Roster decisions, changes at Camden Yards, and getting back a Rule 5 pick.
Good morning Birdland,
The day we wait for all winter long has nearly arrived. Tomorrow at 3:07 p.m. the Baltimore Orioles will begin their march towards what is hopefully another playoff berth, and maybe even a deep postseason run. It all starts with a trip north of the border to face the AL East rival Toronto Blue Jays.
The 2025 season could be a defining one for this generation of Orioles players. Narratives are forming around them, some more fair than others. In particular, they have to prove that their recent regular season success can translate into postseason wins. It’s not quite “World Series or bust,” but at least winning some games in October feels like a requirement for this group.
Things don’t start off particularly easy. The O’s will begin the year with seven straight in-division games. They will play all of them without star shortstop Gunnar Henderson and have already had to dip into their organizational pitching depth to replace the injured Grayson Rodriguez and Andrew Kittredge.
Speaking of which, there could be some minor roster moves made around MLB today. As teams set their Opening Day squads, they naturally have some tough decisions to make. That tends to leave fringier players available on waivers or elsewhere. For the Orioles, that could come into play in two areas: bullpen and infield depth.
Right now, Matt Bowman is slated as the last man in the ‘pen after the Orioles re-added him to the 40-man roster this week. The Maryland native had a 3.45 ERA over 15 games with the Orioles last year, but he is no lockdown arm. He played for four teams last season alone and has bounced around for much of his professional career.
Bryan Baker and Roansy Contreras are the other internal options that have big league experience and could take Bowman’s place. If an upgrade is made available elsewhere in the league, Mike Elias should probably pounce on it. He did just that a couple of years ago when trading for Danny Coulombe in late March. At the time that felt like a throwaway move but proved rather prudent.
On the infield, it seems like Jorge Mateo might be ready for Opening Day after all. If that is the case, he will take Henderson’s roster spot and keep things simple. If Mateo needs an IL stint to keep rehabbing his elbow, Livan Soto will be the pick. But again, there could be other candidates that, as of this writing, are employed elsewhere. Whatever happens here should not be too consequential since the Orioles do have their middle infield sorted out when fully healthy. Getting to that point, however, is another conversation.
This sort of roster jockeying is important but rather uninteresting. We won’t have to fret over it too much longer as actual, real, meaningful baseball gets underway soon. We made it!
Links
Orioles announce new features at Oriole Park for the 2025 season | Orioles.com
This is legitimately a crucial read for anyone going to Oriole Park this year. It explains all of the changes you can expect, including menu changes, ticketing, promotions, and much more. Folks, you can get food from Ekiben and Attman’s Deli at the Yard this year!
Some unanswered longer-range questions as Orioles prepare for Opening Day | Roch Kubatko
Roch reiterates what Rodriguez himself said on a podcast this week. The righty is basically starting spring training over again with his throwing program. He ain’t gonna be back too soon, but seems to have avoided serious injury.
Padres Return Rule 5 Pick Juan Nunez To Orioles | MLB Trade Rumors
This is a tough outcome for Nuñez, but great for the Orioles. MLB Pipeline pegs the 24-year-old as the 20th-best prospect in the O’s farm system. Injuries limited him to just 29.1 innings with Aberdeen last year, but they were good innings. If healthy, he projects as a useful bullpen piece, something every team can use.
Why I’m bullish on the Orioles offense | The Baltimore Banner
I am fully on board with this take. The Orioles offense was good last year (yeah, I know they slumped in the second half!), and they are poised to be better this year. Much of that is predicated on Henderson getting back and healthy relatively soon. But thanks to platoon options, this team should be above-average offensively at every position. You do not see that much, if at all.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Jesús Tavárez turns 54 today. He played eight games with the 1998 Orioles.
- Jarvis Brown is 58 years old. His Orioles experience was just 18 games during the 1995 season.
- Mickey Weston is 64. The pitcher tossed 34 total innings for the Orioles between 1989 and ‘90. He was traded to the Blue Jays after the 1990 season for Paul Kilgus.
- Dan Morogiello celebrates his 70th. The southpaw played just one season in the big leagues, but it was a good one. He was part of the 1983 Orioles, accumulating a 2.39 ERA over 37.2 innings. He was left off of all postseason rosters for the eventual World Series champion O’s.
This day in O’s history
1960 – The Orioles and Reds move a series scheduled to take place in Havana, Cuba to Miami, Florida instead. The move is a request of the Orioles, who fear political unrest in Cuba.
2010 – Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts finally gets into a spring game after missing out with a back injury up until this point. He will make the Opening Day roster, play in four games, and then head to the IL for the next four months with an abdominal strain.