the injured list but also not in the Opening Day roster picture is late-signing veteran Kyle Gibson, who agreed to be optioned to the minors to build up his workload after arriving less than a week before the start of the season. That move was made days ago and isn’t part of the Opening Day flurry. Gibson’s rough target, according to manager Brandon Hyde, is May 1.
The official, full set of roster moves to set up the 26-man roster is:
- IF Gunnar Henderson (intercostal strain) to the 10-day injured list, RHP Andrew Kittredge (knee surgery), RHP Chayce McDermott (lat strain), RHP Grayson Rodriguez (elbow inflammation), and LHP Trevor Rogers (knee subluxation) on the 15-day injured list. RHP Kyle Bradish and RHP Tyler Wells begin on the 60-day injured list while recovering from elbow surgery.
- RHP Matt Bowman cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.
- RHP Roansy Contreras was designated for assignment.
- IF Livan Soto was reassigned to Norfolk.