Open space now fills the middle of the Orioles’ clubhouse. 

The center of the room, once occupied with televisions, was packed with the friendly, competitive banter of Chris Bassitt and Pete Alonso playing shuffleboard. A new coat of paint covered the walls, while orange lights brightened up the space. 

A huge roster of Orioles occupied the lockers for yesterday’s exhibition against the Nationals. Nametags had to be split in half to accommodate a group that will be severely slimmed down come Thursday. 

Roughly 100 hours before Opening Day, non-roster invitees and franchise cornerstones alike entered their crowded clubhouse at Camden Yards and saw the same message written in the corner of the room: “Day One.” It’s a motto that Craig Albernaz has preached to his team since, you guessed it, day one. 

“When I talked to the group, in our first big team meeting, obviously we talked about a lot. But that was a main point for me to drive home,” Albernaz said before yesterday’s exhibition. “You can change two words, it just changes your whole mindset, right? You know, it’s one day you want to win the world series. One day, you want to be rookie of the year. One day, MVP. But if you flip those two words, day one, this is day one of us working towards being a world series champion. This is day one of you working towards being an MVP.”

Aspirations and expectations have dominated the narrative of O’s offseason. 

In 2025, Baltimore fell short in both areas. Fresh off back-to-back seasons of 90 or more wins, the expectation was that the Orioles would return to the postseason. The teams’ aspirations set sights even higher. 

Gunnar Henderson was coming off a 9.1 bWAR season in which he finished fourth in American League MVP voting. He was accompanied at the All-Star game by Adley Rutschman, widely considered a top-three catcher in the game, and Jordan Westburg, a rising star, among others. The No. 1 prospect in baseball, Jackson Holliday, was ready to take his place in the everyday lineup. Colton Cowser and Grayson Rodriguez were primed to take the next step. 

If the chips fell correctly, it was easy to dream on the outlook of the 2025 season. The reality fell far short of the aspirations. 

Heading into 2026, dwelling on the disappointing season would be detrimental. New faces fill OPACY’s confines, injecting new energy into a clubhouse that needed change. Baltimore won’t look behind them, but they won’t look too far ahead, either. 

“It’s every day you show up, it’s a day one mindset,” Albernaz added. “You can’t worry about the past. Learn the lesson, leave the event, and you can’t worry about the future. You have to be in the present moment. So every day we show up, we tell our guys to have a day one mentality.” 

From a team-building perspective, the Orioles have certainly learned their lessons. 

Last season, 16 different pitchers made a big-league start. So, Mike Elias responded by bringing in two pitchers, Bassitt and Chris Baz, that made over 30 starts in 2025. The rotation is so much deeper, in fact, that Dean Kremer, a mainstay in the rotation for the last four seasons, was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. It’s a testament to the arms’ collective talent, too. 

Improved depth can be seen throughout the organization. Even in the absence of Holliday and Westburg, Jeremiah Jackson, who put together a great stretch at the dish to end last season, is fighting for a roster spot with the likes of Luis Vázquez, Bryan Ramos and Weston Wilson. 

It remains to be seen just how many lessons Baltimore’s returning core learned from a down year on the field. But that’s a problem for the future. 

For now, it’s just another day one. 

“I got it from somewhere,” Albernaz joked. It’s definitely not me. It’s definitely not a copyright thing.”