The countdown to spring training is gaining momentum. Less than a week before everyone begins to gather in Sarasota and the last-place finish in 2025 feels like it’s pushed deeper into the distance.
Every team is 0-0. Hope is restored.
Major League Baseball is arranging video calls with all of the baseball operations executives and managers for the annual “Media Day,” which normally is done in-person at locations in Florida and Arizona.
Mike Elias and Craig Albernaz will be available on Tuesday afternoon. Elias didn’t talk to reporters at the Birdland Caravan, and the questions for him are building, especially relating to the roster. We don’t know if anything significant will have occurred before that day.
Why or why not?
Elias usually does his media scrum outside the baseball ops building on the first day. We haven’t heard whether the video call is a replacement or just the appetizer.
This is Albernaz’s first spring training as a major league manager. He might share his message to his players on the first full day, and we’ll observe how he moves from field to field and whether there are noticeable changes in workouts.
Will the emphasis on fundamentals become noticeable or play out like any other camp?
The first full-squad workout is Feb. 16. Media will go nuts posting photos and videos on social media.
Exciting stuff, too, like players stretching and long tossing. Pete Alonso will attract more attention than Madonna in the ‘80s, which is appropriate, since he’s in vogue.
And don’t get me started on the first bullpen sessions. Every pitch is documented, over-analyzed and posted for posterity.
Who’s catching Shane Baz? Is Zach Eflin throwing?
OK, that one is important. And the answer should be “yes,” since his first side session was on Jan. 6 and he felt good.
I heard that the row of bullpen mounds on the back fields has been relocated. And get ready for the huge fuss made over the new Player Development Complex, with a ribbon cutting and tour of the 45,000 square-foot building.
Camp won’t necessarily be filled with top prospects receiving invites, since they’re already on the 40-man roster or too low in the system. Samuel Basallo is one of the top prospects in baseball but he’s going to be the backup catcher. Dylan Beavers, also a Top 100 guy, will share time in right field and perhaps move around the outfield.
Catcher Ike Irish is No. 3 among Orioles prospects, per MLB Pipeline, but he was drafted in 2025. Maybe too soon. We’ll know later this week when the Orioles share the invite list.
That leaves outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. (No. 4) as the leader of the non-roster pack. There’s also right-handers Trey Gibson (No. 9) and Nestor German (No. 11).
The first exhibition game is Feb. 20 against the Yankees at Ed Smith Stadium, and the first road trip is two days later, when the Orioles go to Lakeland to play the Tigers. Maybe the worst press box in the Grapefruit League due to its limited space and narrow aisles. Stomachs are sucked into our backs whenever someone tries walking behind our chairs. And that drive is brutal, though the game is on a Sunday, which could help with traffic.
There isn’t even a good lunch to ease some of the whining. And trust me, there will be whining.
The Orioles are traveling to the East Coast of Florida, a rare excursion that’s going to bring back memories and force us to make hotel reservations. They play the Cardinals on March 9 in Jupiter and the Astros on March 10 in West Palm.
There’s also a game against the Netherlands’ national team on March 3. That would be quite a trip, but it’s scheduled for Sarasota. Guess I’ll leave my passport at home.
I used to bring it just in case Peter Angelos decided that the Orioles should go back to Cuba.
Can’t wait to pretend that I’m excited about another Spring Breakout game. You’ll probably see right through me. Orioles prospects face Red Sox prospects March 20 at Ed Smith Stadium, while the Orioles play a real fake game against the Yankees in Tampa.
This camp will have a different feel because Alonso is in it. And there will be lots to cover with Baz, Taylor Ward and Ryan Helsley also there, plus the returns of Eflin, Andrew Kittredge and Albert Suárez.
Anyone who spent a portion of the 2025 season on the injured list will have to talk about it again. Tyler O’Neill, with three stops on it, will be among the players targeted.
Bradish had his arbitration hearing on Monday and won his case, which gives him a salary of $3.55 million. His reaction to the process will be interesting, if he’s willing to say much about it.
The Orioles will need to fit an overflow of starters into a five-man unit, which remains the most interesting storyline for me. It gets more complicated if Eflin is ready for Opening Day after his August back surgery. Putting him on the injured list might be the recommended move for a couple of reasons, but he’s trying hard to prevent it.
The infield appears set with Alonso, Jackson Holliday, Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg. If the rotation is No. 1 for me, right behind is whether the Orioles plan to carry Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo, with no utility infielder or Jeremiah Jackson attempting to fill the role.
Does Mayo take fly balls in right field and ground balls at third, or is he settled at first base? I’d assume that he definitely gets some work at third. He might have to move across the diamond with limited backup options.
We’ll count how many positions Jackson plays. How many “home runs” Alonso and Ward hit in batting practice. We’ll update Félix Bautista’s recovery from shoulder surgery and his level of confidence in pitching in 2026. We’ll report on the inevitable camp injuries. We'll overreact to anyone with poor stats.
I'll see how deep I can make the indentation in a bar stool at Mediterraneo.
Who’s in the best shape of their lives? (It won't be me.) How’s the ball coming out of everyone’s hands?
Yes folks, it’s almost time.