It’s conventional wisdom that if both Coby Mayo and Ryan Mountcastle are on the Orioles’ Opening Day roster, there’s no room for a utility player.
While Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg could play shortstop in case of an injury to Gunnar Henderson, there needs to be an additional player who can play multiple infield positions and perhaps elsewhere.
If Henderson, Holliday and Westburg each play full seasons, and last year Henderson (154 games) and Holliday (149) did after Henderson missed the first seven games with a rib-cage injury, an additional player won’t be needed often.
Many Oriole fans have an easy answer, and that’s to re-sign Ramón Urías, who was deal to Houston at July’s trade deadline.
Urías wasn’t offered a 2026 contract after playing 35 games for the Astros and hitting .223 with a .640 OPS, three home runs and 10 RBIs. MLBTradeRumors.com projected his 2026 salary at $4.4 million. That’s a lot of money for a utility player.
He remains a free agent, and is perhaps the most attractive utility player on the market, but teams generally don’t pay $4 million for a fill-in.
Urias can play each of the four infield positions, though the Orioles aren’t lacking for first base or shortstop options. He won the Gold Glove at third base in 2022 and occasionally played second for the Orioles.
If they don’t sign Urías, and I doubt they will, they do have several options.
Jeremiah Jackson played right field and some third base after Urías was traded. He committed three errors in 24 chances at third. Jackson’s main appeal is his lively bat. He hit .276 with a .775 OPS.
Jackson, who played at the Double-A level for four seasons in three organizations, did play shortstop and second base in the minors.
The Orioles claimed Weston Wilson off waivers from Philadelphia on January 22nd. Like Jackson, Wilson is a right-handed hitter. Unlike Jackson, Wilson is out of options.
Wilson has played 100 games for the Phillies over the last three seasons and hit .242 with a .756 OPS with nine home runs and 29 RBIs.
He’s played mostly left field with a sprinkling of second, third and first base mixed in. Wilson has pitched as well. He’s thrown four scoreless innings in one-sided games in 2024 and 2025.
Another effective emergency pitcher—as well as a utility infielder—is Luis Vázquez.
Vázquez hit .160 in 32 games with a home run and three RBIs playing all four infield spots. He threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings last season in blowouts.
He was removed from the major league roster and will come to camp as a non-roster player.
Payton Eeles, an infielder the Orioles received from Minnesota in the Alex Jackson trade, and Jose Barrero, who played parts of five seasons for Cincinnati and St. Louis, could eventually spend time with the Orioles.
Barrero signed with the Orioles on July 2nd and hit .190 with eight home runs and 27 RBIs with Triple-A Norfolk. He re-signed over the winter. In 161 major league games, he has a .198 average with five home runs and 35 RBIs.
Will we see them in Sarasota? The Orioles should announce their list of minor league invites to spring training this week. Some of the players I’m intrigued about seeing are catcher Creed Willems, who at least one team was considering selecting in the Rule 5 draft, infielder Aron Estrada, and outfielders Nate George and Jhonkensy Noel.
Willems hit 16 home runs for Double-A Chesapeake and was an extra player who appeared in nine games. He also plays first base.
The Orioles have two minor league catchers, Sam Huff and Maverick Handley, with big league experience. Silas Ardoin has been invited to the last two spring trainings, and it would be nice to see Willems get a formal invitation.
Estrada has been a pleasant surprise in the minor leagues, rising to Chesapeake last season, and Orioles vice president of scouting and international operations Koby Perez believes he could be the next homegrown Latin American to make the majors.
George was named the organization’s minor league player of the year in 2025, his first season of professional ball. He reached High-A Aberdeen, so a spring training invitation may be a little aggressive this year, but he’ll probably get some at-bats in big league camp even if he doesn’t get an invite.
“Big Christmas” will be an interesting story. Noel has impressive power, and manager Craig Albernaz watched him with Cleveland the last two seasons, and we’ll see if the Orioles’ new hitting coaches, Dustin Lind and Brady North, can help him cut down on strikeouts and be an effective power tool.
Notes: Austin Hays has an agreement with the Chicago White Sox. Hays, who was traded to Philadelphia in July 2024 and played for Cincinnati last season, will make $5 million plus a $1 million buyout, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.
Outfielder Daniel Johnson, who signed a minor league contract with Miami on December 29th, was invited to Marlins spring training. Johnson hit .208 in 17 games for the Orioles.
Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.