It is getting increasingly difficult to write these opening thoughts to the Bird Droppings while the Orioles make no roster moves of note. There has been zero significant movement in quite a while.<\/p>\n
In case you have missed the last\u2026uh\u2026five months (?), the Orioles still want to sign a \u201cfrontline\u201d pitcher. They have been linked to every viable free agent you can think of. Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Lucas Giolito, Zac Gallen. Yep. All of them. Nothing has changed there in a long time.<\/p>\n
Looking at the roster, they need bullpen help too. But there is even less noise there. In fact, it has been silent. Mike Elias added Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Helsley a few months back, and then hunkered down. The best guess is they will add some fringier arms on minor league deals with spring invites, and then they will pick up some scraps as teams cut their \u201cextras\u201d throughout February and March. Bullpen heros can come from unexpected places, but you would like to have a bit more certainty.<\/p>\n
The position player groups seem set. At least to begin the spring. No trade of Coby Mayo or Ryan Mountcastle is imminent. The 40-man roster has no true utility man on it. They did just add Bryan Ramos as a potential bench option, but almost all of his experience as a pro has come at third base, so he\u2019s not the most versatile. Colton Cowser is lining up to be the center fielder most days with Leody Taveras in tow to spell him on occasion.<\/p>\n
The pieces are not fitting together perfectly. But they don\u2019t have to. Elias has made it clear that he wants to build redundancies into the squad so that an injury here or there doesn\u2019t derail the season. Players can be optioned to Triple-A if they see fit. That includes Mayo and Jackson among others. In a 162-game season, players that begin the year in Norfolk are still likely to get their big league chance. That\u2019s the theory anyway.<\/p>\n
Kyle Bradish beats Orioles in arbitration, will get $3.55M in \u201826 | ESPN<\/a> Orioles 2026 minor league coaching staffs announced | On The Verge<\/a>
The Orioles and Bradish filed at numbers that were $675,000 apart. It would have been nice to see the two sides come to agreement rather than going through the arbitration process. It\u2019s pretty common for the experience to sour a player\u2019s view of their organization. If healthy, Bradish is a player that is probably going to be pretty important to this team for a few more years, at least. It would be best to keep him in good spirits. But it\u2019s a business. I know, I know.<\/p>\n
This is a great, simple and contextual look at the changes made at each of the levels going into 2026. I do not personally know enough about minor league coaches to really have an opinion. But it doesn\u2019t seem like the Orioles did much of an overhaul here, so they must be happy with the general direction of player development.<\/p>\n