Santander gets results
Mayo impressing manager Hyde with his defense at third
SARASOTA, Fla. — After getting off to a 2-for-17 start to spring training, Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander provided the biggest swing of the night Wednesday with a two-run home run in Baltimore’s 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
On a cool, rainy evening when many would-be home runs died at the warning track, Santander stepped in the left-handed batter’s box in the first inning and pulled a long flyball over the right field wall against the Pirates’ expected opening day starter Mitch Keller. It was the first extra-base hit of the Grapefruit League slate for Santander, who tied infielder Gunnar Henderson for the team lead in homers last season with 28.
“Really good, but more happy about my timing and the kind of stuff that I’ve been working the last couple of days,” Santander said of how he felt after going 1-for-3 on the day. “But really good, putting the ball in the barrel twice in a row, that’s great. That means the work that I do the last couple days, it’s good work.”
The left side was where Santander generated most of his power last season, launching 23 of those 28 long balls and 29 of his 41 doubles left-handed. Though he’s not putting too much stock in spring training stats, Santander has been working in batting practice over the past few days to raise his hands in his stance before starting his swing.
“My hands were a little bit higher,” Santander said. “The last couple days, been seeing a lot of video to make some preparation from last season, and this couple games in spring training have to make an adjustment quick as possible.”
Baltimore will lean on Santander to be their middle-of-the-order power bat once again in 2024, the final year of his rookie contract with the team.
While he hopes to sign a long-term deal to remain with the Orioles, Santander is entering a season that might go a long way in determining where his future leads in 2025 and beyond.
The case for Mayo
The Orioles’ infield competition has centered mostly around Jackson Holliday’s chances of cracking the opening day roster at second base, but another top prospect in Coby Mayo has been making a case for a job, too.
Mayo entered Wednesday’s game with a .300/.440/.450 slash line and three doubles in 25 plate appearances. He’s walked almost as many times (four) as he’s struck out (five) while playing strong defense at third base. The consensus top-30 prospect entered the game as a defensive replacement and worked a long at-bat before roping a double down the left-field line that scored the two go-ahead runs in the bottom of the eighth.
“The bat is going to play and he’s going to be a good hitter,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I’m more impressed by his defense. Just the strides he’s made defensively at third base, massive strides since last year. So, that’s exciting for me. You got to be able to play good defense, and Coby has really worked hard at it and made huge strides.”
Mayo faces an uphill battle trying to make the Orioles’ opening day roster. In addition to Henderson playing both positions on the left side of the infield, Baltimore has Jordan Westburg as a strong candidate to start at third if Holliday makes the team at second. First base is deep as well with Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn expected to receive most of the starts there.
“I think that’s the biggest thing is trying to prove to them that I can play defense and that my glove can get to where my bat is,” Mayo said. “I’ve worked really hard over the past few years and especially this offseason. Was a lot of hard work right after the season
ended. Got right back on the field and just try to do what I can to get to where I’m at right now.”
While Mayo might begin the year at Triple-A Norfolk, his strong start to spring should inspire confidence that he’ll be ready both at the plate and in the field to make an impact if and when the Orioles need a corner infielder this season.
Around the horn
Making his first start of the spring Wednesday was Julio Teheran, the Orioles’ nonroster invitee who signed with the club Feb. 28. Teheran set down six of the seven batters he faced with one walk and no strikeouts. Baltimore currently plans to stretch him out as a starter, but he’s a candidate to make the club as a long reliever as well.
After making his spring debut Monday, Henderson returned to the lineup as the
Orioles’ leadoff hitter and went 3-for3, including a double off Pirates reliever Aroldis Chapman. The oblique injury that delayed his start to camp now in the rearview mirror, Henderson was able to put his focus back on his swing and it didn’t take long to see results.
Outfielder Cedric Mullins said earlier in the afternoon the MRI on his hamstring came back clean. He attributed the issue that forced him to leave Monday’s contest to cramping and added that he expects to rejoin the Orioles’ lineup next week.
Former Orioles teammates Adam Jones and Matt Wieters are in Sarasota this week as guest coaches. Both spoke with the media about how impressed they are with the young core Baltimore has assembled and the similarities to the group they helped lead to three playoff appearances in five years from 2012 to 2016.