SARASOTA, Fla. — Three years ago, Yennier Cano was seen as a nondescript reliever and Ryan O’Hearn as a castoff entering Orioles spring training.
Neither made the club out of camp, but they proved that spring how they had become better players, later earning a spot in the major leagues and becoming All-Stars.
Cano and O’Hearn are proof that spring training is still one of the most important parts of the baseball calendar. With year-round training, high-tech facilities and more information than ever, players make significant changes in the offseason and sometimes reinvent themselves entering camp. At the same time, it’s still only spring training, the games don’t count and most players are working on their craft, not worrying about results.
This spring, several Orioles players have the opportunity to elevate their standing within the organization based on how they perform. Here are the seven Orioles players who have the most to prove this spring:
Zach Eflin
If Eflin were fully healthy and coming off an injury-free campaign, he’d have nothing to prove. The 10-year veteran’s bona fides have granted him the right to not care about spring training results.
But Eflin is coming off his worst season since he became an established big leaguer, and the cause was clear: He had a bad back. After earning American League Cy Young votes in 2023 and helping lead the Orioles to the playoffs in 2024, Eflin posted a 5.93 ERA in 14 starts last season. He went on the injured list twice with lower back discomfort — an issue he’s dealt with almost his entire major league career — before having a lumbar discectomy to repair a herniated disk in the spine.
Eflin said his goal is to be ready for opening day.
“I’m doing everything I can to get ready for that,” he said Saturday. “Pretty much in pace of every prior spring training I’ve had. … I don’t really have a thought other than being healthy ready to go for the first start of the year. Plans could change, but that’s kind of where my mentality is.”
If Eflin can prove the back issues are behind him and get back to the pitcher he was before 2025, his presence would elevate a rotation that, while without a traditional ace, is perhaps the strongest of the Mike Elias era. Eflin being back to normal would either force the Orioles to go to a six-man rotation or move a solid starting pitcher like Dean Kremer to the bullpen.
“Yeah, the depth is incredible,” Eflin said about the rotation. “I don’t think you can have enough depth in today’s game. We’re all going to push each other, we’re all going to be competitive.”
Yennier Cano
No job in baseball is more fickle than that of a reliever. Because of the small sample sizes and the minuscule margin for error, a reliever can go from being unhittable one year to a liability the next.
Cano’s career in Baltimore has seen him reach the high of an All-Star appearance and the low of being optioned last season amid a campaign with a 5.12 ERA. The right-hander is a near-lock to earn a spot in the Orioles’ opening day bullpen, which will perhaps be the biggest question mark about the club entering the season. One way to assuage those concerns would be for Cano to get back to the pitcher he was before 2025 when he posted back-to-back seasons with a sub-3.20 ERA.
The encouraging part for Cano is that it’s not a mystery as to why he struggled last season. His fastball was down a tick, he lost the ability to locate his changeup and he simply got crushed by left-handed hitters. Lefties posted a whopping .948 OPS off Cano last year, compared with a .663 OPS by righties.
“It’s solving against lefties,” manager Craig Albernaz said when asked for the key to success for Cano. “He’s a nightmare against righties. It’s the opposite handedness that’s given him fits, especially last year. It’s problem-solving that. He’s making strides.”
Albert Suárez
Nonroster invitees are normally long shots to make the opening day roster. Suárez might be the exception.
The Orioles nontendered Suárez this offseason with the intention of bringing him back on a minor league deal, giving him a chance to make the club this spring.
“I really wanted to be back,” he said. “I’m glad to be here.”
Albert Suarez looks great today. He’s technically an NRI, but he has a good chance of making the bullpen as a long man. Just needs to be healthy.
His inning:
O’Neill strikeout
Basallo strikeout
??? strikeout
Beavers groundout
Mayo fly out
Trimble walk pic.twitter.com/hGOJvMkQLm— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) February 13, 2026
Suárez was an integral part of the 2024 team’s success, and his injuries last season, resulting in only 11 2/3 innings, factored into the club’s downfall. Suárez missed most of the year with a rotator cuff strain and then returned to the IL in September with elbow discomfort.
If the Orioles choose to carry a long reliever, Suárez could be the front-runner for that job. He also has a mentality that could make him successful as a short reliever if the Orioles need that.
“I’m confident if I’m healthy that I can do a good job,” Suárez said.
Chayce McDermott
McDermott might not be a likely candidate to make the opening day roster, but it’s not about that for the right-hander.
Two years ago, McDermott was the Orioles’ top pitching prospect, coming off a year as Baltimore’s minor league pitcher of the year. A year ago, he was a top 100 prospect on FanGraphs’ list as one of the top strikeout pitchers in the minor leagues with 496 career punchouts in only 344 innings at the time.
Now, his career is at an inflection point, and the direction he heads begins this spring.
McDermott struggled mightily last season both in the majors (15.58 ERA in 8 2/3 innings) and minors (6.18 ERA in 59 2/3 innings). But he transitioned into a reliever and handled the new role with aplomb, allowing only two runs with 18 strikeouts over his final 14 1/3 innings with Triple-A Norfolk.
If McDermott can stay healthy, rediscover the stuff that made him a top prospect and, most importantly, stay in the zone, he could become a legitimate bullpen option later this season.
Jeremiah Jackson
After his MLB debut on Aug. 1, Jackson was arguably the Orioles’ best hitter. During that stretch, he led the team with a .275 batting average and a .447 slugging percentage and was tied with Dylan Beavers with a .775 OPS.
But roster spots aren’t handed out to players based solely on a two-month stretch, and Jackson finds himself in a roster battle that could be one of the most competitive this spring.
Jackson was on the bubble after the trade for utility player Blaze Alexander, but an extra spot opened up after Jackson Holliday’s hamate injury, which is set to keep the second baseman out through opening day. Jackson is working at second base this spring in addition to third base and corner outfield. He struggled defensively last season at third, but second base is perhaps a better spot given he played more than 1,000 innings there in the minors.
If Jackson can hit the way he did to end last season and be a serviceable defender at multiple spots, he could earn his way onto the roster.
Coby Mayo
The same could be said for Mayo.
His chances of making the team were questionable at best a week ago given he’s behind Pete Alonso and Ryan Mountcastle on the depth chart. But Holliday’s injury could have created an avenue for Mayo. The Orioles could push Westburg to second base in Holliday’s stead, opening third base for Mayo to return to his main position.
The only way that strategy makes sense, though, is if Mayo stands out this spring and proves he can handle third base defensively. The former top prospect had an up-and-down rookie season last year, but he ended it strong with a .301 average and .941 OPS in September.
“I just got to play well,” Mayo said. “I think if I play well, good things happen. When you hit, there’s going to be opportunities there.”
Heston Kjerstad
And the best — or most to prove — for last.
Kjerstad is already making waves this spring during live batting practice, hitting two home runs this weekend and showing off a calmer leg kick and simpler timing mechanism that could help him hit big league pitching.
Entering last spring, Kjerstad was essentially locked into a spot on Baltimore’s opening day roster after he broke out in 2024 — that is, until he took a fastball to the helmet, which concussed him and derailed his season. But Kjerstad slumped at the plate, was demoted to Triple-A and missed the second half with “fatigue” caused by an unspecified ailment. Kjerstad said Sunday that he didn’t want to share what he dealt with last season, adding he expects to “cover the whole topic” in the future.
With Taylor Ward, Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill and Beavers ahead of him, Kjerstad has an uphill battle to earn regular playing time in the big leagues. But few players in the organization have as much raw hitting talent as Kjerstad, and few things are louder than his bat when he is on a hot streak. Whether he breaks camp with the club or works his way onto the roster later in the year, Kjerstad knows this is a critical season.
“It should be a good year for me,” he said. “[I’m] healthy. We’ll see what happens.”
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.