The Orioles’ clubhouse had pretty much emptied by 11:30 a.m. Players, staff and others filed into the auxiliary room where the team conducts interviews, waiting for the arrival of pitcher Shane Baz. They applauded when he entered.

Opening Day was a celebration. Today offered a different version of one, without the fireworks and orange carpet.

The last few rows of seats were occupied by teammates who sat behind members of the media. A couple of them joked about the questions they’d ask a pitcher and friend who just signed a five-year, $68 million extension before appearing in his first game.

Kyle Bradish was the most notable absence, but only because of his status as today’s starting pitcher. He arrived at the ballpark later and hugged Baz.

“I’m so happy for him,” said Zach Eflin, the No. 5 starter in the rotation and a former teammate in Tampa Bay. “He’s such a great, great dude. He brings so much to a clubhouse, and knowing him for the past three, four years, I couldn’t be happier for him. All the things he’s been through, a lot of trial and error stuff, some injuries. But to be able to come full circle to this moment just means the world to him and it means the world to us, too, to watch an ownership group and Mike (Elias) come to deal with a player that should have gotten an extension.”

“He brings so much to the clubhouse, on and off the field, and his work ethic, it’s second to none. He’s gonna give everything he has every single outing and that’s all you can ask as a starting pitcher.”

“He’s just a guy’s guy,” said Opening Day starter Trevor Rogers. “He jelled immediately in this clubhouse and just to see the journey that he’s been on, just the stuff that he has and just the overall good human being that he is, I couldn’t be anymore happier for him and what he’s accomplished and the fact that he gets to be here for five years. I’m really happy for him.”

“It’s just a testament to how quickly this group got pretty close. Just welcomed Shane with open arms and he became one of us pretty quickly,” said Colton Cowser, who grew up about 10 minutes away from Baz. They played against each other in travel ball. Their parents played in the same softball league.

“Shane’s a very talented arm and it’s kind of a no-brainer,” Cowser said. “If they’re able to lock him up long term, go ahead and do it.”

It happened yesterday, three months after the Orioles traded four prospects and a Competitive Balance A pick to the Rays for Baz and eventually made him their No. 3 starter. Baz, 26, was scheduled to earn $3.5 million, and the new deal buys out two years of his free agency in 2029 and 2030.

“It means a ton,” Baz said. “Every player wants that kind of feeling of security and just the belief behind you, just in your ability and your work ethic and all that stuff.”

“We’re very excited about this deal and Shane and having him in our organization,” said president of baseball operations Mike Elias, who scouted Baz for the Astros when the right-hander was a high school standout in Texas

“Having followed him in his career, we’re very excited about his potential and the fit that he has already demonstrated here with our clubhouse and this team. So as we talked to him and his camp about extending his relationship here with the team, we were able to find something that really made sense for both sides and something that we’re very pleased with and very optimistic about this partnership between this player, the city, and this franchise.”

Baz moved past his Tommy John surgery to make 31 starts last season and he impressed in camp. The velocity, the pitch mix and the results.

“He’s in great health and condition right now,” Elias said, “and I think he’s got a big season ahead of him.”

Elias also pointed out how investments like this are made possible under the new ownership group headed by David Rubenstein, who attended the press conference.

“We’ve had so much more activity in these areas,” Elias said.

Baz will get busy pitching for the Orioles on Sunday against the Twins. And for many years to come.

“It’s such a good opportunity, it’s such a great team. I think it was kind of a no-brainer for us, just to be in such a great spot,” Baz said.

“I’m just really excited. I’m really blessed to have the opportunity. I know Orioles fans don’t really know me unless they have seen me playing against them, but you’re just going to get a guy that’s going to give you everything I have every time I get on the field. I think my work ethic kind of speaks for itself. It’s just going to be 110 percent at everything I do.”

“Let me just add,” Rubenstein said, “when you have people as talented as Shane, we’re very, very happy to have them in a longer-term relationship. We’ve tried, the ownership group, to make the team as successful as possible, and since Shane has been with us, we are in the regular season undefeated. We have not lost a game since he’s been with us, right?”

Manager Craig Albernaz and bench coach Donnie Ecker sat in the same row as president of business operations Catie Griggs. In front were Baz’s parents, Raj and Tammy, and fiancée Kari.

Other players besides Eflin and Rogers included Chris Bassitt, Adley Rutschman, Tyler Wells, Pete Alonso, Coby Mayo, Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Helsley, Tyler O’Neill, Rico Garcia, Dietrich Enns, Samuel Basallo, Leody Taveras, Jeremiah Jackson, Blaze Alexander, Anthony Nunez, Ryan Mountcastle and Dylan Beavers.

“It just shows how close-knit we all are to each other,” Rogers said. “At the end of the day we want financial security for our families because we’re gonna be not playing this game at lot longer than we are playing this game, so the fact that he has financial security for his family and his future children, we’re super happy. That’s how everyone in this clubhouse feels. That’s one of the big goals in this game, so we all definitely wanted to support him in that.”

“I tell you guys all the time, man, it’s such a special place to be,” Eflin said. “It’s hard being away from your kids every single day, but when you get to surround yourself with people in this clubhouse like they are, the camaraderie, the commitment, the competitiveness, the genuine just rock-solid dudes, and he fits that bill 10 out of 10 times.

“When he first got traded over I reached out to him and let him know he’s going to fit right in and he’s going to love the guys. You can say anything you want, but at the end of the day, he is just a rock-solid dude. He cares a lot about his guys. He’s gonna give 110 percent every single outing. And just so happy for him and his family.”

Eflin wore a “Baz Inc.” cap, given to him in spring training, and kept it on his head during his bullpen session.

“I thought it would be a pretty fitting day to wear it,” Eflin said.

Catcher Adley Rutschman was amused that Baz got his new deal and played Fortnite with teammates.

“I know he’s excited about it and everyone’s excited for him,” Rutschman said. “Just awesome to see him happy. Just talking to him yesterday after he gets done, he’s getting a lot of congratulations, just playing some video games with him immediately after. Just kind of funny. The guys are chirping at him about what he’s going to get for the clubhouse and whatnot. It was cool. Seems like he’s really happy to be here, and this club’s done a great job with the renovations, and everyone loves the coaching staff, the front office, and players in the locker room. So it’s just a great culture that they’ve created here.

“Shane’s awesome. It was funny. I was talking just about, we played in the Futures Game together in ’21 and that was our first time meeting. Didn’t really know each other at the time, but cool to see it just kind of come full circle and him be with us and just developing that relationship. He’s a great guy. Just stays the same dude. Super fun to be around. I think everyone enjoys talking with him, and whether it’s out on the field, he’s gonna be a competitor, and in the locker room, he’s gonna pick guys up.”

Catcher Samuel Basallo was the first extension negotiated and completed by Elias, back in August after only five days in the majors. Basallo signed an eight-year, $67 million deal with an option for 2034,  

Basallo said he was at a mall with family yesterday when his father shared the breaking news about Eflin on his phone.

“I was like, ‘Wow, that’s very exciting,’” Basallo said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I was really happy when I saw it. Since the moment he arrived, he’s been a great addition to our team. He’s been very nice to work with, he’s been a great addition to our clubhouse. More than anything, I was super happy when I saw the news break.”

Basallo received further confirmation that he made the right decision in committing to the Orioles for such a long period.

“I feel incredible about being able to sign here,” he said. “I feel like it’s a dream come true in every sense of the word. I feel incredible about being a part of this organization. I feel truly blessed to have been able to sign that contract and being able to be here.”

Who’s next?

“What we’ve told Mike is, he’s the expert in baseball talent and he’s got a lot more experience than Mike Arougheti or I do, so we will be willing to back him financially for whatever he thinks makes sense. And so we’ve done that. I don’t think we’ve turned down any of his requests and we’re open for business,” Rubenstein said.

“We want to do as much as we can to make this team a championship team and make Baltimore proud of the team that we put on the field. … We have the resources necessary to do this with others who are interested in this. Sure, we’re open for business, but it has to make sense for the player, it has to make sense for the team. But we’re certainly all ears.”

“You want guys to figure something out that works for them, for sure,” Basallo said. “We definitely want guys to be here long term, to be part of this group.”

“It seems like David and Mike and the ownership group is really letting the other Mike do his thing, kind of using his room of experts up there and doing what they can to further better this team,” Cowser said. “It’s really cool.

“One thing is just the culture that we’re beginning to build. I think some of this new veteran presence we’ve got in here has been really great. And also just the fan base. It’s a city that loves baseball, loves the Orioles, loves the Ravens, and whenever you don’t play well, they’ll let you know about it, but when you’re playing really well they continue to show up and show their support. I think it’s something that players want to play in front of fans that are passionate, and this city provides that. And it’s a first-class organization when it comes to treating their players. And continuing to get better as well, with improvements and always asking for players’ feedback and things like that.”

Rogers can become a free agent after this season and might be headed toward a sizeable contract of his own after posting a 1.81 ERA last summer in 18 starts and tossing seven scoreless innings Thursday. He said remaining with the Orioles would be “a cool thing,” but added that “today’s about Shane.”

“Maybe during the season it’ll happen, but I’ve talked about it,” Rogers said. “They know what they want this team to look like and if I’m a part of it, I’m all for it. They know how I feel about this place, but at the end of the day, it’s about Shane and I’m really happy with them locking up Shane for five years.”

These extensions can happen at any time, whether during the summer in a player’s first week in the majors or less than a week after the team breaks camp.

“I don’t think you’re ever really expecting to get into extension-type talks, but I think just kind of how smooth spring went and how great it’s been working with the pitching group and just the whole staff, as soon as they reached out, I knew that we wanted to get something done,” Baz said. “It’s just such a great place to be. I was probably a little bit surprised about it, but it was just too good of an opportunity.”

Said Rutschman: “Everyone loves where the club’s at right now just with the personnel we’ve got, the coaching staff, the front office, and I love Shane as a person, as a player, and to see him staying here makes me really happy. I think he’s happy, which is the most important thing.”

So, what exactly should Baz provide for the clubhouse besides the pool table and shuffleboard that’s already available to players?

“Oh, great question,” Rutschman said. “It’s crazy. It hasn’t been that long. There’s already been a lot of ideas thrown out there. Some guys want bumper pool, some guys want ping pong. They want cards. I don’t know. I think some of the guys might want it to be more expensive. Some of us might want to take it easy on him.”