SARASOTA, Fla. – Opening the mailbag during spring training only makes a person prickly in the Cactus League. No danger of it happening here.

Seriously. I wouldn't needle you.

Only positive vibes allowed in Camp Happy.

The Orioles are playing their first night game, hosting the Pirates and sending Kyle Gibson to the mound for his debut. Media clubhouse access and the posting of the lineup will happen later than usual.

In the meantime ...

LAKELAND, Fla. – Before Adley Rutschman crouched behind the plate today and set his first target for Grayson Rodriguez, he needed to give his friend an early lead.

Rutschman hit a long home run to left field, put his gear on and went to work - catching one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, guiding the right-hander through his first spring training start.

The stuff he really enjoys doing. A collaboration that Orioles fans have craved for years.

“Anytime you know he’s back there, you know it’s going to be a good game,” Rodriguez said. “I think he knows me better than myself. I’ve learned in the past not to shake him.”

Rodriguez said something later that should make the rest of the league quiver.

LAKELAND, Fla. – Adley Rutschman is catching Grayson Rodriguez for today’s game against the Tigers in Lakeland.

Does anything else matter?

Well, Gunnar Henderson is batting third and playing shortstop. Jordan Westburg is the third baseman. Connor Norby is the designated hitter.

Another day that’s rich in prospects.

Terrin Vavra is starting at second base and Kyle Stowers is the left fielder.

LAKELAND, Fla. – DL Hall arrived inside the Orioles clubhouse this morning wearing a cap that covered his buzz cut. And that concluded the hair portion of his discussion with a reporter who stopped by his locker.

Hall had his second bullpen session this morning at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. He threw all fastballs, just as he did on Monday, but can gradually increase his total.

“Every one gets a little bit more and more,” he said before heading out to the field.

“I’m feeling good, moving along. Everything’s progressing pretty normal. Not too long before I’ll be facing batters.”

The Orioles are bringing Hall along slowly after he experienced discomfort on the right side of his lower back about three weeks before camp opened. He said today that he’s been pain-free for about five weeks.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The schedules for players leaving Orioles camp for the World Baseball Classic are clearer after this morning’s media scrum with manager Brandon Hyde.

Center fielder Cedric Mullins will play Friday and Sunday before joining Team USA in Arizona. Right fielder Anthony Santander will play Friday, Sunday and Monday before driving to Miami and beginning workouts with Venezuela.

Dean Kremer, who’s pitching for Israel, will work two-plus innings Friday in relief of starter Kyle Gibson. He’s also headed to Miami.

Left-hander John Means said his first half-mound session will be early next week, perhaps on Monday. We’re told there are no setbacks following his Tommy John surgery.

Closer Félix Bautista’s next bullpen is Saturday. The knee and shoulder are fine.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles won’t commemorate Dec. 2, 2022 with a special celebration in future years. Patches won’t be sewn onto uniform sleeves. Just another day in a baseball offseason, except it stood out because of two transactions that illustrated one of their priorities.

They wanted left-handed hitters who could play first base and compete for jobs in camp.

Residency on the 40-man roster wasn’t a prerequisite, nor was it promised.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias claimed Lewin Díaz off waivers from the Marlins and later signed Franchy Cordero to a split contract that the team announced as a minor league deal.

Díaz found his way back after a trade to the Braves, a waiver claim and an outright assignment after being designated for assignment. A chaotic winter. Tracking it from the outside was almost as stressful.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Ramón Urías led off the second inning today by drawing a walk against Blue Jays left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. Nothing special except that he was the only Orioles baserunner until one out in the ninth.

The club was being no-hit by seven pitchers in a game that didn’t count. Let the debate rage on whether it made a sound.

Lewin Díaz killed whatever drama was building by lining a single into right field off Hayden Juenger. He scored with two outs on Heston Kjerstad’s single into right-center. Kjerstad moved to second on an error but Josh Lester flied out.

The 2-1 loss was played in 2 hours and 20 minutes. The pitch clock can’t take all the credit.

Toronto was held to one run until Phil Clarke led off the eighth with a homer off Kyle Dowdy. Colton Cowser attempted a leaping catch at the fence, slammed into it and came down without the ball.  

SARASOTA, Fla. – Ryan O’Hearn came off the bench yesterday and received two at-bats against the Pirates. He struck out, walked and played right field.

O’Hearn pinch-ran for Austin Hays the previous day, played left and right and went 1-for-2. He started at first base in Saturday’s exhibition opener and also went 1-for-2.

This is all that O’Hearn cares about beyond whether the Orioles win or lose. How he did. Not the other players who also are trying to grab the last bench spot.

Franchy Cordero started at first base yesterday and slugged a two-run homer, but he also struck out twice. Josh Lester pinch-hit for third baseman Gunnar Henderson and was hitless in three at-bats. Curtis Terry walked in his only plate appearance after replacing Cordero, and his spring includes a three-run homer.

Lewin Díaz stayed back in camp. He’s 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, four RBIs and a walk. Most likely going to come off the bench today against the Blue Jays in Sarasota.

SARASOTA, Fla. – To push for a clean slate in spring training is to erase the best of Keegan Akin in 2022.

The Orioles’ left-hander posted a 2.63 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and .196 average against in 33 games through Aug. 14. He worked at least two innings in his first 19 outings to set a reliever record. The switch to a bullpen role seemed to unlock the talents that enticed the Orioles to select him in the second round of the 2016 draft.

The last 12 appearances didn’t match up. They didn’t come close.

Akin registered a 5.40 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and .333 average against, including one emergency start, and was optioned Sept. 26.

The Orioles recalled him two days later while placing infielder Ramón Urías on the injured list with a sprained right knee.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann broke camp last spring as the Orioles’ fourth starter, lining up the Baltimore native to pitch in the home opener. Couldn’t have worked out better for him.

Zimmermann tossed four scoreless innings against the Brewers and five more against the Yankees. A quality start followed with two earned runs allowed in Anaheim.

Couldn’t have worked out much better for the Orioles.

The ERA and home run total began to climb, and the Orioles optioned Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk on June 16 after he allowed six runs and 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings in Toronto.

Zimmermann worked one relief inning on July 9 and started Game 2 of a Sept. 5 doubleheader, when the Jays inflicted more damage with five runs – including three homers to give him 21 for the season – over six innings.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles have scored 20 runs in their first two exhibition games, both victories, and will try to offer the same support to left-hander Bruce Zimmermann and the pitchers working behind him.

Today’s lineup against the Rays is loaded with regulars, as promised by manager Brandon Hyde.

Cedric Mullins is in center field again, Austin Hays is in left and Anthony Santander is in right.

Ryan Mountcastle is the first baseman, Ramón Urías is at third and Jorge Mateo is the shortstop.

Adam Frazier is starting at second base. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter, and he’s catching Tuesday in Bradenton.

LAKELAND, Fla. – Terrin Vavra didn’t have or need much time today to get comfortable at third base. He seemed right at home, as if roaming the corner put him on familiar ground.

Vavra made two diving stops to record outs against the Tigers and singled twice to stay hot at the plate.

In his first game at third beyond a rehab inning last summer with High-A Aberdeen.

Must be a natural.

Leadoff hitter Riley Greene was robbed twice by Vavra, first on a diving backhand stop and then a lunging grab to his left.

LAKELAND, Fla. – Terrin Vavra incorporated ground balls at first base into his winter workouts to increase his versatility and his chances of making the Orioles’ Opening Day roster. He has a new assignment this afternoon, playing third base against the Tigers.

Vavra’s experience at the position consists of one inning last summer with High-A Aberdeen. That’s it. Nothing in college or in the Rockies system.

“He’s going to play all over the place,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Might play the outfield in a couple days. Just continue to move him around.”

James McCann is catching Dean Kremer today in his first Orioles start since they acquired him from the Mets.

“Really impressed with how he goes about his business,” Hyde said. “This guy prepares in the morning, speaks up in meetings and has a great voice for our guys. He’s got a ton of experience.

LAKELAND, Fla. – DL Hall caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror and did a double-take, hardly able to recognize himself. Fifteen inches of hair are gone. The face is familiar, but nothing else.

Noticed more in the past for an electric arm, Hall is getting lots of attention in Orioles camp for his buzz cut.

Hall had his reasons. The club’s No. 2-ranked pitching prospect is donating his hair to Wigs & Wishes, an organization that creates and grants wigs to people battling cancer.

“I have a family friend up in New Jersey that is close with the organization that I’m working with, and he mentioned it to me this offseason,” Hall said this morning. “I planned on doing it when we went up north for the season, but as you can tell, it’s really hot down here, so I was ready to go ahead and cut it off. So, I cut it off and I’m saving it to take up to the organization when we go up north.”

This is where the magnitude of Hall’s gesture continues to grow. He wants to present it to the child in person.

LAKELAND, Fla. – Kyle Stowers is batting cleanup today against the Tigers and Colton Cowser is starting in left field.

Connor Norby is the second baseman, Jordan Westburg is starting at shortstop, and Terrin Vavra is playing third base after his double and home run in yesterday’s exhibition opener.

Ryan McKenna is the leadoff hitter and center fielder. James McCann is catching.

Lewin Díaz continues his bid to make the club as a non-roster invite with today’s start at first base.

Dean Kremer gets the start in the Orioles’ first road game of the spring. Other pitchers include left-hander Cade Povich and right-handers Logan Gillaspie, Yennier Canó, Kyle Dowdy and Reed Garrett.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles eventually will reach the stage of spring training when prospects are sent to the minor league side at Twin Lakes Park to get ready for their season. They received the necessary camp exposure. They got the full experience. The major league coaches became more familiar with them. Zero downside to it.

In a spontaneous contest to create the loudest buzz at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, the young infielders ganged up on the competition.

I keep hearing how much the coaches are impressed with the group. The message has been passed along by many people. The level of talent, the polish and the maturity blow them away.

It’s hard to live up to the hype, with so many high draft choices, but they’re doing exactly that – proving worthy of their rankings in the top 100 lists.

Jackson Holliday is only 19, a year removed from high school, and observers can’t stop talking about him. The way he takes ground balls, his swings, his calm demeanor. No moment has been too big.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Heston Kjerstad stood in the batter’s box and twisted his waist as if trying to guide his fly ball inside the left field foul pole.

Two home runs were nice, but he wanted a third.

He came so close.

The ball hooked foul to keep Kjerstad at the plate in the eighth inning. No problem. He lined a single into right field to go 3-for-3 in his first major league spring training game in the Orioles’ 10-5 victory over the Twins at Ed Smith Stadium.

“Definitely a good day,” he said later while sitting at his locker. “First day at the yard. There’s a lot more to come, so definitely a good little start, but I’ve got to remain focused. It’s a long year, and just keep showing up to the park and try to have good ABs and execute my plan.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – Anthony Santander led off the bottom of the fourth inning today by committing the Orioles’ first rules violation in their exhibition opener.

Santander smiled about it later, in his usual manner, but didn’t agree with the call.

Plate umpire Chad Fairfield ruled that Santander wasn’t ready to hit by the required eight seconds and hung a strike on him. Santander, who had to sprint from right field to the dugout and put on his equipment prior to batting, was down 0-1 before Twins reliever Randy Dobnak threw a pitch.

Welcome to the 2023 major leagues.

The call isn’t reviewable and Santander couldn’t be denied a base, drawing a walk before Heston Kjerstad ran for him.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles reliever Dillon Tate is able to detect the improvement in his right forearm, the lessening of the discomfort that he began to notice three months ago.

“Especially where I was in the middle of the offseason,” he said today.

There’s little else that he can state with confidence. The stages of recovery and rehabilitation are deliberate and unpredictable.

“It’s still a little bit of time to go before I get to where I’m looking to be, but hopefully it’s not too much longer,” he said. “All I can really do is just wait it out. There’s nothing, really, that I can do to speed up the process. It’s just ready when it’s ready.”

Tate is playing catch but not every day. He’ll flip the ball underhand or not use one during pitching drills.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde hopes to get two innings from left-hander Drew Rom in today’s exhibition opener against the Twins at Ed Smith Stadium.

The lineup is stacked with left-handed hitters, including Ryan O’Hearn at first base and Nomar Mazara in left field.

Cedric Mullins is leading off and Anthony Santander is the cleanup hitter, their starts coming early as they prepare for the World Baseball Classic.

Coby Mayo gets the start at third base. Anthony Bemboom is catching.

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Adam Frazier 2B
Adley Rutschman DH
Anthony Santander RF
Ryan O’Hearn 1B
Nomar Mazara LF
Joey Ortiz SS
Coby Mayo 3B
Anthony Bemboom C