SARASOTA – Three starters who seem like locks to pitch in the Orioles’ rotation have appeared in the first three exhibition games. Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish each got their two ups and came out feeling good.

Given the injuries on the position side, take this moment to celebrate the wins that aren’t necessarily reflected in the scores of a team that’s 1-1-1 after yesterday’s tie in Lakeland.

Shane Baz had his two ups Saturday in live batting practice on the Camden Yards replica field in Sarasota. Zach Eflin faced seven batters in his only “inning,” an increase from his first session.

Chris Bassitt signed late and is waiting to make his Orioles debut. He was the loudest fan of USA men’s hockey in the clubhouse yesterday morning, joking that he might do his throwing inside to stay near a television.

Players remain convinced that the rotation is in good hands.

“I think we’re all in a great spot right now,” Bradish said yesterday. “Got a lot of good depth and a lot of guys that have pitched in a lot of big games, and I think that bodes well going into the season and for a bounce back year.”

Bradish is a candidate for a big bounce after returning from ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. He had an easy time in the first inning yesterday, throwing seven strikes among 10 pitches, and ran into some tough luck in the second on weak contact that led to two runs.

“He’s one of those guys with the talent, he could be an ace on a variety of pitching staffs,” said manager Craig Albernaz. “That’s the talent he has. With him, he’s obviously going through the injuries and coming back. He’s coming out on the other end.

“Spring training, he’s been looking great. So this is just part of his progression to kind of see where he’s at. But the ceiling for him is just as high as anyone. And it just speaks to him, but also our medical staff and everyone that poured into him during the rehab process. That’s such a big piece and to get back to where you were.”

Bradish is on a normal schedule, which includes the same monitoring as other starters. It’s a careful ramp up, and the elbow surgery always is taken into consideration. He made only six starts in 2025 and 14 over the past two seasons.

“We want to be smart with all our guys, but yeah, particularly with KB, too. And it’s all about the first inning, how he comes out,” Albernaz said.

“You don’t want any of our guys to be laboring through an inning, like getting to that 30-, 35-pitch inning. You know what I mean? That’s where personally I get uncomfortable.”

Sixteen Orioles made starts last season, including openers, and 13 in 2024. Only eight were needed in 2023, plus one Keegan Akin outing as the opener, when the Orioles won 101 games and the division.

“As you saw last year and the year before that, ’23 was a rarity,” said Kremer, who can recite the numbers. “It takes the whole 40-man and more to get through the season, especially if you want to play playoff baseball. It’s really important for us to have depth and I think the front office did a really good job coming in this year and adding that depth.”

The amount of it could push Tyler Wells into the bullpen, where he’d be a late-inning weapon. Wells struck out two batters Saturday while retiring the Pirates in order in the third.

Confident in this group of starters?

“Yeah, yeah, without a doubt,” Wells said. “It’s like everywhere you look, you got some really capable, really good pitchers.”

Cade Povich is starting today against the Braves at Ed Smith Stadium, as he tries to make the club in some capacity. Former Orioles coach and interim manager Tony Mansolino returns to Ed Smith Stadium.

Albert Suárez starts Tuesday against the Twins in Fort Myers, with his role likely to be long relief unless he’s needed in the rotation. He’s got to make the club first after signing a minor league deal.

The minor league pitching shined yesterday against the Tigers.

Cameron Foster retired the three batters he faced and struck out Austin Slater and Kerry Carpenter with his sliders. The first three pitches to Carpenter were four-seam fastballs clocked at 97.4, 97.1 and 97.7 mph.

Foster, 26, came to the Orioles in the Gregory Soto deadline trade to the Mets, and the Orioles put him on the 40-man roster in November. He allowed six earned runs and struck out 23 batters in 16 innings with Triple-A Norfolk.

Anthony Nunez was a infielder who became a pitcher in 2024, and an Oriole a year later in the Cedric Mullins trade with the Mets. He also went on the 40-man roster in November to protect him in the Rule 5 draft after posting a 3.45 ERA and 0.894 WHIP in 16 relief appearances with Norfolk and striking out 21 in 15 2/3 innings.

The No. 20 prospect in the system per Baseball America retired his three batters yesterday – Jahmai Jones, Gage Workman and Jace Jung – and he needed only two pitches to get the first two outs. He threw seven total, the last a four-seamer at 97.3 mph.

Cameron Weston followed with two scoreless innings, striking out four.

“It’s awesome,” Albernaz said. “It speaks volumes for our (player development) staff and development with these guys. Even Cam Weston, there was first and third, he had to bear down and make some good pitches early in spring. And he made great pitches.

“All our young guys have been throwing the ball well and that’s encouraging to see. I mean, we have depth and it’ll be curious to see how these guys develop and see where it goes.”