MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
Pitchers and catchers reported yesterday, with workouts starting today and full workouts beginning early next week; and while that doesn’t make it baseball season, baseball has returned even though spring training, particularly if you aren’t attending, is the longest Christmas Eve in the world.
Then again, Christmas Eve is pretty great, too.
William Zinsser said, “The sound of the bat is the music of spring training,” which doesn’t mean this is the end of winter, but at least you can see it from here.
This winter’s been a long one for Orioles fans, who are compelled to believe they are long-suffering, when they have actually been fans of one of the best teams in the American League for the past three seasons, with ‘dem O’s, hon having won 275 games with an American League East title and two consecutive postseason berths to show for it.
Ah, but the postseason … Hasn’t gone too well, has it? While it’s great to make the postseason, it’s not so great to be bumped in consecutive postseasons without a single win, right?
Much has changed since Baltimore was swept in two games by Kansas City last October in the Wild Card Series. No longer on the roster are starter Corbin Burnes, who signed with Arizona, right fielder Anthony Santander (Toronto), catcher James McCann (still available), left-hander Danny Coulombe (Minnesota) and right-hander Jacob Webb (Texas).
Burnes, of course, is a No, 1 starter, which the Orioles (as of now) no longer have; and while Burnes was the goods for the Orioles last season after the February 1 trade with the Brewers, it came as no surprise that he chose to relocate closer to his home and his family.
Santander, 30, who spent eight seasons with the Orioles, was the tough one to see leave as he has been one of the most productive and popular Orioles, but it was clear he was not going to receive a five-year deal in Baltimore, as he did with the lonely Blue Jays. And frankly, it’s seems as though the Orioles were willing to go in another direction anyway
Good for Santander. He earned it, and he’ll have plenty of chances in the next five years to show the Orioles and general manager Mike Elias they made a mistake, beginning on Opening Day.
In the meantime, the Orioles added outfielder Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Carlson, Daz Cameron and Ramón Laureano, catcher Gary Sánchez, right-handed starters Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano and righty reliever Andrew Kittredge.
They wanted more right-handed bats during the offseason so they brought in the left-field wall and O’Neill, Laureano, Cameron and the switch-hitting Carlson.
As things stand now, the rotation will be Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, Morton, Dean Kremer and Sugano, all righthanders, with Albert Suarez, lefty Cade Povich, lefty Trevor Rogers and Chayce McDermott competing for a spot. Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells remain on the injured list recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Speaking of which, the bullpen should be a strength once more with the measured return of elite closer Felix Bautista and with the addition of Kittredge.
If Baltimore is still in the market for a frontline starter, another trade appears more likely, as Padres right-hander Dylan Cease and Mariners righty Luis Castillo are said to be available.
Of course, the Orioles would have to part with more prospects and potentially even big league-caliber players for either to happen, which is something they might not want to do, particularly in the case of Cease, who will be a free agent after the season. Castillo, on the other hand, has two years of club control remaining, which would make him even more costly.
None of which meets approval with Orioles fans on social media (but then, what does?), who see Burnes and Santander leave, yet see no No. 1 starter or 44 more home runs replace them. Instead they see O’Neill and his injury history, a 41-year-old Morton and Sugano, who is 35 and has never thrown a pitch outside of Japan, come to town instead.
Still, Orioles fans are under the false impression that the new ownership group led by David Rubenstein is operating on the cheap the same way the Angelos ownership did, when, in fact, Orioles payroll has increased by 56% this year, which is the highest increase in all of baseball.
So while it is unfair to claim the Orioles have not spent enough money, it is fair to question what they have spent the money on, which is the question to ask Elias, the man who has been assigned to buy the groceries.
Personally, I like the depth of both the rotation and the bullpen, as well as the versatility of the offense. This season has the feeling of being a transition year, actually, which is not to say the Orioles are not trying to win, but are, perhaps, eager to give heralded youngsters such as Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad and Coby Mayo (and more behind them) legitimate opportunities to grow into their shoes to help the team win, and to buy time for the return of Bradish, who has shown many makings of becoming the No. 1 starter the Orioles no longer have.
We now have spring training to start sorting it all out, Or at least Mike Elias does.
Enjoy, babies! The game is afoot.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT