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Craig Albernaz is almost done reaching out to his players, one of the important tasks for any new manager. He’s going through the phone numbers, introducing himself and starting the bonding process that will carry over to spring training in a few months. He doesn't want to be a total stranger to them on the report dates.
“I’m almost at the finish line,” Albernaz said last night as a call-in guest on the “Orioles Hot Stove Show” on WBAL Radio, which was broadcast live from Rye Street Tavern.
“It’s been awesome to connect with the guys. A lot of energy, a lot of focus work in the offseason. So it’s one of those things where, when you have those conversations, you can’t not be excited to get to spring training and get to work.”
Albernaz has watched president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias fortify the bullpen with set-up man Andrew Kittredge and closer Ryan Helsley and the middle of the lineup with power-hitting outfielder Taylor Ward. And there are more boxes to check.
“Real excited,” Albernaz said. “Mike and his group, they’re working to getting the team better and making these additions. When you add a right-handed bat and a presence in the lineup like Taylor Ward, how can you not be excited? And the same thing with Ryan Helsley. And the cool part with Helz is that, he was a high priority free agent for a lot of teams and he made the decision to choose us, and that’s something we don’t take lightly here. And I thanked him for it.”
Former Orioles reliever Andrew Miller spent the last three of his 16 major league seasons with the Cardinals from 2019-21, coinciding with the first three years for Helsley. Miller became a mentor as his career was winding down.
“St. Louis was a really good organization in how they brought guys up together,” Miller said yesterday. “He fit in so well. Certainly not the loudest guy in the room, but I wouldn’t say he was quiet or anything. He just fit in really well. Now that he’s more of a veteran player, I’d be curious to see where his personality fits in.
“I’ve seen him a little bit the last couple years just making the rounds. He seems like the type of guy who appreciates the team aspect and how he can lead guys, because now he is the guy. He’s the guy who has closed, he’s been in big situations. He's been around quite a while. I would like to think he took the best part of the bullpens that he was a part of and is the type of guy who leads them and helps mold them into another great Baltimore bullpen like I was lucky enough to be a part of years ago.”
Helsley posted a 2.95 ERA in 24 games as a rookie, but appeared in only 12 the following season and allowed seven earned runs (eight total) with eight walks in 12 innings. He got into 51 games in 2021 and registered a 4.56 ERA and 1.415 WHIP in 47 1/3 innings.
His career really took off in 2022 with a 1.25 ERA, 0.742 WHIP and team-leading 19 saves in 54 appearances, and he earned the first of his two All-Star selections. He finished 12th in Cy Young voting in the National League.
“He came up and the incredible rocket for an arm, pretty hard to miss,” Miller said. “At that point in my career, it’s incredibly kind of him to say that maybe I had some influence on him. I wasn’t exactly tearing it up on the field every night, and just trying to help those guys. I was never able to throw a ball the way he could, so it’s just, whether that’s routine or the mental side of the game or how you’re gonna game plan. When you see a swing, what do you do on the next one?
“When you’re a young player, I think with that stuff there’s a big learning curve in the major leagues. And to a certain extent, when your stuff is as good as his, it doesn’t really matter. You can just aim down the middle and you’re gonna blow everybody’s doors off. But great guy, wanted to listen and wanted to learn and wanted to find a way to not just get to the major leagues, but stick and be really good while he’s there.
“Easy to root for and I’ll be pulling for him. I don’t really have teams to root for, but guys that I like and guys that I know, he’s absolutely one of them that I wish all the success in the world, and he’s certainly got the talent for it. And I hope he absolutely destroys it in Baltimore.”
* I asked Albernaz about the process of hiring coaches, which seems to be nearly complete, and whether he had a list in mind prior to or immediately after landing the Orioles’ job.
“For me, for a couple years now I always had people in mind that I want to work with if I ever had the opportunity to manage a team,” he said. “So right when I got the job, yeah, I had names I put out there. But also, it’s a collaborative effort with the front office and Mike to see who the best candidates were and vet them and go through the interview process. And for me, it was awesome in the sense of, we brought in some great people.
“Obviously, they’re great people and great communicators and great coaches, but more importantly, I can’t emphasize this enough, they’re great people. And for me, we need great people around our players. And the other side of that is, just partnering with the front office and going through that interview process and kind of see how they vet guys and how they talk to them in their process. So it was an awesome time.”
The Orioles already brought in Dustin Lind as hitting coach and Brady North as an assistant. We still don't know whether they want a second assistant after employing Sherman Johnson and Tommy Joseph this year.
“When we hired Dustin Lind, we communicated to him that we wanted him to round out his own hitting staff,” Albernaz said. “Obviously, we’ll be a part of it and partner with him and go through the interview process and vet the candidates with him, but for me, I wanted him to drive the boat on that and steer the ship to make sure he brings in someone that he trusts, that he can work with every day, and more importantly that he can trust with our players and hitters.”
* Albernaz goes by the nickname “Alby,” and the spelling is important. Don’t make my initial mistake and write it as “Abie.”
“That’s my wife Genevieve, she’s a big stickler with the ‘y,’” he quipped. “She is not a fan of the ‘ie,’ She’s very particular.”
