Pitchers and catchers report this week, which means spring training has officially arrived.
For the Baltimore Orioles, that annual reset brings clarity in some areas and uncertainty in others. As camp opens in Sarasota, five questions loom large—questions that will shape not only the roster that breaks camp on March 26, but the direction of the 2025 season itself.
Let’s dive in.
What does the pitching picture look like?
At first glance, parts of the pitching staff appear settled. Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers and Shane Baz are firmly entrenched in the starting rotation. The bullpen, meanwhile, looks close to finalized, with Ryan Helsley, Andrew Kittredge, Keegan Akin, Dietrich Enns and Yennier Cano all widely viewed as locks.
That leaves five openings among the remaining healthy pitchers on the 40-man roster. Two of those spots will go to starters; the other three will land in the bullpen.
The competition for the rotation is particularly crowded. Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells, Cade Povich, Brandon Young and Chayce McDermott are all vying for two starting roles, with the likelihood that the odd men out transition into long-relief or swingman duties. Behind them, pitchers such as Rico Garcia, Colin Selby, Grant Wolfram and Yaramil Hiraldo are battling for middle-relief jobs.
The takeaway is simple: little is guaranteed. With a deep and increasingly talented pitching group, nearly every arm on the 40-man roster will need to perform to secure a place when camp breaks.
Is the front office finished with free agency?
This may be the most consequential question of the spring.
The Orioles have already been active, signing the likes of Pete Alonso, Leody Taveras and Ryan Helsley, while re-signing Zach Eflin. Those moves added power to the lineup and stability to the bullpen. Yet the organization’s most glaring concern—starting pitching—remains unresolved.
Spring training competitions can settle some of that uncertainty, but the equation changes if the front office adds another arm. Several pitchers remain available who would likely command an immediate spot in the rotation, including Zac Gallen, Chris Bassitt, Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell and Aaron Civale. There is also the possibility of pursuing proven older arms, such as Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer.
Baltimore has already missed out on Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez in recent weeks, and there is a very real chance the roster as currently constructed is the one the Orioles will ride into Opening Day. Whether that proves sufficient is a question only the season can answer.
Who becomes the next utility mainstay?
The Orioles have quietly built a tradition of extracting real value from versatile players. Jeremiah Jackson filled that role in 2025, Emmanuel Rivera did so in 2024, and Ramón Urías arguably set the standard in 2023.
The 2026 version of that player may come down to a two-man race. Last week’s trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks—sending Kade Strowd, Wellington Aracena and José Mejia to Arizona in exchange for Blaze Alexander—set the stage for a competition between Alexander and Jackson.
On performance alone, Jackson has the edge. He hit .276 with a .775 OPS across 48 games last season, while Alexander struggled to a .230 average and a .706 OPS over 74 games.
Roster mechanics, however, complicate the picture. Alexander is out of minor-league options. If the Orioles attempt to send him down, he would need to clear waivers, potentially rendering the trade moot. That reality could tip the scales, even if Jackson’s recent production makes a compelling case.
Either way, it is a battle worth watching this spring.
How does the outfield shake out?
There are seven outfielders on the Orioles’ 40-man roster. Six have major-league experience; the seventh, Reed Trimble, was added to protect him from Rule 5 Draft eligibility.
That group—Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Tyler O’Neill, Leody Taveras and Taylor Ward—is competing for three starting jobs, and not all competitions are created equal.
Ward, acquired in the trade that sent Grayson Rodriguez out of Baltimore, is expected to start in left field. O’Neill, who carries a $16.5 million salary, is similarly difficult to envision on the bench. That leaves four players fighting for one remaining spot, most likely in center field, an alignment that favors Cowser.
The decisions here will ripple beyond the lineup card, influencing defensive flexibility, bench composition and future roster moves.
Who claims the final bench spot?
A standard 26-man roster includes 13 pitchers and 13 position players: nine starters and four bench spots. Three of those bench roles are already spoken for. One will go to the Ryan Mountcastle/Coby Mayo pairing behind Alonso at first base. Another will be filled by either Jackson or Alexander. A third will belong to the fourth outfielder from the crowded group above.
That leaves one opening.
Do the Orioles carry the leftover of Mountcastle or Mayo, prioritizing platoon power but limiting positional flexibility? Do they keep both Jackson and Alexander, leaning into versatility with Jackson’s ability to handle some outfield duties? Do they opt for a defense-first outfielder like Taveras? Or do they think differently altogether, carrying a third catcher such as Maverick Handley or Sam Huff to create lineup flexibility with Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo?
There are no easy answers. What is clear is that spring training will be more than a tune-up for the Orioles. It will be a proving ground, one that determines how this roster takes shape and how prepared it truly is when the games start to matter.
However the Orioles choose to answer these questions, the coming weeks in Sarasota will be about more than box scores and radar-gun readings. This spring will test the organization’s depth, creativity and willingness to make difficult decisions, from the back of the rotation to the final spot on the bench.
With expectations rising and little margin for error in a competitive American League, the roster that emerges on March 26 will reflect not just who performed best in camp but how the Orioles envision contending in 2026 and beyond.
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