5:12 AM EDT, Thu March 28, 2024
MASN: School of Roch

Orioles eager to play games that count

The Orioles won 23 exhibition games, the most in club history. Their .793 winning percentage also ranked first. And it meant roughly the same as crap.The real stuff begins Thursday or Friday, depending on the weather.Winning is always better than losing unless your goal is to tank. However, spring training games don’t feature the best players for nine innings. Bullpen moves aren’t usually strategic except to provide innings and work. And the results include split-squads with some of the opponents in Sarasota bringing unrecognizable names on the travel roster.At least the Orioles’ minor...

Camden Chat

Tuesday Bird Droppings: The 2024 season begins in two days

Get the orange carpet ready. Camden Yards will be hopping on Thursday. | Photo by Patrick Smith/ The Orioles dominated spring training. Now it’s time to start winning games that count. Good morning, Camden Chatters. It’s nearly here. Just two days remain until the Orioles begin the 2024 season. Or...possibly three. As of this writing, there’s a 60-70 percent chance of rain in Thursday’s forecast, and practically zero chance on Friday, so it’s possible the O’s will delay their opener by a day to avoid inclement weather. If that happens, hopefully the Orioles...

MASN: School of Roch

Orioles sign Kemp to major league deal

The Orioles left their spring training complex but aren’t done conducting business.They announced today that they’ve signed Tony Kemp to a 2024 major league contract and designated infielder Nick Maton for assignment.The 40-man roster remains full.Kemp, 32, signed with the Reds in February and was released less than a month later after exercising the opt-out clause in his contract. He appeared in eight exhibition games and went 7-for-21 with a double, triple, home run and five RBIs.The Reds’ deal reportedly would have paid Kemp $1.75 million if he made the Opening Day roster, with...

Camden Chat

Monday Bird Droppings: The roster comes together at the end of spring training

Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Spring training is over, the roster is unofficially set, and more in today’s Bird Droppings Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! Baseball is happening this week! Yes, in just four days (pending weather) the Orioles will kick off their 2023 season in Baltimore against the Los Angeles Angels. They finished off the Grapefruit League with an eye-popping, albeit meaningless, 23-6 record. In yesterday’s spring finale, stars Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman bashed their final dingers of spring in support of Grayson Rodriguez, who...

Camden Chat

Sunday Bird Droppings: Orioles spring training wraps up today

Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Opt-outs for a couple of veterans will be settled today and more cuts are coming before Opening Day Hello, friends. There are now four days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. I’m feeling less excited about it than I was 72 hours ago. I hope they get a win that’s fun enough to ward off the “no Jackson Holliday for an unknown amount of time” gloom. If you missed the news yesterday, the Orioles announced that owner Peter Angelos passed away at age 94. It’s a complicated legacy for Angelos, with a number of unambiguously...

Camden Chat

Saturday Bird Droppings: Still bummed by the Holliday decision

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via The final weekend of spring training, Holliday is reassigned, and the sky is falling! Good Morning, Birdland Mike Elias and the Orioles’ front office have determined that Jackson Holliday still has a few things to learn in Triple-A Norfolk. Therefore, the decision was made on Friday to re-assign the top prospect to minor league camp, ending his hopes of making the Opening Day roster in 2024 If we step back for a moment, it is not a totally surprising call. Holliday just turned 20 this past offseason, and he has only 18 games...

MASN: School of Roch

Orioles roster uncertainty appears narrowed to two decisions

SARASOTA, Fla. – The camp roster held at 45 players yesterday. Jorge Mateo is confirmed for Opening Day in Baltimore.Can the remaining decisions be simplified to, who’s the last reliever and bench player? Are we actually at that point in spring training?A reduction to two spots with this many players on the major league side is interesting, to say the least.To say the most, this is the correct math if bullpen locks are Craig Kimbrel, Yennier Cano, Danny Coulombe, Cionel Pérez, Mike Baumann, Dillon Tate and Keegan Akin. And if we’re waiting only to find out whether Jackson Holliday is...

Camden Chat

Thursday evening Orioles spring training game thread: at Red Sox, 6:05

GUNNAR HENDERSON is leading off for the Orioles | PhotoPhoto by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Five more Orioles spring training games remain, counting tonight Wouldn’t you know it, the Orioles game is going to be on the television network that the Orioles own for a third straight night. This won’t be an unusual occurrence once we’re into the regular season but over the last month it’s been rare. Do we get a regular season-looking lineup as the Orioles travel on the road with a week to go until Opening Day? Nope! This is looking like a rest day for most of the...

MASN: Steve Melewski

Odds and ends as spring training is winding down

A few odds and ends as there are now just a few spring games left. An odd number of five actually and that will be the end of spring training in 2024.We are all about ready for a new season to start at this point.Rookie fav: We don’t even know for sure yet whether the Orioles Jackson Holliday will be on the Opening Day roster. But according to DraftKings Sportsbook, he is the favorite to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award:* O’s Jackson Holliday at +250.* Texas’ Evan Carter at +300.

MASN: School of Roch

Orioles and Red Sox lineups in Fort Myers

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The 20-win spring training Orioles play their penultimate road game tonight against the Red Sox at JetBlue Park.Albert Suárez makes his fifth appearance and third start, and he needs to avoid the one disastrous inning that has marred his last two games and maybe impacted his chances of going north.Suárez has logged 11 1/3 innings and allowed eight runs and 13 hits with one walk and 16 strikeouts. He was charged with five runs in the seventh inning of Friday’s game against the Rays in Port Charlotte.Gunnar Henderson is leading off and playing shortstop. Jordan Westburg...

Camden Chat

Wednesday evening Orioles game thread: vs. Phillies, 6:05

Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via The lineup is starting to look a lot like the regular season is going to look You know that we’re getting down to the end of spring training because MASN is actually bothering to televise the Orioles two games in a row. I know, it’s crazy! They’re going to do it again tomorrow evening too, with another one coming on Saturday. After a month of barely being able to watch our favorite team, it’s nice that the network is finally moving closer to regular season form. Though this is a home game for the Orioles, they will...

Camden Chat

Wednesday Bird Droppings: The prospects are making their case

Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports The O’s put up big numbers on Tuesday, and much like the rest of the spring, they were led by the young guys in camp. Good morning, Birdland! There’s a theme among today’s round of O’s news. It’s heavy on the prospects, and with good reason! The Orioles are rolling through spring training, and it hasn’t all been on the backs of their veterans. Colton Cowser owns a .351/.467/.784 slash line with five home runs, including a mammoth long ball on Tuesday. Coby Mayo is hitting .333/.423/.556 with seven doubles. Connor Norby...

Camden Chat

Tuesday afternoon Orioles spring training game thread: at Blue Jays, 1:07

Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/ The Orioles are on TV and it’s 8/9 of a fun starting lineup After most of a spring training schedule where Orioles fans could hardly ever watch their favorite baseball team on the Orioles-owned television network, we are heading into a stretch, starting today, of three games in a row that will be broadcast. How fun! The first of these is here this afternoon as the team travels to play in the Blue Jays spring home of Dunedin. It still won’t feel like a regular season game, of course, since the broadcasters will be back in Baltimore...

MASN: School of Roch

Orioles pregame notes on Zimmermann, Stowers, Bradish and more

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Bruce Zimmermann will head to minor league spring training and jump into Triple-A Norfolk’s rotation.The Orioles optioned Zimmermann this morning after he allowed three earned runs and 12 hits in 7 2/3 innings. His 3.52 ERA was paired with a 1.957 WHIP.“We need rotation depth and so he’s going to be in the Norfolk rotation to start the year,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “It’s going to take more than five guys. He threw the ball well this spring, but we’re going to start the year with him in Triple-A and continue to build him up as a starter.”Prospects Cade...

MASN: Steve Melewski

Decisions, decisions: O's final roster cutdown is challenging to say the least

We hear big league managers and front office types say something similar early each spring training. They hope there are a lot of tough decisions to make at the end of their camp. They hope a lot of players play well.It doesn’t always happen. It probably doesn’t often happen.For the Orioles, this year, it did happen.Kyle Stowers is batting .297 with an OPS of 1.181 and seven spring homers. Colton Cowser is batting .364/1.246 with four long balls. Coby Mayo is batting .366/1.068. Even a more veteran player like Errol Robinson has gone 6-for-16 this spring. Tyler Nevin has hit .302 and...

MASN: School of Roch

Because You Asked - The Last Wish

SARASOTA, Fla. – Two off-days in one spring training? This must be how the other half lives.I’d ask why the Orioles usually don’t get multiple breaks in their schedule, but I’m here to supply answers. That’s supposed to be my contribution to the mailbag.You remember the mailbag, of course. Sequel after sequel to the beloved 2008 original. Informative, mildly entertaining, never edited except for your crude profanities.I’m not worried about length. It’s the freakin’ internet.Your style is fine with me, though I’d lengthen those shorts.

Camden Chat

Sunday Bird Droppings: The Orioles have one more week of games to inform their decisions

Coby Mayo isn’t going to make it easy for the Orioles to decide to send him down. | Photo by Josh Tijong/MLB Photos via A week from today, spring training will reach the end and the Orioles will have to figure out who’s making the team Hello, friends. There are now just 11 days to go until Orioles Opening Day. For current Orioles, that’s Jordan Westburg days to go until the first game that counts. In older times, that’s a number that also belonged to Doug DeCinces, Luis Aparicio, and Gus Triandos. In spring training yesterday, the Orioles ended up with a...

Baltimore Sun

Orioles roster battles: Spots up for grabs entering final week of spring training

With about one week remaining in spring training, here is a reevaluation of the Orioles’ roster battles and the candidates.

Camden Chat

Friday Bird Droppings: An Orioles prospect-palooza was on display

Orioles fans got one of their first looks at Samuel Basallo in last night’s Spring Breakout. | Photo by Josh Tijong/MLB Photos via Many of the Birds’ top young talents took the field together — probably not for the last time — in yesterday’s Spring Breakout game. Good morning, Camden Chatters. We’re now just 13 days from Opening Day, and yesterday brought a ton of spring training action for the Orioles. In their Grapefruit League contest, they won again, taking a 5-2 decision over the Pirates to improve their record to 16-4 (plus one tie). Once again it was...

Camden Chat

What explains the Orioles’ early power surge?

Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports A team that didn’t do much mashing last season is the MLB leader in homers thus far in spring training. I deeply loved Orioles baseball in the 2010s, but I have to admit, it was definitely a “three true outcomes” kind of era. With Oriole Park’s hitter-friendly dimensions, there was little semblance of a starting rotation; the lineup was full of people like Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, Mark Reynolds and Nelson Cruz who launched bombs and struck out a lot; and—more and more after Nick Markakis left— the team appeared quite...

Pinstripe Alley

Keep an eye out for these three Yankees Spring Breakout prospects

Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Underneath the big names lie some intriguing stories. This winter, MLB announced a brand new event for spring training, designed to help connect fans with the rising stars of the game, the Spring Breakout. Across four days, all 30 teams will assemble an all-prospect roster and compete against one another. The event kicks off on March 14th with a juicy matchup between the Pirates and Orioles. The Yankees follow suit a few days later, hosting the Blue Jays on March 16th. While the roster features big names such as Spencer Jones, George...

Camden Chat

Orioles 2024 preseason projections: Gunnar Henderson

PhotoPhoto by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via He won Rookie of the Year by a mile and established himself as a franchise cornerstone. Can Gunnar Henderson continue to improve in 2024? You know there’s a lot of preseason buzz around your team when your most valuable player from the year before gets only a supporting nod in spring training storylines. It’s true: over the course of one year, the 23-year-old Gunnar Henderson shed the “MLB Top Prospect” label and moved firmly into “Face of the Franchise” territory, just like Adley Rutschman before him. Now we...

Camden Chat

The 2024 Orioles could be the most athletic O’s we’ve ever seen

Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports The promotion of Jackson Holliday, a new role fro Jorge Mateo and the jettisoning of some veterans should lead to big bump on defense and the basepaths We collectively as members of Birdland placed a lot of emphasis this offseason on the upgrades to the pitching (or at times, lack thereof). Throughout spring training, we’ve all marveled at the impressive showing of rising stars like Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo and Heston Kjerstad. Watching those four combine for a .330 average and .613 slugging percentage this spring...

Over the Monster

OTM Open Thread 3/12: It is Tuesday

Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/ Silver lining? Happy Tuesday. After their disappointing 2023 the New York Yankees made one of the biggest acquisition of the winter by acquiring Juan Soto. But now Gerrit Cole is getting an MRI and Aaron Judge is “beat up” after a few Spring Training games. Sure, Soto is a star. And of course Alex Verdugo is no slouch himself. But Cole and Judge are essential to the Yankees. The Baltimore Orioles lost a pitcher which is merely offset by adding Corbin Burnes. Wander Franco is probably done in MLB. Vlad Jr. has only been a...

Camden Chat

Orioles spring training game thread: at Yankees, 1:05

Will we actually see Julio Teheran in an Orioles uniform in the regular season? | Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports This one will actually be on MASN. Hooray! It’s been more than a week since the last time that MASN bothered to televise an Orioles spring training game. After today, it will be more than a week before they get around to doing so again. These are treats to be enjoyed where they can, even as it remains disappointing that MASN has also not bothered to send the broadcasters to Florida and they will be calling the game from Camden Yards instead. Not in...

Camden Chat

Monday Bird Droppings: Only two more weeks of spring training

Opening Day starter Corbin Burnes, reporting for duty. | Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via More than halfway through their Grapefruit League schedule, the Orioles have lost just twice and their prospects have put on a show. Good morning, Camden Chatters. Two weeks from today, the Orioles will be finished with spring training, breaking camp in Sarasota and heading to Baltimore for their March 28 regular season opener against the Angels. Maybe it’s just me, but this spring training feels like it’s flying by. Most years, I get bored with the endless exhibition...

MASN: School of Roch

Teheran gives up first runs, Baumann maintains his roll, latest Holliday update and more (O's lose 5-3)

TAMPA, Fla. – While the Orioles continue to evaluate Julio Teheran as a possible rotation or bullpen piece, they’re about to find out how he handles spring training adversity.It finally arrived today.Teheran hadn’t allowed a run or hit in his first two appearances over three innings, but the Yankees scored four runs in the bottom of the first while working him for 27 pitches, and he was done after 2 1/3.The pitch clock violation before his first offering to leadoff hitter DJ LeMahieu was a bad omen.LeMahieu struck out on a slider, but Alex Verdugo singled, Anthony Rizzo walked,...

MASN: School of Roch

Orioles and Blue Jays lineups in split-squad games

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles didn’t put infielder Errol Robinson on their list of spring training invites. However, he’s got a locker in the main clubhouse at the Ed Smith Stadium complex and said he officially joined the group about a week ago.Robinson, a native of Boyds, Md., is 5-for-11 with six walks. He signed a minor league deal in January.Adding Robinson would increase the camp roster to 58 players.Adley Rutschman is leading off today and serving as designated hitter for the split-squad game against the Blue Jays in Sarasota.Ryan O’Hearn is in right field and Colton Cowser is...

Alex Cora Reacts To Manny Machado Signing With The Padres

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora reacts to former Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado signing with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday from Spring Training at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, FL. For more: https://nesn.com/mlb/

30 Clubs in 30 Days: Buck Showalter On Key Offseason Moves

On 30 Clubs in 30 Days, Buck Showalter joins Fran and Dan to discuss his eighth year with the Orioles, the teams strong suits and the key offseason signings to help move the team deeper in the playoffs . Follow the MLB Network through Spring Training to