We had our first lineup scratch of the 2026 season yesterday with Tyler O’Neill felled by an illness.

O’Neill was at the ballpark earlier in the day, sitting on a bench outside the clubhouse and talking on his phone as media headed to the interview room for manager Craig Albernaz’s pregame session.

Colton Cowser was on the dugout bench in back-to-back games, with Dylan Beavers shifting to right field and Leody Taveras playing center. Tavaras had two hits, including a run-scoring double.

Beavers has made five starts in right, two in center and two in left. He’s the only outfielder on the club to play all three spots.

The Orioles love having the freedom to move players around and they need to determine whether Beavers is trustworthy in the middle, whether in more regular duty or backing up Cowser, who’s 4-for-22 but also good with the glove.

Asked what traits make Beavers capable of playing center, manager Craig Albernaz said, “The speed, the athleticism. He has arm strength.”

Those are important boxes to check.

“To me, it’s just him getting comfortable out there,” Albernaz said. “He looked great last game in Chicago. It was very telling where the last play he made, a ball that was hit pretty good to center field over his head, up against the wall, and he made that catch look easy for him, which is awesome to see. That’s something where, I know Jason Bourgeois has been working on with him, the ball going back up against the wall, so it was great to see that.

“So for me, it’s, he has the tools to do it, now it’s just him getting comfortable out there.”

This has been a topic since spring training, and it should be pointed out again that Beavers played 36 games in center at Cal Berkeley, two in the Cape Code League and 72 in the minors. He isn’t the Billy Rowell experiment in right field or Javy López trying to play first base.

That’s right, I went there.

“Just a little more ground,” Beavers said. “It’s an important position on the field and I like it. I think just the more game reps I get out there, I’ll feel more comfortable. But definitely working hard in my prep and stuff so that when you get in a game, it doesn’t feel like too much to take on.

“I think the main thing is just being aggressive at every ball hit in my vicinity.”

The Orioles traded for Blaze Alexander to give them a utility player, and he’s much busier with Jackson Holliday (15-day) and Jordan Westburg (60-day) on the injured list. He’s made four starts among six appearances at second base, four starts among five appearances at third, and one start at shortstop. He played in a career-high 74 games with the Diamondbacks last season and could eclipse that total with the Orioles.

“He has game-changing ability defensively on the field, no matter where he is,” Albernaz said. And that’s something we value a lot, and to know that you can put him anywhere in the field … Like I’m sure if I put him behind the plate, he’ll figure it out. He’s just a baseball gamer. Not to mention he’s a ton of athleticism and he has a ton of arm strength. And he has all the confidence in the world when he’s out on defense. He wants the ball hit to him. And to me, that’s something where, any elite defender, they have those traits.

“Just knowing that we can plug Blaze anywhere on the field, it kind of gives everyone a bit of comfort because then you can set the lineup around there. Or if he’s even on the bench, you can use him anywhere you want. So Blaze has been a valuable member of this team.”

Alexander is more likely to be the emergency catcher than Taylor Ward, though the latter is much more experienced at the position. Ward has actually played it. But Alexander would handle all nine in the same game if allowed. And he’d be enthusiastic about it.

“The playing willingness and the player buy-in is the biggest factor,” Albernaz said. “As a manager, you always want guys to play a variety of different positions because it makes your job easier when you can move the chess pieces around. But you also know that not every player can do that, even if they’re athletic. It takes a certain type of player to do that at a high level, and Blaze has those intangibles where he just wants to be out in the field.

“Doesn’t matter what position he plays, he wants to make an impact, he wants to win, he wants to compete. So all those things kind of lead up to what makes Blaze Blaze, and that’s something where we really lean into him a lot, but also we know we’re not going to just throw him out there in uncomfortable spots. We want to make sure he’s prepped and ready to go. But to Blaze’s credit, he’s always prepped and ready.”