SARASOTA, Fla. — For most of Brandon Hyde’s time in an Orioles uniform, he’d probably have given his left arm for more talent. That was then and this is now the new reality of 2024: Hyde has talent sprouting up everywhere. On March 10, he called it a good problem:
“We have quite few spots wide open, and in a variety of ways. In the next two weeks there are going to be a lot of decisions and discussions that will need to be made. We have a good problem to have. We have depth in different positions, in the bullpen, position-player wise.
“We are not even close now to who is on the club. And remember the team that breaks is often not the club you have 30 days in. … Last season Ryan O’Hearn didn’t make the club, Yennier Cano didn’t make the team. It’s a six-month season. You need a lot of players.”
The battles are there to see every day as several players battle it out. Those competing include players the Orioles can easily lose because they are out of minor league options and those who can be optioned to the minors.
An easier way to back into what is pretty much set is by starting out with who has the team made. With a little more than two weeks to go until Opening Day, these 10 position players appear etched in stone barring injury: Colton Cowser, Austin Hays, Gunnar Henderson, Jorge Mateo, James McCann, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander.
Those in the running for spots include Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, Ryan McKenna (out of options), Ramón Urías (out of options), Kyle Stowers, Jordan Westburg and Kolten Wong. Additionally, Coby Mayo has made a case and the organization knows what Connor Norby can do. The simple math here is that there are up to nine players battling for three jobs.
On the mound, Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells and Cole Irvin look to have jobs as starting pitchers to begin the regular season. Yennier Cano, Danny Coulombe, Craig Kimbrel, Dillon Tate and Cionel Pérez appear to have bullpen jobs, barring injury or trade. Again, that is just 10 of 13 jobs settled.
I haven’t seen everybody yet, but it’s safe to say that Mike Baumann and Keegan Akin are the leaders now. Old friends Jacob Webb and Brian Baker are fighting hard. Newcomers Jonathan Heasley, Julio Teheran, Andrew Suárez and Albert Suárez have caught the attention of folks and are in the hunt for those last three spots. Wandisson Charles, Chayce McDermott and Cade Povich are also making their mark.
The math there is almost mind-boggling, with 11 folks batting for those last three spots.
This plethora of talent in black and orange uniforms in Sarasota is indeed a good problem to have. But it’s also a new problem and one that figures to get even tougher the next couple of seasons.
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox