SARASOTA, Fla. – Chris Bassitt looked and felt at home yesterday morning after reporting to Orioles camp.

As the media got its first glimpse and lurked, Bassitt sat with Zach Eflin, Shane Baz and Andrew Kittredge across the room from his own locker and chatted with new teammates and old friends. He had more conversations over the course of the morning, ducked into the players’ cafeteria for a cup of coffee, came back out and met the local press.

Each question asked drew longer responses from Bassitt, who is known to become more expansive over the course of these sessions.

More important is how he isn’t a slow starter on the mound.

Bassitt is pretty consistent with his career 4.00 ERA in March/April, 3.61 ERA in May, 3.72 ERA in June, 4.13 ERA in July, 3.32 ERA in August and 3.08 ERA in September/October. A 3.04 ERA in 10 playoff games would lose a lot of air if a 2020 start for Oakland against the Astros in the Division Series could be erased. He allowed three runs and nine hits in four innings. Otherwise, it’s five runs in 19 2/3.

The Orioles are banking on having Bassitt pitch in the postseason.

“The depth is incredible,” Eflin said. “I don’t think you can have enough depth in today’s game. We’re all gonna push each other, we’re all gonna be competitive, and to be able to throw those guys out every fifth day is gonna be huge for us.

“We have a bunch of competitors, which is all we can ask for in a starting rotation. We have guys who wanna pitch deep in the game, and it’s gonna be an infectious starting rotation for sure.”

Just nothing that forces anyone on the injured list. Please.

“It’s just icing on the cake” is how Trevor Rogers described the signing of Bassitt to an $18.5 million contract.

“He’s been doing it for a really long time. He’s really consistent, eats innings. I just think the knowledge that he brings, especially on that postseason run that he went on last year, where we’re trying to get to, I think he’s gonna be great for us.”

Craig Albernaz is happy to praise the new starters but also careful not to insult the returnees that he inherited with his hiring. He isn’t the dog who drops a bone into the water after seeing his reflection. Or in this case, the manager who reached for something perceived as much better.

Standing pat wouldn’t have concerned him.

“I keep on saying it, I like our guys before we got our guys, our starting pitchers that no one talks about that we talk about internally here who are really good and have a ton of upside,” he said.

“So to me, it just adds to our depth. Like last year it showed with us where you can never have enough starting pitching. It’s across the game. You need starting pitching because it’s tough to bank on the same five guys making every single start throughout the season. So it just adds to our depth. Not to mention, he has a track record of throwing a lot of innings during the season.”

That happens when you can make 27, 30, 33, 31 and 31 starts over the past five seasons.

No one is camp is sweating the math. The Orioles have Bassitt, Rogers, Eflin, Baz, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells. A six-man rotation is a consideration, according to Albernaz, but only because everything is on the table.

Wells can be a weapon in relief, a one-to-two-inning guy at the back end. That makes more sense if Albert Suárez, a non-roster invitee who was invaluable in 2024, breaks camp with the team as a long reliever.

Bumping Wells to the ‘pen still leaves six.

“There’s questions like, ‘Are we gonna do a six-man or is there gonna be an extra guy in the bullpen? How’s this gonna work’ But I think the front office knows what they need to do to get this team prepared and get the right guys ready for Opening Day,” Rogers said.

“Can’t really control what moves they’re gonna make or how they’re gonna make that work, so just gotta go out there and prepare and get ready.”

Eflin is returning from August back surgery and behind other starters because he hasn’t thrown a live bullpen. He’s expected to do it later this week. A trip to the IL would solve the “problem,” but he’s trying to convince the Orioles that he can be available on March 26.

“That’s the goal,” he said. “I’m doing everything I can to get ready for that. Pretty much in pace with every prior spring training I’ve had. So as long as I keep checking the boxes and feeling good. I think I might be able to face hitters next week, and if that goes good, make the next step. If that step goes good, continue to stack those.

“My goal, 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.”