WEST PALM, Fla. – The final construction of the Opening Day roster is a spring task.

What happens later as the weather warms back home is mapping out the playing time, with a goal of supplying a reasonable amount of at-bats for guys who are wedged in a crowd. Some of this is dictated by circumstances, of course. Some of this is not, which puts the onus on manager Craig Albernaz.

“It’s a great problem to have,” he said.

No argument here.

If the Orioles remain healthy, an assumption as dangerous as wading into a Florida swamp with a salami tied around your neck, Albernaz and his staff must decide how to divvy the starts between Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Beavers in right field. How to rotate players into the designated hitter role. When to sit Colton Cowser or put him in a corner.

“I hope there’s 30 players that we’re trying to fit onto the 13 position player group to get at-bats,” Albernaz said. “To me, that’s a testament to the caliber and talent that we have in that room, and then also kind of what we’ve done on the PD (player development) side over the years, developing players, and on the acquisition side of bringing great guys in with Mike (Elias) and his crew.”

Albernaz repeated the line.

“It’s a great problem to have.”

Some of the enthusiasm comes from perhaps getting a full season out of O’Neill, who made three trips to the injured list last season and appeared in only 54 games. He was 7-for-11 this spring with a double and home run before leaving camp to play for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic.

Beavers is expected to head north with the club, though he’s keeping his hopes at a conservative level. He collected his fourth double yesterday against the Astros but is 5-for-26. The other hit is a triple.

“I think I have a better chance this year than I did last year,” he said, “but I’m just trying to play hard and take it game by game, and at the end of spring see where I end up, where they need me.”

Albernaz said his impression of Beavers remains the same.

“The interesting thing with spring training is, you watch the video, you’ve seen the players play in person, and then they go through a whole offseason, then they show back up at spring training,” Albernaz said. “It’s almost like a recalibration of getting back to being outside for some guys, and also getting back to the team environment and playing. So to see Dylan play in person, I don’t think he realizes exactly how good he actually is, is the way I’m sensing it, cause he’s an impact player. The dude, he can play baseball.”

Albernaz played him in center field again yesterday, though he figures to get more action in right during the regular season.

“Ideally, I’d love all of our outfielders to play all three,” Albernaz said. “I think it gives versatility in the outfield, which is a big thing. I love versatility. But also, for Beavs, he is an above-average runner, he can run. He’s an athlete, which we all see. So just to kind of get him to go out and just explore his athleticism, kind of similar to when we put Coby (Mayo) at shortstop for the inning. Just go out there and explore your athleticism. Go be a 12-year-old kid. And ideally that’s what happens. And just to kind of get him reps out there. And it’s only going to help his right field play and his left field play, as well.

“I’m not trying to say I started that by any stretch of the imagination. It’s been around, and I think we look at it like development’s messy and we want our guys to be the best versions of themselves athletically, and sometimes as players when you play a singular position, you kind of just get the same reads all the time, it’s the same footwork, and your body compensates and adjusts just for that. Whereas, ideally we want all our athletes on the field to have multiple movement solutions out there to solve problems.

“Like when you see Bobby Witt making those diving plays (in the WBC). That’s athleticism. So we want our guys to feel the same way, and Beavers in particular, just to open up some more avenues for him that’s only going to help his right field and left field play.”

Beavers totally gets it.

“For me in general as a player, being more free out there and more aggressive to balls, that’s gonna help me have more success,” he said, “just because I feel like when I’m not doing well out there, it’s if I’m unsure or I’m not like 100 percent confident when I’m going for a tough ball in the gap or something. So they’re just kind of harping to me, be aggressive, try to get everything you can. Use my speed, because if I’m not going for tough balls in the gap or at the track, there’s no point in being fast.”

It’s important to mention that Beavers is used to being caught in the middle. He played center in 34 games with Cal Berkeley in 2021 and had 70 starts in the minors. However, he played only nine last season with Triple-A Norfolk and none after the Orioles promoted him.

“I feel good out there,” he said. “I haven’t gotten a ton of reps in the last couple years out there, but I feel like the reads are a touch easier in center, just because it’s direct and straight on. I think just game reps and seeing balls off the bat is going to get me more comfortable as time goes on.”

Tracking fly balls in Florida is good practice. Beavers should be prepared for anything that might distract or complicate his pursuit.

“I think if you can play good defense here, it makes it easier a lot of other places just because the sun and the high skies,” he said. “I think the more reps I get in center, the more comfortable I’ll feel.”

By the simple act of writing in Beavers’ name in center field, the Orioles are demonstrating a certain level of confidence in him. And it’s another way to keep him in the lineup if O’Neill is doing damage with the bat, the kind we’ve seen in Florida, and the body is cooperating.

“It’s exciting just because the more positions I can play, the more opportunity there will be to help the team,” Beavers said. “I feel like versatility is important, and if they’re giving me a shot out there, I want to show them that I can play all the positions.”

Maybe it isn’t going to be much of a problem.