SARASOTA, Fla. – Each morning brings a little reflection on the previous day’s events and whether we’ve gotten closer to figuring out the 26-man roster on Opening Day.

Each morning comes a full cup of coffee and that familiar empty feeling.

I thought we might be making some progress on DL Hall’s status. Specifically, whether he could begin the season in the bullpen rather than building up his innings in Triple-A Norfolk’s rotation.

“We could go a lot of different directions when the season breaks. You don’t want to close the door on anything with him,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

“We do think he’s still a rotation candidate. … But we could also put him in the ‘pen and be like a bulk-inning guy. There’s a lot of things we could do with him.”

Levy, the new hospitality partner of the Baltimore Orioles, will host a job fair at Oriole Park on Saturday, March 18, and Sunday, March 19, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event will take place at the Warehouse, and those interested in attending should enter through 333 W. Camden St. Complimentary parking will be provided in Lot C. All applicants must be 18 years or older.

The Orioles and Levy announced their partnership in January, which will kick off with the upcoming 2023 season. Levy, the market leader in creating unforgettable hospitality experiences at sports and entertainment venues, will welcome fans to Oriole Park with new signature offerings highlighting the iconic tastes of Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay, upgraded technology to allow faster and frictionless check-out options, and new culinary training opportunities for up-and-coming hospitality talent.

Levy and the Orioles look forward to welcoming local talent to be part of the Camden Yards team.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Cole Irvin became the first Orioles pitcher to exceed four innings tonight, going 4 1/3 against the Blue Jays in his return to the Grapefruit League.

Irvin stayed back in camp Saturday while the Orioles traveled to Dunedin, doing his work on the Camden Yards field.

There’s no roster drama for Irvin. All that’s left is to find out where he slots in the rotation.

Irvin allowed two runs and six hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. He threw 66 pitches, 47 for strikes, before Joey Krehbiel entered and retired both batters that he faced in the fifth.

The first four batters reached against Irvin, and the Jays took a 2-0 lead. The first out came when cleanup hitter Nathan Lukes tried to stretch his RBI single into a double.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Two injured candidates for the backup first base job are in better health and nearing returns to the lineup.

Ryan O’Hearn is relieved that the MRI on his right knee didn’t reveal any damage. He’s receiving treatment to remove the inflammation.

“Today it feels really good,” he said this afternoon. “A full day off yesterday, and did some treatment stuff today. Did pool sprints, ran on the treadmill, and I’ve got full range of motion. Now I’m just waiting to get back out there.”

O’Hearn injured the knee during Saturday’s game against the Blue Jays in Bradenton.

“It was on a play in left-center,” he said. “I was running after it and it was kind of a high sky, windy day, tough day out there, and the ball kind of drifted back over my head. When I planted to try and make a move to go jump and catch it, I felt something weird in my knee. Don’t know if I hyperextended it a little or what but felt kind of weird.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Adam Frazier is leading off tonight and playing second base, and Kyle Stowers is batting third and starting in right field, as the Orioles return from their off-day to host the Blue Jays.

Austin Hays is in center field and batting cleanup. Franchy Cordero is in left field.

Jorge Mateo is starting at shortstop.

Left-hander Cole Irvin makes his third start. He’s allowed one run in five innings, and he’s expected to work through the fourth tonight if his pitch count permits it.

Nick Vespi will make his second spring appearance tonight.

For Orioles outfield prospect Heston Kjerstad, late last year was a bit of a turning point and it was a time when he started to truly feel comfortable again in a batter’s box.

We have to remember that due to his bout with myocarditis and a spring hamstring issue this time last year, he went 27 months between games. That is crazy. But Kjerstad played March 11, 2020 for the University of Arkansas and not after that due to the pandemic that season. He then missed the 2021 season and the hammie delayed his start to last year. He finally debuted in a pro game on June 10, 2022 for low Single-A Delmarva and proceeded to go 37-for-80 over 22 games. By July 13 he was with High-A Aberdeen. But his OPS there was just .674 in 43 games.

But with the IronBirds, his swing was looking good and his bat was heating up again late in the year. He went 7-for-16 in his last four regular-season games. Then in six Aberdeen playoff games he hit .261 (6-for-23) with two doubles, a triple, six RBIs and four runs. He was driving the ball and it carried big-time into his play in the Arizona Fall League, where he batted .357/.385/.622/1.007 and hit five homers in 22 games. He was named the AFL’s MVP.

He has picked up where he left off there in this spring camp in Sarasota. Not a stretch to say he’s made as strong an impression as any player there.

“Just, you know, been able to cover the whole plate, inside and outside, and been driving the ball well to both sides of the field so far,” he said this week at Ed Smith Stadium. “Playing well always helps. Showing people that haven’t seen you play much what you have and what type of player you are. It helps them make decisions down the road.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – Almost any major outlet that ranks the top 100 prospects in baseball has the Orioles' Gunnar Henderson topping their list at No. 1.

In fact, he tops the rankings for Baseball America, MLBPipeline.com, ESPN, FanGraphs.com and Baseball Prospectus.

But it won't surprise anyone around the O’s minor leagues, or O’s fans that are getting to know the 21-year-old Henderson, that accolades won’t change him.

“I mean, it’s really humbling to hear that,” he said of No. 1 rankings. “Growing up, those are things you dream of, but to accomplish it is really cool. But it doesn’t mean anything until you go out there and do the work. That is what I’m going to do, and just looking forward to helping this team win.

“No, sir (accolades won’t change me). I feel that is just what my parents taught me: No matter what happens, good or bad, stay the same. Just know it could all change in an instant. Keeping a humble mindset.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – After his OPS took a nosedive in the second-half of last year and the strong season he was having was tarnished, O’s outfielder Austin Hays came to this spring camp with a pretty simple offensive approach. Less pulling the baseball and more of using the whole field, especially working to drive balls gap-to-gap.

Hays saw his OPS+ drop a bit, from 107 in 2021 to 103 last season. His WAR per baseball-reference went from 3.1 to 2.2. And after the All-Star break he had a .626 OPS that had been .834 in late June.

“Want to be able to use the whole field rather than be more pull-side like I was later (in the year). Just a very standard middle-of-the-field and be able to drive the ball the other way approach. Nothing crazy. Just sticking with the basics.

“Been hitting the fastball to the other side of the field so far. Hit a lot of balls to the right side early on in camp and like I said that has been my focus, to use the whole field. It’s showing, what I did in the offseason and what I am trying to focus on.”

What caused Hays to get away from that as last season went on?

SARASOTA, Fla. – With his pitching every fifth day schedule lining up closely where he could pitch nearly on schedule on Opening Day at Boston, right-hander Kyle Gibson made his third spring start and threw well in the Orioles' 11-7 win over the Tigers this afternoon.

The Orioles split their squad and played twice. The other half of the roster lost 6-5 to Atlanta in North Port in a game called in the top of the seventh due to rain.

Here at Ed Smith Stadium, the Orioles hit six homers, some seemed to be helped by the gusting wind toward left field. They had 15 hits in all and the 11 runs is their most this spring after they had scored 10 runs three times. O’s batters have scored 67 runs the past 10 games.

Gibson allowed some hard contact, including on a solo homer to Akil Baddoo, the second batter of the game. But that was the only run he gave up in four innings. He allowed three hits with no walks and two strikeouts on 46 pitches, 33 for strikes.

He is rounding into form nicely with an ERA of 2.00 in nine spring innings after outings of two, three and four innings. In that time, he has yet to walk a batter with six strikeouts.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Optioned LHP Drew Rom to minor league camp.

The Orioles’ Spring Training roster currently has 55 players (37+18 NRI).

This weekend, the Orioles hosted the sixth annual “Athletes & Artists Play for Kids” charity event weekend, for the largest ever crowd since its inception in 2015. The event, which combines song and sport to support creativity and music and arts education featured the return of “Nashville’s Music Row Comes to the Ballpark” VIP charity event, and was attended by Orioles players and personnel, as well as front office executives, and other community leaders from Baltimore, Sarasota, and Nashville including representatives from Intersection of Change and Girls Inc.

Proceeds from the weekend’s events benefited the Intersection of Change’s Jubilee Arts Program in Baltimore and Girls Inc in Sarasota. Jubilee Arts provides comprehensive arts programs to children and adults, using art as a catalyst for social change, a tool for empowerment, and an alternative to drugs and violence in the community. Girls Inc. is focused on the development of the whole girl, using long-lasting mentoring relationships, a pro-girl environment, and research-based programming to equip girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers. The “Athletes & Artists” series has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities through the Orioles Charitable Foundation’s Music & Arts Education Scholarship, which was created in 2019 to support deserving students and programs in Baltimore, Sarasota, and Nashville.

The event featured SiriusXM “Highway Find” and “CMT Next Women of Country” KALIE SHORR, lead guitarist of Matchbox Twenty KYLE COOK, and New York City-based singer-songwriter QUEEN V. More information about each performer can be found at Orioles.com/AthletesAndArtists.

The weekend-long series of events began on Friday, March 10, when Maryland Governor WES MOORE threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Orioles taking on the Minnesota Twins at Ed Smith Stadium. “Athletes & Artists Play for Kids” weekend concluded on Sunday, March 12, when the Orioles hosted the Boston Red Sox.

The annual “Athletes & Artists Play for Kids” weekend fundraiser began in 2015 with the first “Nashville Comes to the Ballpark” charity event and has steadily grown to include more programming, including in 2019 when the ballpark hosted an on-field concert by country music rising superstar and 11-time No. 1 singer-songwriter COLE SWINDELL, to support selected charitable efforts. The Orioles also welcomed Billboard chart-topping and Platinum-certified country artist RAELYNN in 2020. In 2019, proceeds from the mid-summer “Athletes & Artists Play for Kids” fundraiser, held the evening before the historic BILLY JOEL concert at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, were used to fund community grants from the Orioles Charitable Foundation to JUBILEE ARTS and BALTIMORE SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS. Past beneficiaries include the MUSIC HEALTH ALLIANCE, SARASOTA YMCA, LIBRARY FOUNDATION FOR SARASOTA COUNTY, and GIRLS, INC.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said lefty Keegan Akin “has thrown the ball as well as anyone in camp, this whole time.” He likes Akin’s mid-90s velocity, his breaking pitches and said he is having a great camp.

Akin appreciates hearing that, but after a second half in 2022 where his stats fell off, he is trying to get back in attack mode on the mound and find the form he had in the first half last year.

Before the All-Star break, the 27-year-old Akin had an ERA of 2.36, WHIP of 0.881 and OPS against of .580. But in the second half, his ERA jumped to 4.76 with a 1.482 WHIP and .768 OPS against.

This spring he has thrown five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk with five strikeouts. In the fifth and sixth here against Boston on Sunday, he threw two scoreless, retiring six of seven batters.

“Just throwing strikes,” he said this morning in the Baltimore clubhouse of his solid spring to this point. “It is something I could praise myself for the beginning of the year last year. Feel like I got away from that in the second half and paid for it. Trying to get back on track, throw strikes and fill the zone up. It has worked so far.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles will play the first of two scheduled split-squad game days today. Part of their roster will be at Ed Smith Stadium hosting the Tigers and part of the roster heads to North Port to play the Braves.

The Orioles (6-8-2) will also play two games on March 19, facing the Yankees and the Pirates.

Right-hander Kyle Gibson (0-0, 1.80 ERA), a possible O’s Opening Day starter, gets the home start in Sarasota versus the Tigers. Right-hander Spenser Watkins (0-0, 1.80 ERA) starts against the Braves.

O’s home lineup vs. Tigers
Austin Hays CF
Adley Rutschman DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Gunnar Henderson SS
James McCann C
Adam Frazier 2B
Franchy Cordero LF
Nomar Mazara RF
Jordan Westburg 3B

Kyle Gibson RHP

SARASOTA, Fla. – Some of them may not have produced big numbers for the Orioles on the field last year, but veteran players like Rougned Odor, Robinson Chirinos and Jordan Lyles all were big for the Orioles young group of players. They encouraged them, they cheered them and at times led them and helped show them how to win.

Their veteran presence – something we hear a lot about in this sport – made a big difference for the 2022 Orioles.

Now a new group of veterans are on the team. They have heard about the group that was here last year and want to pick up the ball where they left off.

Right-handed starter Kyle Gibson, 35, a vet of 10 MLB seasons and 261 career starts, said the O’s young clubhouse has impressed him this spring. He is ready to lead and help where he can, but he also sees a young core group that collectively approaches the game in a very professional manner.

“You know what for having such a young team it just seems like a lot of guys understand the process of getting their work done and the process of being focused during the workouts and getting your reps,” he told me recently at Ed Smith Stadium. “Sometimes you have to do more work as young team because of simple mistakes or mental mistakes that are made a lot. This team doesn’t do that. It’s quick work and in and out because we are getting the job done and are doing it right.

Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the passing of minor league pitcher Luis Andrés Ortiz Soriano. We will miss his passion and love for the game of baseball, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family.

Luis was an inspiration to all who knew him, especially as he courageously battled cancer. We hope that the cherished and treasured memories of Luis will be a comfort for his family and friends during this devastating time.

SARASOTA, Fla. – When Connor Norby slammed an RBI single to left at 94.1 mph and later Heston Kjerstad smoked an RBI double to center at 105 mph Saturday in Dunedin, those were the two most recent examples of the young kids continuing to swing the bat well and impress at O’s spring camp.

Some of these prospects won’t make the Opening Day roster this time around but they are nonetheless making an impact and starting to make a mark on this team and its future. Yes it’s just spring and a small sample, but some of the OPS figures for this group of talented young players are strong: 

1.447 – Heston Kjerstad
.884 – Jackson Holliday
.857 – Joey Ortiz
.809 – Connor Norby
.793 – Colton Cowser

Norby hit the ball hard twice Saturday, going 2-for-2. He is 7-for-21 this spring with three doubles and two RBIs. He led the O’s minors last year with 29 homers and produced an .886 OPS between High-A Aberdeen, Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk.

“He has swung the bat extremely well (this camp),” manager Brandon Hyde said after the Orioles lost 8-6 in Saturday’s matchup with Toronto. “He’s making strides defensively, but we like the bat a lot. Had a really good minor league year last year at the upper levels and he’s going to have a chance to hit.”

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There isn’t much of a question about who will win the American League Rookie of the Year. Julio Rodríguez, Adley Rutschman and Steven Kwan were named the three finalists, with Rodríguez firmly cemented as the favorite. 

Rodríguez mashed 28 home runs, 25 doubles and stole 25 bases while accumulating a 6.0 WAR, according to baseball-reference.com. The center fielder also ranked in the 90th percentile or better in a number of important statistical categories, including average exit velocity, barrel percentage and sprint speed, according to baseballsavant.mlb.com.

Despite Rodríguez’s dominance, Rutschman still has a case for the award, albeit not an incredibly strong one. Playing in 19 fewer games than Rodríguez, the catcher’s counting stats fall short. Thirteen home runs and a 5.2 bWAR are impressive numbers, but don’t encapsulate the value that the rookie brought. 

If you were making the case for Adley Rutschman to win the Rookie of the Year award, you wouldn’t just point to the numbers. You would point to the fact that after Rutschman’s debut on May 21, the Orioles went 67-55. Just one year removed from losing 110 games, the O’s found themselves in a playoff race, thanks in large part to their rookie catcher. 

When I interviewed O’s Hall of Famer Mike Bordick this week to get his take on the club’s talented young infield prospects, he made some interesting points that involve the words "comfort" and "competition." 

The first was used to show that when a club like the Orioles has so many talented young players, those players can see plenty of familiar faces in the clubhouse when they get to the majors. It greatly helps in their move to and transition to the big leagues.

Bordick returned a few days ago from a stint at O’s spring training, where he was a guest instructor for the club.

”Gunnar (Henderson) said it was awesome to come to the majors last year," Bordick noted. "He said there were so many young guys there he had already played with that it gave him some familiarity and the ‘We’re all in this together’ feeling. They are learning from each other and basically knowing there is another group behind them knocking on the door.

“I think there is an overall excitement with the young players that they are going to make an incredible impact on the Orioles, as they already have in kind of elevating the minors to the best in baseball. They want to have the same impact in the majors.

Earlier today, Orioles Chairman & CEO JOHN ANGELOS and Maryland Governor WES MOORE visited The Battery Atlanta to explore the 365-day entertainment experience around Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves. Last month, Governor Moore and the Orioles announced a joint commitment to creating a long-term, multi-decade, public-private partnership that both develops and revitalizes the Camden Yards complex as a magnet for sports tourism and leverages Maryland taxpayers’ investment in the property. The full statement can be found here. The visit to Atlanta was part of the continued collaboration with the Orioles, the State of Maryland, and the greater Baltimore area to redevelop Camden Yards.

The Battery Atlanta is a 2,000,000-square-foot mixed-use destination, which offers an unprecedented entertainment experience including shops, restaurants, and a 4,000-seat venue for all genres of live music.

The Orioles have reassigned RHP Wandisson Charles, RHP Ofreidy Gómez, INF Coby Mayo, RHP Morgan McSweeney, OF Robert Neustrom, INF César Prieto, C Ramón Rodriguez, RHP Kade Strowd, INF Curtis Terry, RHP Cole Uvila, RHP Chris Vallimont, and RHP Ryan Watson to minor league camp.