With the Orioles opening their 2025 Grapefruit League schedule this weekend, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Though nothing terribly newsworthy came from David Rubenstein’s visit and session with reporters, addressing players in the clubhouse and having lunch with Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman were nice touches. Baltimore’s payroll currently ranks 15th, up from 26th last year. How wisely Mike Elias spent remains the real question.
2. Marcus Stroman doesn’t want to pitch out of the Yankees bullpen. Rafael Devers wants to stay at third base while players are trying to play general manager in Boston. Vlad Guerrero’s deadline passed without him and Toronto reaching an extension. At least it’s been a harmonious start in Sarasota.
3. Last spring, Albert Suarez was a non-roster invitee after pitching in the Venezuelan Winter League. After a remarkable 2024, the 35-year-old didn’t play winter ball and now starts the spring opener. His 2025 role remains unclear, but what he does after the benefit of a normal offseason should be interesting.
4. The buzz stemming from the first bullpen session for Tomoyuki Sugano was typical fodder for spring training coverage, but it beats the alternative when you’ve invested $13 million in a 35-year-old who’s never thrown a pitch in the majors. I’m certainly looking forward to watching him pitch.
5. Sugano’s career walk rate in Japan was 1.7 per nine innings. Zach Eflin averaged 1.3 walks per nine frames last year. Even Grayson Rodriguez and Charlie Morton — pitchers who averaged more than a strikeout per inning — don’t issue many free passes. This rotation is counting heavily on limiting the walks.
6. Left field at Camden Yards isn’t as spacious now, but I’m curious to see how Colton Cowser and Tyler O’Neill are deployed with both playing left most frequently in their careers. The oft-injured O’Neill playing right would be less physically demanding. Cowser should see plenty of action in center too.
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7. I prefer Jordan Westburg playing every day at third base, a position at which he showed growth last year after not playing there all that much in the minors. With Ramon Urias not being as strong at third last year, let him spell Jackson Holliday at second when warranted.
8. In contrast, I’d rather see Coby Mayo focus on first base more extensively rather than continuing to play so much at third. Versatility doesn’t help much if you never learn to master a position, and the 23-year-old seems much more likely to stick at first base in the majors.
9. Speaking of prospects with long-term position questions, Samuel Basallo should be exciting to watch after dealing with an elbow injury last spring. He still has less than 100 Triple-A plate appearances, but you wonder how quickly the 20-year-old catcher will be knocking on the door to the majors.
10. The automated ball-strike system won’t be in place at Ed Smith Stadium, but we’ll see how the challenge system works elsewhere on a trial basis. As long as it doesn’t bog down pace of play — and it hasn’t in the minors — all that much, I’m all for getting calls right.
11. I’m not a huge fan of the all-orange alternate uniform news, but it beats the black pants with the City Connect duds. At the very least, I’m glad MLB’s uniform problems from last season — headlined by the nameplate lettering being way too small — appear mostly fixed.
12. I’m rooting for John Means to finally get healthy and rejuvenate his career. At a time when there were few reasons to watch the Orioles on a regular basis, seeing him pitch every fifth day was fun before the elbow injury. He offered a classy farewell to Baltimore on Friday.
