Backing up playoff talk shifts to exhibition games

SARASOTA, Fla. - Another spring training page has turned.

Report dates are behind us. First workouts are in the past tense. Photo day is done. Exhibition games are here, beginning with today’s 1:05 p.m. matchup with the Twins at Ed Smith Stadium.

The first road game is Sunday against the Tigers in Lakeland, a journey that will be repeated Thursday for whatever reason.

The media hasn’t been informed of any new injuries. Dillon Tate’s strained flexor/forearm was revealed on the first day of media access on Feb. 16, and his health has improved significantly. Closer Félix Bautista says his right shoulder and left knee feel good, with no setbacks during his bullpen sessions that resume this morning. DL Hall’s lower back soreness is gone.

The positive vibes remain. This is camp happy, with lots of talk about chemistry, the perfect mix, and the playoffs. Contending into September and falling short again would be a tremendous disappointment. Simply being competitive isn’t good enough in 2023.

“I think there’s a lot of good energy,” said starter Kyle Bradish. “We have a good group of guys that have been here last year and kind of experienced that, that are young, and then we brought in some good veteran players, as well, to kind of cap that off. I think the atmosphere that we have even after the first week is awesome.”

Backsliding would be a back breaker.

“I think all of these guys have playoffs on their mind. I don’t think they have any other expectations besides that,” said left-hander John Means, who could return by July after undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery.

“Obviously, they don’t want to think too far ahead and they’re going to be day to day, and a lot of these guys have really good mentalities in that way, where they just need to take care of what they need to take care of on a daily basis. But I think that anything below what we finished last year is kind of a failure.”

“The talent here is undeniable,” said backup catcher James McCann, who arrived in a trade with the Mets. “It’s been really nice to see these guys go about their business, see how guys get their work in, the effort level. It’s been great so far.”

The playoff talk isn’t done in whispers. Guys are open about it. That’s the goal, the expectation, and it’s on the record.

“The thing is, we have a lot of guys last year and I’m sure the year before, everyone wants to win,” said catcher Adley Rutschman. “I think guys just have a little more confidence going into this year, and I think that’s the exciting part is knowing we can win and we can do it together. We’re excited to show up to the field every day and compete with one another and try to make each other better and get going for the season.”

“It’s completely different,” Means said. “This is the most confident clubhouse I’ve seen since I’ve been here. It just seems like guys are very sure of what they need to do to win ballgames, what they need to do to have success.”

Manager Brandon Hyde wants his players to build on last season, with a reminder that the slate is clean. They haven’t done anything of significance in 2023. But he loves the talent, the most he’s worked with as a manager.

“This organization is completely turning this team around with the guys that are coming up through the minors and the guys that they’ve been drafting,” said pitcher Austin Voth. “They’re doing a great job with development, and the league should be put on notice with what we can accomplish and who we can compete with in our league and everything like that. So, there are some expectations, but at the same time we’re so young and we do have a lot to prove.

“We haven’t been through a postseason before and there are first-year guys going into year two that hopefully they step up and make a big jump. It’s going to be an exciting year.”

The Orioles signed starter Kyle Gibson, infielder Adam Frazier and reliever Mychal Givens and traded for McCann and left-handed starter Cole Irvin. The outfield brings a combined 1,218 games in the majors with Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and Austin Hays. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle has played 289 in the past two years. But the club’s also anticipating full seasons from Rutschman, infielder Gunnar Henderson and outfielder Kyle Stowers, and top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez breaking camp in the rotation.

Hall could be in the rotation, bullpen or Triple-A Norfolk, but he’s likely to make an impact in some capacity. The arm is that special. It’s just about command.

“I think it’s a great mix,” McCann said. “You’ve got the youth, you’ve got some guys like myself that have been around for a few years that can give a veteran presence and help the young guys on the learning curve. Everyone’s got a learning curve, it’s just, when do you get through the part of your career when you get to that part. So, being able to bounce things off veterans and have veterans alongside you, I remember that being a crucial thing for me early in my career.”

Wild card elimination didn’t come last season until the final week. Playing meaningful games in September was important for the returnees.

“It just helps with experience because you get to go through that process of, these are must-win games,” Voth said. “The team kind of comes together a little bit more and you get a little bit closer. You can tell from the energy that we had as a team last year that we had a good club. That was a lot of fun.”

The good times keep rolling this afternoon in sunny Sarasota.

“I definitely think it’s more exciting than in years past,” said reliever Keegan Akin. “We saw what we could do last year. We just fell a little bit short. I think that we’ve said it a lot, there’s a lot of talent in this room. It’s going to take more than 26 or 30 guys to do it, so it’s good to see all the talent coming back.

“These guys that got a little bit of a taste of it last year are maturing coming into camp. It’s definitely exciting, especially being a pitcher down in the bullpen watching it from a little bit of a different perspective. I think there’s excitement and hype, I guess you could say. These guys realize what they’re capable of. It was a little bit of an eye-opener for us last year. It was like, ‘Wow, we can do this.' So, I think we’ve just got to build off that and go.”