SARASOTA – Former Orioles left-hander Scott McGregor exited camp yesterday after completing his five days as a guest coach at spring training. Sam Perlozzo (March 6-8), Brian Roberts (March 9-12) and Nick Markakis (March 10-13) are the last of seven invitees with pending arrivals to the Ed Smith Stadium complex.

Ben McDonald overlapped with McGregor, bringing two accomplished pitchers to the back fields and inside the stadium. One of them was the first overall pick in the 1989 draft and made his debut later that year. The other finished sixth in Cy Young voting twice and tossed a complete-game shutout to clinch the 1983 World Series.

For manager Craig Albernaz, the real impact comes from the talks between past and current players.

“It’s tough for the guest coaches to come in and actually get like really technical because they just don’t have the history with the guys, what the actual plan is and what our pitching coaches are doing,” Albernaz said. “Our pitching coaches are doing a great job of looping them in, but for me the biggest value for them is just the conversations they’re having about their experiences.

“It’s almost like when you have guys that played in the big leagues for a long time here, to me, they’re great mental skills coaches, because they’ve been through it, they’ve seen the other side, they’ve had time to reflect on their own career. So for me, it’s just those guys paying it forward to the next crop of pitchers.”

McGregor is impressed with the pitchers in camp, both the collection of veterans and the young arms. And he enjoyed the chance to eavesdrop during Zach Eflin’s live batting practice session.

“Him and (Sam) Huff in between innings were just talking baseball back and forth,” McGregor said, “and I was sitting next to them and I said, ‘Man, I like to hear that.’

“I know it’s gonna be good for all of them, just the really good communication. And obviously, this is a good bunch of guys. They have a lot of fun together. It’s nice to watch. It’s encouraging.”

McGregor was in the pitching room when Shane Baz received the typical dose of data ahead of today’s start against the Astros in Sarasota.

“I’m just going, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of info.’ That TruMedia they use and they’ve got all kinds of hot spots and things,” McGregor said.

“I told them, ‘Yeah, I remember when I was pitching. I was starting and I came to the ballpark. There were two new balls, one in each shoe, and a chart from the last game I pitched. And that’s what I had. I looked at it and I could tell who adjusted and who I have to change and who I can stay the same with. So we’ve come a long way from that. But push comes to shove, when you get out there on the mound, you have to be able to read the situation and make pitchers and not get overwhelmed by the surroundings.”

McGregor has observed Pete Alonso’s work at the plate and said it’s crazy how “the guy just gets in the batter’s box and hits a line drive somewhere. It’s kind of fun to watch that.” Alonso went to the opposite field yesterday for a two-run shot in the first inning.

“They’re gonna have a nice lineup, a nice starting rotation, and the bullpen’s always tough in baseball nowadays,” McGregor said. “What’s the average, 5 1/3 innings for starters? So you know you have four innings for 162 games. That’s a monster.”

*Second baseman Jackson Holliday isn’t quite ready to start swinging a bat, but he’s moving forward after his surgery to remove a broken right hamate bone. No setbacks and nothing to set off alarms.

“He’s progressing great,” Albernaz said. “The big thing with him is, he’s not trying to do too much. He’s doing exactly what he should be doing, and most importantly, he’s around out there during practice and during the games with the boys. So right now his progression has been awesome so far.”

*Jeremiah Jackson started at shortstop yesterday after making his four previous lineup appearances at second base. He committed an error but also hit an opposite-field home run.

Jackson is 5-for-13 with a double and no strikeouts in the Grapefruit League.

Gunnar Henderson is gone, his next at-bats coming with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, and Albernaz can do some maneuvering with players absent in camp. He already wanted to critique Jackson at other positions as part of the utility competition.

“We want him to play around the rest of spring all over,” Albernaz said earlier. “Just right now, it’s just at-bats. We’re trying to find at-bats for our guys and for everyone. That’s always the puzzle you’re trying to solve in spring training is make sure guys get their at-bats, and hopefully the positions line up. So right now it’s, the at-bats are at second base, but the plan is, he’ll get out there.

“And the same with Blaze (Alexander) and the same thing with Weston Wilson. We have guys who can go back and forth. But right now the at-bats are in the infield, and then as camp progresses, see how it goes.”

*Wilson didn’t play yesterday. He’s 4-for-8 with two doubles.

“He’s just a baseball player,” Albernaz said. “He has that slow heartbeat when he’s in the box and on defense, and there’s a benefit of being in Philadelphia and playing in that environment. Weston is someone who could always play. Good ballplayer. He does a lot of different things. He plays on the dirt, plays on the grass.

“To me what really stood out was just the at-bat quality, how he’s been managing the strike zone and not trying to do too much.”

Wilson will play in the outfield later this week and also get a look at second base.  

*Closer Ryan Helsley is waiting to make his third exhibition appearance, with the last one Saturday against the Braves. He’s tossed two scoreless innings.

“He’s a beast physically,” Albernaz said. “I was telling everyone, being Helsley and guys that played in this league for a long time and have performed at a high level, it doesn’t happen by accident, right? He works his (butt) off and it’s very telling when he’s out there playing catch, very intentional with even playing catch.

“The PFPs, I know it’s small, but he’s in there, he’s focused on it. He’s crushing the weight room, he’s getting after it. … We’re not trying to get ready for the first spring training game or his first outing. It’s like, no, we have to get ready to be ready to go on Opening Day, and that’s something with his pedigree and his veteran presence, he knows that.”

*Orioles minor league camp opens Thursday at Twin Lakes Park.

Albernaz will stop by the complex before heading to Port Charlotte for the afternoon game against the Rays, where Zach Eflin makes his 2026 debut.