With 2 weeks before Opening Day, what’s left to decide for O’s?
Thursday’s day off for the Orioles comes with just two weeks before Opening Day, where an on-time start to the season will bring them back to the place last year began quite badly: Boston.
This year, however, will be different. It stands to reason John Means will be healthy enough to make his presumed Opening Day start. In Trey Mancini, the lineup will have a force in the middle who happens to hit very well at Fenway Park.
The Orioles will be without José Iglesias, who showed promise in that first series last season with a bundle of extra-base hits, but will boast a new-look middle infield with Freddy Galvis at shortstop and Yolmer Sánchez at second base.
Those are a few of the names set in stone on the roster, and though they’re the biggest, they’re not the only ones.
With two weeks left before Opening Day, there aren’t many spots that are seemingly up for grabs. Who occupies what role in certain instances, such as the utility infield spot and some back-end starter and swingman distinctions, still need to be made, but there’s not a lot of drama expected over the final two weeks of camp.
For whatever’s left to decide, the Orioles have two weeks to figure it all out. Here’s a best guess of how they could break camp with their 26-man roster for Opening Day on April 1 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Catchers: Pedro Severino, Chance Sisco
The least intriguing position on the Orioles’ roster over the past few years in terms of competition remains so, with manager Brandon Hyde essentially saying last week that Severino and Sisco were on the team because they’re the two catchers on the 40-man roster and have the most experience.
Severino is a player Hyde has singled out for his strong at-bats in the first two weeks of spring training, even if the results aren’t there. Sisco is playing on alternating days with him and doesn’t seem to be under any pressure as he’s preparing for the season.
Infielders: Trey Mancini, Yolmer Sánchez, Freddy Galvis, Rio Ruiz, Maikel Franco, Pat Valaika
With Chris Davis out since the first game of the spring with a back injury, the Orioles’ infield picture looked pretty straightforward until this week’s addition of Maikel Franco. Though he’s a different player in many respects, including the Orioles’ seeming willingness to play him at third base, Franco could essentially get Renato Núñez’s at-bats from a season ago. There’s a way to fit him on the Opening Day roster provided he’s ready physically.
Mancini is taking over as the everyday first baseman, Galvis and Sánchez have the shortstop and second base spots locked down without any real competition, and Ruiz will now have a possible platoon partner in Franco.
Valaika and Ramón Urías are the two primary candidates as utility players, and while Urías has had the better spring at the plate, Valaika was trusted with the top utility job last summer. It’s notable that changed in the last week of the season, with Urías getting a chance to play shortstop every day. But that might not have changed the team’s long-term thinking.
Outfielders: Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, DJ Stewart
Davis’ injury likely clears the way for what should have happened all along: everyone who entered the year in the Orioles’ outfield mix with real major league experience will make the team. Hyde has said anyone who has at least two weeks to prepare for the season can be ready for Opening Day, and though Stewart’s hamstring injury is keeping him out longer than that, the manager still hopes he could be ready for April 1 at this rate. If not, his spot could go to an extra pitcher until he’s ready.
Even when Stewart is healthy, he might not be an outfield regular. The presumption is Santander will be the everyday right fielder, Mountcastle will play left field with frequency and Mullins and Hays are going to figure prominently in center field. If Mountcastle or Santander gets a day as designated hitter, Hays will move to their corner spot and give the Orioles some more outfield coverage.
Bulk-inning pitchers: John Means, Dean Kremer, Keegan Akin, Matt Harvey, Bruce Zimmermann, Jorge López, Wade LeBlanc
If the Orioles aren’t going to make any distinctions on who could be a starter and who will be prepared as a long reliever, there’s no sense trying to do it for them. So here are seven pitchers who will be stretched-out enough to start or provide long relief early in the season.
Félix Hernández leaving his start Tuesday with elbow discomfort keeps him off this list. Even without plans for further tests as of Wednesday, it’s just hard to envision the Orioles being aggressive in trying to get him back on a mound and built up long enough to be ready in two weeks. He could continue to build up at the Bowie camp if he and the Orioles are interested in whatever contractual consensus that would require.
But Means is on track to start Opening Day, and days off built into April mean the Orioles could need a fifth starter just twice in the first three-plus weeks if they kept Means on a five-day schedule and moved the next three pitchers around him. Having long relief help in the form of two and sometimes three pitchers who can go deeper out of the bullpen will be an asset, and these pitchers are being set up for that.
Short relievers: Tanner Scott, Shawn Armstrong, Paul Fry, César Valdez, Dillon Tate, Cole Sulser
It seems like the Orioles have a pretty good idea of the hierarchy of their short relievers, but the question will be how many they can fit on the roster once the starters and long relievers are accounted for.
It would be stunning if any of Scott, Armstrong, Fry or Valdez wasn’t written in pen in their plans, with each being able to pitch a second inning if need be. The next tier of relievers includes Tate, Sulser and Travis Lakins Sr. There’s only room for two in this scenario, but with all of those right-handers having minor league options and Hyde using each for two-inning outings at times in 2020, it’s fair to say they could ride the Triple-A shuttle if the team needs a fresh arm.
This scenario also leaves out both of the Rule 5 draft picks in Mac Sceroler and Tyler Wells, who executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said Tuesday are still being evaluated. Wells seems like the one the Orioles would keep if they had to choose, but it will be tough to hold on to them with players like Harvey and LeBlanc not yet on the 40-man roster.