Five more Orioles spring training games remain, counting tonight
Wouldn’t you know it, the Orioles game is going to be on the television network that the Orioles own for a third straight night. This won’t be an unusual occurrence once we’re into the regular season but over the last month it’s been rare.
Do we get a regular season-looking lineup as the Orioles travel on the road with a week to go until Opening Day? Nope! This is looking like a rest day for most of the regulars. I’d figure only the 1-4 batters here will be in action a week from today, and of the rest of the guys, Cowser is the only one who I think might be around as a reserve. I guess you could make the case for McKenna. It’s just not a very fun case.
It’s a rest day for the prospects and other less experienced players too! It’s not like we’ve got Coby Mayo and Heston Kjerstad and Kyle Stowers hanging around in the lower spots, who we don’t expect to make the Opening Day roster but we do expect to see at some point this season. It’s just a few guys who are still in camp but almost certainly not making the team.
There was some Orioles news on Thursday! Before the game, manager Brandon Hyde confirmed a number of players who have made the team. He named the rest of the rotation, which is exactly what you could have guessed as soon as you knew that Kyle Bradish and John Means wouldn’t be ready at the start of the season. Following Corbin Burnes will be Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer, and Cole Irvin. Okay, I wouldn’t have guessed Wells ahead of Irvin.
Hyde also said that Gunnar Henderson will primarily be the shortstop for the Orioles. This, too, is in line with what you might have thought. Jorge Mateo has made the team, Hyde told reporters. This doesn’t mean that anyone who was not specifically named hasn’t made the team, but it does narrow down a number of choices. One question might be whether Mateo is actually viewed as a fifth outfielder for the team.
Orioles lineup
- Gunnar Henderson – SS
- Anthony Santander – RF
- Ryan Mountcastle – 1B
- Jordan Westburg – 3B
- Colton Cowser – RF
- Tyler Nevin – LF
- Kolten Wong – 2B
- Ryan McKenna – DH
- Michael Pérez – C
Albert Suárez is the Orioles starting pitcher, which strikes me as this being a case of “don’t use one of your real starting pitchers against a division opponent late in spring training.” It’s hard to imagine Suárez is still in the rotation mix at this point. Expected to follow him are Andrew Suárez and Jonathan Heasley, who are also not guys who figure to be in the roster picture.
The Orioles have 19 cuts left to make to set the roster! Might they do more of them after this game ends? Maybe they’re putting it off late in part because there’s going to be a split squad on Saturday. Maybe they just really don’t know what’s going to happen, even with what Hyde announced earlier on Thursday. There might be hope of swinging a trade late in camp, or there might be some other reason that’s less interesting to us.
Red Sox lineup
- Jarren Duran – CF
- Rafael Devers – 3B
- Trevor Story – SS
- Triston Casas – 1B
- Tyler O’Neill – DH
- Masataka Yoshida – LF
- Ceddane Rafaela – 2B
- Wilyer Abreu – RF
- Connor Wong – C
The Red Sox don’t seem to be deploying a real starting pitcher either, as they’re sending out Cooper Criswell, who is in camp as a minor league signing.