{"id":630074,"date":"2026-03-18T14:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/630074\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:18:16","slug":"things-we-still-dont-know-at-this-point-of-the-orioles-spring-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/630074\/","title":{"rendered":"Things we still don\u2019t know at this point of the Orioles spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I dug into the things we think we know at this point of the Orioles spring<\/a>. We know that Tyler Wells is going to start the season in the bullpen because Craig Albernaz told us. We\u2019re pretty sure that Coby Mayo is going to get a shot at third base with Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday sidelined, and we\u2019re all but certain that the Orioles roster will not have room for a third catcher.<\/p>\n

We know a lot more than that about the Orioles, but those were questions that followed the team to Sarasota. With those all but settled, I\u2019m focused on a few things we still don\u2019t know at this point of spring training.<\/p>\n

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What if Eflin is ready for Opening Day?<\/p>\n

With Wells set to join the bullpen, a healthy Eflin would still give the Orioles six solid starting pitchers for the rotation. The Orioles resigned Eflin after an injury-filled 2025. Last year\u2019s Opening Day starter tallied only 71 1\/3 innings last year with an inflated 5.93 ERA.<\/p>\n

Eflin underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure to address prolonged back pain in the second half of last season. The surgery could have ended his tenure in Baltimore, but the organization brought him back on a one-year, $10-million deal that features a mutual option. At the time of the signing, it seemed unlikely that Eflin would be healthy enough to break camp with the team. Eflin has undergone a delayed ramp up this spring, but the team has yet to announce whether he\u2019ll be ready in two weeks. Eflin has a pair of Grapefruit League starts under his belt in 2026.<\/p>\n

If Eflin is ready to go, and the Orioles avoid any other injuries, he\u2019ll join a rotation that features Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt and Dean Kremer. A majority of Orioles fans recently came out in support of a six-man rotation<\/a>, but the strategy would potentially weaken an already uncertain bullpen.<\/p>\n

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Who will set up Helsley with Kittredge sidelined?<\/p>\n

Speaking of the bullpen, the Orioles are running it back with another pitcher that missed time with an injury last season. Baltimore re-acquired Andrew Kittredge from Chicago in exchange for cash considerations. Unfortunately, Kittredge will begin the season on the IL for the second consecutive year. The team announced that the veteran reliever had a \u201clow probability\u201d of making the Opening Day roster due to shoulder inflammation.<\/p>\n

Kittredge and new closer Ryan Helsley are expected to anchor a bullpen with several unknowns. Wells could emerge as a multi-inning option, a high-leverage reliever, or anything in between. The same can be said for Albert Su\u00e1rez. Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin have leverage experience but come with less certainty. Rico Garcia and Grant Wolfram have potential, while several others remain in the mix for a spot in the \u2018pen.<\/p>\n

Albernaz said that Kittredge was \u201con the right track\u201d after he played catch earlier this week, but the skipper reiterated that the they are taking it one day at a time. The bullpen will need to tread water in the meantime. The roster will be set at the end of spring, but the hierarchy will remain fluid throughout the start of the season.<\/p>\n

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Which infielder takes the last spot?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more room on the roster due to the Holliday and Westburg injuries. Holliday appears on track for a quick return, but Westburg\u2019s status represents the greatest unknown of the Orioles spring. Westburg\u2019s long-term availability will not be decided in the next two weeks, but Baltimore\u2019s utility infield competition will.<\/p>\n

Jeremiah Jackson, Luis V\u00e1zquez, Weston Wilson and Bryan Ramos all have a shot at making the team. Jackson could be considered a favorite after slashing .276\/.328\/.447 over 48 games in his debut season, but the 25-year-old still has minor league options. The 25-year-old looks like player that could carve out a Ramon Ur\u00edas type role in Baltimore, but the Birds may be willing to stash him at Triple-A in an effort to keep another guy in the organization.<\/p>\n

V\u00e1zquez is back in camp after representing Puerto Rico in the World Baseball classic. V\u00e1zquez appeared in 32 games for Baltimore last season. He slashed a discouraging .160\/.208\/.240 over 53 plate appearances, but his versatile glove proved valuable. The 26-year-old made 12 appearances at third, 11 at short, three at second, and he even logged an inning at first base. His four relief appearances won\u2019t win him any prizes, but the ability to play shortstop holds real merit. The Orioles believe there\u2019s at least a little more offensive upside than what he displayed last season.<\/p>\n

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Bryan Ramos is the flavor of the day after finishing a triple shy of the cycle yesterday. Ramos made his first start at second base and took future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander deep in a 1-1 tie. The Orioles DFA\u2019d Wilson when they acquired Ramos from the White Sox. Wilson has big league experience at multiple infield positions and the corner outfield. He can match V\u00e1zquez with mop-up relief appearances too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week I dug into the things we think we know at this point of the Orioles spring.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2374],"tags":[1080,143,47,2538,5,13096,138,82,583,51332,913,182,1074,5685,1514,13459,581,388,11038,3431,1510,4,125,28982,4636,5144,1362,9009,1275,15448,396,4962,96],"class_list":["post-630074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-baltimore-orioles","tag-albert-suarez","tag-baltimore","tag-baltimore-orioles","tag-baltimoreorioles","tag-baseball","tag-bryan-ramos","tag-chicago","tag-chris-bassitt","tag-coby-mayo","tag-craig-albernaz","tag-dean-kremer","tag-florida","tag-grant-wolfram","tag-helsley","tag-jackson-holliday","tag-jeremiah-jackson","tag-jordan-westburg","tag-justin-verlander","tag-keegan-akin","tag-kittredge","tag-kyle-bradish","tag-mlb","tag-orioles","tag-rico-garcia","tag-sarasota","tag-shane-baz","tag-the-orioles","tag-trevor-rogers","tag-tyler-wells","tag-weston-wilson","tag-white-sox","tag-yennier-cano","tag-zach-eflin"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116250614490848002","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}