The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Optioned RHP Yennier Canó, LHP DL Hall, and RHP Spenser Watkins to minor league camp.

The Orioles’ Spring Training roster currently has 41 players (31+10 NRI).

With Thursday's Opening Day coming fast on, it’s time for the last edition of a few questions for another offseason time period. If the offseason can even be defined as actually the time period from the last game of one year to the first of the next. It’s probably not and that could make a good question, but we have better ones today.

So here we go.

* Should Grayson Rodriguez make the Opening Day roster/rotation?

* Which player or players should make up the four-man bench?

* Will Rule 5 pick Andrew Politi be on the roster for Opening Day?

Orioles right-hander Kyle Gibson has been named the club’s Opening Day starter and will take the mound next Thursday afternoon at Boston’s Fenway Park. Gibson emerged as a potential favorite to get that call about midway through camp and continued to pitch well in spring games, and the first game now officially goes to him.

He has said the first starter of any series can be a tone-setter for that series. Gibson’s last game that counted was a scoreless inning in the 2022 World Series for Philadelphia against Houston. He said he doesn’t see getting the ball first as any designation of himself as the ace or even the No. 1 starter on this team.

“I think there’s maybe 15 aces in the league. There’s not 30,” he told reporters Friday in Sarasota. “So, for me, it’s just the chance to start a series off, and I think that first game of every series is really important, whether it’s the first series of the year or even in Texas. I mean, that first guy really kind of sets the tone for how that bullpen is used the next three games, until the next off-day, especially. So, I think for me, it’s just trying to go out there and be a veteran leader and try to set the tone for that first series of the year.

“It does mean a lot. I don’t want to downplay that, because it is cool. I’ve only been in uniform one time (during a game) my entire career on the first day of the season, so it is a big deal. It’s fun to be on the field for that first game, but it’s not necessarily something I came here and said, ‘OK, I want to work to be the Opening Day guy.' I knew there were things that I wanted to get better at along the way to make sure that over 30 starts that I was pitching how I wanted to pitch.”

Gibson did not face Boston last year. But in eight career starts, he is 3-4 with a 3.38 ERA over 50 2/3 innings versus the Red Sox. Boston batters have hit .208/.276/.328/.604 against Gibson.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Maybe Kyle Gibson got his bad game out of the way before Opening Day rather than on it.

Named the March 30 starter this morning, Gibson surrendered a pair of three-run homers by the second inning and faced 14 batters. He was removed with two outs in the first and his pitch count at 36, re-entered and worked through the fifth.

Certainly not what Gibson wanted, but it threatened to be a whole lot worse.

Gibson was just four batters into his start – two singles, Oswaldo Cabrera’s home run and a double – when manager Brandon Hyde and head athletic trainer Brian Ebel walked to the mound. A chilling sight considering Gibson’s status in the rotation and John Means’ absence from it after undergoing Tommy John surgery last April.

Ebel checked Gibson’s right hand, a warmup toss didn’t raise any further concerns, and the veteran kept pitching.

Here is an interesting question that the Orioles may not yet be prepared to answer for us, but clearly one they must have debated often internally: How heavy of a load catching should Adley Rutschman handle this year?

Last season Rutschman, who made his big league debut May 21, played in 113 games and was starting catcher in 84 of those. He made 23 starts as designated hitter and pinch-hit in a few other games. So, of the games he played in, he started at catcher in 74.3 percent of them. Over 162 games, a catcher starting that percentage would make 120 starts. And that would be a pretty heavy load, even for a young catcher.

But it’s a question, no doubt, that the O’s brass has pondered and may even have an exact game plan mapped out for this season, whether they would lay it out for us or not. Sure, they want him and his considerable defensive talents out there as often as he can handle.

But they have to take a lot into consideration here. Like at what number of games would he begin to wear down, and would his stats suffer? How about his long-term future at the position, and how hard do they want to push him as he begins his first full major league season? How much do they plan to use him as the DH?

Rutschman, who turned 25 in February, is clearly the team’s best catcher and the face of the franchise. He will certainlly become more and more of a clubhouse leader as he builds a bigger big league resume. They want him on the field and often, but not to the point that he is physically drained and the results are not what would be otherwise expected. And, obviously, they want him around playing at a high level for many seasons to come.

The Orioles today announced plans for a series of “Countdown to Opening Day” events leading up to the start of the 2023 regular season. Beginning Wednesday, March 29, and continuing through the Home Opener, fans will have the opportunity to meet the Oriole Bird and some of their favorite Orioles Alumni – as well as the chance to win tickets and other prizes – at happy hours and watch parties throughout Baltimore. A complete list of events follows:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 – ORIOLE BIRD SCHOOL VISIT (PRIVATE EVENT)

The Oriole Bird will greet 450 Brooklyn Park Elementary students as they enter school in the morning. The Bird will give high-fives, take photos, and hand out Orioles t-shirts to students from pre-K to fifth grade.

• When: Wednesday, March 29 at 7:30 a.m.
• Where: Brooklyn Park Elementary School

THURSDAY, MARCH 30 – OPENING DAY WATCH PARTY, presented by Miller Lite

Orioles fans can celebrate the start of the 2023 regular season at the Opening Day Watch Party at MaGerk’s Pub & Grill in Federal Hill as the O’s take on the Red Sox at 2:10 p.m. at Fenway Park. The event will feature special appearances by the Oriole Bird, an autograph session and guest bartending by Orioles Alumni DAVE JOHNSON and JOE ORSULAK, $18 buckets of Miller Lite, games and prizes during commercial breaks, and Orioles giveaways. Additionally, fans in attendance can enter for a chance to win tickets to the Orioles’ Home Opener on Thursday, April 6, against the New York Yankees.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The little bit of roster uncertainty clinging to the Orioles can’t touch Adam Frazier.

Frazier could get the bulk of the work at second base this season, with chances to move to the corner outfield. The infield’s versatility makes it difficult to declare absolute starters at each position.

How Frazier hit in camp didn’t matter except to the player who put in the extra reps in the cage to swing his way out of his offensive funk.

Frazier was 0-for-9 in his first four turns in the lineup. He’s reached base in seven of the next nine, including two doubles, a home run and three walks, and has struck out only once this spring.

The .182/.270/.333 line that he’ll carry into tonight’s game against the Tigers, with six hits in 37 plate appearances, won’t come close to satisfying him. But the solutions are within reach.

O’s minor league right-hander Ryan Long was drafted by the club in round 17 of 2021 out of a Div. 3 school. He has pitched in 26 pro games covering 79 2/3 innings, never pitching beyond Low Single-A Delmarva, where he went 7-5 with a 3.10 ERA last year.

And then recently there he was pitching on national television for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic. He faced and got out some of the top hitters in Major League Baseball. He struck out Mike Trout. Yep, the nine-time Silver Slugger and three-time Most Valuable Player. That Mike Trout. By a kid who was with Delmarva last season.

For someone yet to pitch at the High-A, Double-A or Triple-A levels, it was quite the moment when he took the mound in the fourth inning on March 11 in a game where Team USA would go on to win, 6-2.

This was not the Delmarva Shorebirds against the Salem Red Sox or the Fredericksburg Nationals.

In two WBC games, Long posted an ERA of 2.25. Over four innings he allowed five hits and one run with no walks and two strikeouts. His fastball averaged 94.1 mph against Team USA and topped at 96.7 mph.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Reassigned OF Colton Cowser and OF Heston Kjerstad to minor league camp.

The Orioles’ Spring Training roster currently has 44 players (34+10 NRI).

A couple of quick thoughts as the Orioles hit the home stretch of spring training. They have seven spring games remaining over the next seven days and this time next week the spring games will be over.

I have no stats to compare this to past years, but the O’s spring roster for their game versus Philadelphia on Monday was at 51 with 36 from the 40-man and 15 non-roster invitees still officially on the camp roster. That seems like a lot on the roster this late in camp. The Orioles last made spring roster cuts last Tuesday after their game in Bradenton versus the Pirates. (And they did make some cuts late Monday afternoon).

It is interesting that this late in camp, three young prospects, there via non-roster invites, are all still officially on the roster and I speak of Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad.

All have been impressive in this camp and all three could impact the O’s roster during the 2023 season. None is likely to be there on Opening Day but the fact the club has kept them around so long I think shows us how they feel about this group of three and that they realize all three could be back later in the year.

Kjerstad has been hitting the entire camp. On Feb. 25, in the first spring game, he homered twice at Ed Smith Stadium just missing a third homer. He went 3-for-3 and now he is 4-for-9 with a homer his last three games. He just keeps hitting the ball hard and with authority.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles have trimmed their starter competition to eight pitchers.

Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann was among five camp cuts this afternoon, the announcement coming long after a 14-6 loss to the Phillies in Clearwater.

Zimmermann and left-handed reliever Nick Vespi were optioned to minor league camp. Infielder Lewin Díaz, left-hander Darwinzon Hernández and catcher Mark Kolozsvary were reassigned because they aren’t on the 40-man roster.

The spring training roster is down to 46 players, including 12 non-roster invites. Twenty more subtractions are coming before the March 30 opener in Boston.

Pitchers John Means and Dillon Tate eventually will be moved to the injured list.

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The lower-back discomfort is behind DL Hall.

So are the bullpen sessions in Sarasota and the simulated game that prepared him for today’s exhibition debut at BayCare Ballpark.

Manager Brandon Hyde wanted to give Hall two innings this afternoon against the Phillies, but the club’s No. 2 pitching prospect was done after 1 2/3. He retired the side in order in the sixth but allowed three runs (one earned) and three hits with a walk in the seventh. Hall threw 43 pitches, 28 for strikes.

“Just good to toe the rubber again,” he said, “so can’t complain.”

Hall struck out Brandon Marsh on a 94.1 mph fastball and Edmundo Sosa on an 81.1 mph curveball in the sixth and used his changeup to retire Josh Harrison on a fly ball. His fastball topped out at 95.8 mph.

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Tyler Wells came out of yesterday’s start in Tampa and wondered why he wasn’t summoned to speak with the media. Where did everybody go?

That’s when it hit him. He was pitching in a split-squad game against the Yankees. The Orioles also were home against the Pirates, and no one traveled besides team personnel.

The box score showed Wells working 3 2/3 innings and allowing one run and five hits with no walks and three strikeouts. What it didn’t reveal were his opinion of the performance and a change in his hand placement on the mound.

“I was happy with the results,” he said this morning. “We were testing something out yesterday in the delivery with a little bit of a different glove positioning, so getting comfortable with that. I was definitely happy with how I felt out there, the ability to command the zone. No walks, obviously.”

Wells focused on keeping the glove close to his body.

CLEARWATER, Fla. – DL Hall is making his exhibition debut this afternoon against the Phillies in Clearwater, where he also pitched for the first time last spring.

Hall threw a two-inning simulated game last week to prepare for today's assignment.

Hall and Félix Bautista are following starter Kyle Bradish. Rule 5 pick Andrew Politi also is on the trip.

The Orioles stacked the bottom of their order with prospects.

Jordan Westburg is batting seventh and playing second base, followed by designated hitter Heston Kjerstad and left fielder Colton Cowser.

New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz injured his right knee and may be out for the year. Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve has a fractured right thumb and will need surgery. The first injury happened during a World Baseball Classic postgame celebration and the second during a WBC game.

Those are two key players that will miss significant portions of the coming season – maybe most or all of it – and both were injured as a result of taking part in the WBC.

No doubt fans of those teams may not be that excited about the WBC moving forward. In the game where Altuve got hit by a pitch on Saturday night, the Orioles' Anthony Santander followed him in the batting order and it could have been him that was hit and injured but luckily for the Orioles, he was not.

Despite these injuries, the WBC has been great to watch this year.

It’s great to see the talent around the world in the sport of baseball and more importantly the passion for the sport around the world. The crowds and the cheering and the TV ratings outside of the United States show us how much fans and players alike care about this event. It is a huge deal, maybe more so than it is here.

They were rotation mates in parts of the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Texas Rangers. They became more than teammates, forming a pretty close friendship as well. 

That friendship played out again over the winter when right-hander Kyle Gibson called another righty pitcher, Jordan Lyles. Gibson wanted to know about Lyles' experience pitching for the Orioles in 2022. That is because Gibson was closing in on signing with the Orioles to pitch for them in 2023.

“I think, for the most part I kind of knew that I wasn’t going to be back with Philly," Gibson recalled on a recent day at the Orioles' spring training camp. "Those few days the team has to talk to you and every team has that time where no one else can talk to them. Normally, if you don’t talk to the team then you’re not coming back,”

That led to Gibson to grab the phone and call his former Rangers teammate. Even though if he signed with the Orioles, he might be sort of taking Lyles’ spot in the rotation. He did and he, essentially, is.

Gibson said their friendship made it so that call was not awkward in any way.

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The contact in the third inning was loud, and it rattled Grayson Rodriguez’s start.

Christian Arroyo led off with a line drive at shortstop Jorge Mateo. Rafael Devers ripped a double down the left field line and Adam Duvall homered over the “Faux Monster,” as it’s called here, for the game’s first runs.

The outing didn’t get any better from that point.

Rodriguez couldn’t make it through the fourth inning again, departing after Arroyo’s RBI double. An inherited runner scored on Devers' single off Eduardo Bazardo and the Red Sox led 5-0.

The three runs in the inning were unearned, leaving Rodriguez with two earned and six hits with two walks, three strikeouts and a wild pitch that allowed Bobby Dalbec to cross the plate in the fourth. He threw 70 pitches, only 44 for strikes.

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wants to get closer Félix Bautista three or four more appearances until the club breaks camp. Availability for Opening Day looks promising.

Bautista has retired all six batters faced in his first two outings, striking out four and totaling 24 pitches. Almost too efficient.

“I feel really confident with how things have been going,” he said this morning via translator Brandon Quinones. “I’ve been trying to focus heavily on attacking hitters, working on my secondary pitches to make them more effective, and I feel like things have been going really well and I feel confident.”

Bautista said he feels great today after retiring the Twins in order yesterday on only nine pitches.

“Just talked to our training staff,” Hyde said. “He responded very well from yesterday’s game, so love where he is right now.”

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Orioles brought Ryan Mountcastle, Kyle Stowers, Austin Hays and Jorge Mateo to JetBlue Park for today’s game against the Red Sox.

Adam Frazier is leading off again, followed by Ramón Urías, who’s playing third base. Mountcastle follows as the designated hitter and Stowers is in left field and batting cleanup.

Hays is in center field. Ryan O’Hearn returns to the lineup and is playing first base.

O’Hearn injured his right knee exactly one week ago in Dunedin.

Grayson Rodriguez makes his fourth spring start. Austin Voth, Cionel Pérez and Eduard Bazardo also made the trip.

When I was in Sarasota earlier this week, lefty Bruce Zimmermann talked about his spring performance. He has thrown more innings in spring games, 12, than any other O’s pitcher and has an ERA of 3.75, allowing 11 hits and five runs with three walks and eight strikeouts.

The young man from Baltimore liked how he has been mixing pitches and attacking hitters.

“I like how efficient I have been most of this spring. That is a big thing to show,” said Zimmermann, 28. “Limit walks, get guys out early. The way you get burned as a starting pitcher is going deep (in counts) in certain innings and pitch count racks up, and right now that is a positive for me to take away.”

I asked Zimmermann if he evaluates his spring mostly off the stats and box scores, or does he look at other aspects in grading his own performance?

“That is a tough question," he replied. "Because you don’t want to have an outing where the box score looks horrendous and think, ‘I want to spin this in a positive light.’ As far as box scores go, you take care of what you are wanting to show in the spring, what you work on in the offseason, and how you are attacking hitters is really important. It is still spring and you are still getting tuned up. But you still want positive outings while you tune things up in the spring.