Good morning, Camden Chatters.<\/p>\n
The Orioles had their final off day of spring training yesterday, and now it\u2019s an all-out sprint to the end of camp. The O\u2019s will play 13 games in the next 11 days, which includes a pair of split-squad games next Thursday, the prospects-only Spring Breakout game next Friday, and games against the Nationals in both Baltimore and D.C. to close out their exhibition schedule March 22 and 23.<\/p>\n
With less than two weeks until Opening Day, everyone seems to be wondering how the O\u2019s will pare their current camp roster of 53 down to their season-opening 26-man. MASN\u2019s Roch Kubatko<\/a>, MLB\u2019s Jake Rill<\/a>, and Baltimore Baseball\u2019s Rich Dubroff<\/a> all offered their thoughts about how the roster might line up when the season starts. All three predict the Orioles to solve their six-starting-pitcher dilemma by having Zach Eflin start the season on the IL and continue to ramp up after last year\u2019s back surgery. Things sure seem to be leaning that way, considering that Eflin has thrown just two innings this spring \u2014 impressive as they were \u2014 and isn\u2019t currently scheduled to pitch for the rest of this week.<\/p>\n The three writers are mostly in sync about how the bulk of the roster will shake out. The biggest questions right now are the final couple of spots in the bullpen and on the bench. Kubatko and Rill advocate for hard-throwing, out-of-options righty Jackson Kowar, while Dubroff pegs the last bullpen spot for Yaramil Hiraldo. All seem to agree that Grant Wolfram has pitched his way onto the team with his stellar spring (five scoreless innings, nine strikeouts) while Albert Su\u00e1rez (nine runs in 6.2 innings) has probably pitched his way off of it.<\/p>\n On the bench, the utility infield decision seems to come down to either Jeremiah Jackson (Dubroff\u2019s pick) or Luis V\u00e1zquez (Rill\u2019s selection). Personally I\u2019d go with V\u00e1zquez, because if you have Coby Mayo as your starting third baseman, you need to have a competent defender available to replace him in the late innings, and Jackson isn\u2019t that guy.<\/p>\n I think the beat writers have got the roster competition sized up pretty well based on who\u2019s currently in camp. But I feel like the Orioles might have another significant move up their sleeve before the season starts. To me there\u2019s still a bit too much redundancy among the position-player group \u2014 particularly Ryan Mountcastle, who isn\u2019t going to knock Pete Alonso out of the lineup and doesn\u2019t provide any defensive versatility beyond first base.<\/p>\n The bullpen also seems a little light, especially now that Andrew Kittredge is injured. I don\u2019t like the idea of Keegan Akin and Yennier Cano getting high-leverage innings, not to mention the relatively unproven guys like Wolfram, Dietrich Enns, and Rico Garcia. Maybe there\u2019s a way for the O\u2019s to address two problems at once by trading Mountcastle for a relief pitcher if they can find an interested partner. Just spitballing here.<\/p>\n What say you, Camden Chatters? As of now, what would your Opening Day roster look like?<\/p>\n As Mayo reacclimates to 3rd, his bat shows why he\u2019s needed in O\u2019s lineup – MLB.com<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019m going to be holding my breath every time an opposing batter hits a grounder to third base. But I\u2019ll learn to live with it if Mayo keeps hitting like he\u2019s been doing this spring.<\/p>\n