Life can continually throw you curveballs. And so it is with the hoped for spring training of our 2025 Baltimore Orioles and your intrepid reporter. More on that reporter in a bit.
Three significant injuries — Gunnar Henderson (intercostal), Andrew Kittredge (knee) and Grayson Rodriguez (elbow) — have clearly dimmed some of the optimism around these parts.
With Opening Day in Toronto on March 27, here’s what we know about those injuries. Henderson is close for Opening Day, but the longer manager Brandon Hyde hedges, the more it looks like close but no cigar for Opening Day. Best bet? Maybe eight to 10 days into the season. Kittredge had an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his left knee, and it looks like he will be down all of April through June.
Rodriguez is much more complicated. The timetable for what is now being called elbow soreness is a moving target. He has received a cortisone shot, which is old fashioned and that might be a positive sign as we wait on the other shoe to fall. Right now, he is shut down from any throwing for seven to 10 days. At this point, anything from May 1 to May 15 would have to be viewed as a win.
If you throw in the uncertainty about what strength Félix Bautista will have on March 27, and how long shortstop Jorge Mateo will need to ramp up and contribute, it’s clear that the roster will start the season depleted.
On the pitching side of things, the club announced on March 14 that Zach Eflin will make the Opening Day start in Toronto. He previously started one other Opener for Tampa Bay in 2024.
Taking a good bit of the sting out of the Rodriguez injury has been the most promising starts by Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano, Cade Povich and Albert Suárez. Dean Kremer has not pitched well, but could be noodling along at a veteran’s pace. It does hurt that both Trevor Rogers and Chayce McDermott, expected to supply some competition to make the roster and help provide that always-needed depth have been derailed by injuries.
There are some positives on the lineup front. Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday have both looked as if 2025 will be much more in line with expectations. If Tyler O’Neill hits anywhere near how good he looks, he’ll mostly make up for what was lost with Anthony Santander. It’s comforting that Jordan Westburg will be back and ready to be a steadying influence in the lineup. Colton Cowser and his band of crazy “cow fans” are an important piece for this club.
While I am not a huge believer in Ryan Mountcastle, if he can deliver and become a force in this lineup, it would upgrade the entire view of this offense. Ramón Urías just keeps on ticking and producing. And outfielder Ramón Laureano, who has saved his career with stints in Cleveland and Atlanta, figures to get some steady playing time in center and right.
That leaves the guys I don’t know what to make of as Opening Day draws nigh: Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins, Gary Sánchez and Heston Kjerstad. If they come through and offer solid production, the offense will be okay.
Two players that could make an impact are C/DH Samuel Basallo, who will start the season at Triple-A Norfolk, and 3B/1B Coby Mayo, who is again squeezed out by both who is on the roster and an inability to make an impact at the big league level to date. Don’t go to sleep on those two.
The bullpen still can be solid and grow into a top-flight unit. Gregory Soto has thrown really well this spring, and I mean really well. Cionel Pérez, Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin have all been very good. Old friend Bryan Baker probably wins out the last spot due to Kittredge’s injury. Seranthony Dominguez could fill a vital role in the bullpen, but he has been just as seesaw like in spring training as he was in August and September last season.
Roansy Contreras may eke out out the last spot on the roster as a hard-throwing lottery ticket in the pen, unless the club opts to pick up someone else more refined who’s let go by another club.
The key to the bullpen of course is Bautista. From this vantage point, I think Hyde’s first option to close early in the season is going to be Soto as Bautista gets back in the groove.
And as I alluded to at the start about your intrepid reporter getting banged up. As I shared on Glenn Clark Radio last week, I was involved in a pretty bad car accident down here in Bradenton. Like the Orioles, it wasn’t the spring trip I had hoped for. But my fingers are crossed for both the Orioles and myself that better health is on the way.
I just hope it’s in time to enjoy the summer ahead.
See Also:
• Orioles RHP Félix Bautista Satisfied With How He Is Progressing During Spring Training
• So Far, So Good For Orioles RHP Tomoyuki Sugano
• Orioles RHP Grayson Rodriguez Shut Down For 7-10 Days With Elbow Inflammation
MADE POSSIBLE BY
Photo Credit: Ed Sheahin/Gary Sousa/PressBox