Bemboom braced for competition and Rutschman's arrival

Anthony Bemboom can read the room. Any catcher who has an agent negotiating with the Orioles doesn't go into it blindly.

An organization that advertises itself as a land of opportunity has its limits. For the Orioles, it's offering competition in camp for a group of catchers, with the understanding that someone eventually must step aside.

Bemboom hasn't met Adley Rutschman or watched him play, but he knows what's coming. He signed a minor league deal last week, following Jacob Nottingham, and will bring the proper mindset along with his equipment bag.

"I've heard good things and I've heard that obviously he's very talented and I'm excited to work with him," said Bemboom, who appeared in 51 games with the Angels over the past three seasons, including eight in 2021.

"What I looked at was any way that I can help other catchers. I've found that working with catchers, like Max Stassi with the Angels, it's always been really productive for us to lean on each other and bounce things off each other and be each other's support system there, because there's always things during the game, whether it's game-calling or scouting report-related, things where you can lean on the guy who isn't playing to help you out through the process of the game and leading up to the game and things like that. I think that's something that I'm definitely willing and looking forward to doing in any capacity.

"In terms of playing time, I've kind of been in that situation before of being that backup guy at the big league level, so it's not something that's foreign to me. But I'm going to go in with the mentality that anytime I get an opportunity to play, I'm going to put my best foot forward and try to be that guy to help win games."

The impact comes mainly behind the plate, where Bemboom, a 22nd-round pick of the Angels in 2012 who turns 32 in January, has thrown out 40 percent of runners attempting to steal in the majors and 35 percent in the minors. There's also the experience gained while moving through four organizations since leaving Creighton University.

"Just being able to work with a lot of different personalities, a lot of different pitchers, a lot of different position players, and just doing whatever I can to help bridge any sort of gap or lean on my experience to help pitchers in any way. And also to learn from them," Bemboom said.

"It's always exciting going to a new organization and meeting a lot of new guys and getting to work with new pitchers. It's also just a learning process everywhere you go, from what I've found."

The Orioles reached out to Bemboom's agent, Joe Speed of Sterling Sports Management, about a week into free agency to gauge his level of interest. The dialogue was consistent, the outcome what both sides desired.

"I just wanted, one, a good opportunity to go to an organization that has a good, strong culture, and I think the Orioles have that and are trying to build on that, from everything I've heard," Bemboom said. "And two, just getting a good opportunity to have an impact at the big league level, and that's big for me. Being able to make that impact and solidify myself there. Those were the two biggest points for me."

The competition won't scare him.

Nottingham and Bemboom aren't the last moves behind the plate. The Orioles don't have a catcher on the 40-man roster, which is frozen during the lockout, and there could be at least one more minor league deal put on the table.

"I trust my abilities, I trust my preparation and hopefully being able to win a job out of spring and put myself in the best situation possible," Bemboom said. "That's really all I can ask for is an opportunity to make an impact at this point."

And also to mentor the No. 1 prospect in baseball.

Somebody has to do it.

"Just learning how to implement a scouting report," said Bemboom, a native of St. Cloud, Minn., who's a career .178/.241/.287 hitter in 144 plate appearances. "A lot of times, you can go in with a game plan and things change on a dime because your gut and what you see is telling you something different, and sometimes you've just got to go with them. The more you get in those situations, especially at that level, the more you can trust your gut and go with what your eyes are telling you within the game.

"Also, being that support system for the pitchers, too, and helping any way you can, whether it's giving a good target or being able to prepare them the best way you can. Every pitcher's different and they like doing things different ways at certain times. That's part of what goes into the daily process of being a big league catcher."

Bemboom, Nottingham and others will try to be one on opening day.

* It's never too early to talk about baseball's draft.

OK, it's pretty early to do it in December, but here we go anyway.

MLBPipeline.com posted its first mock draft with the top 10 picks. The Orioles own the first again, as they did in 2019 when they selected Rutschman.

Jim Callis has the Orioles choosing second baseman/shortstop Termarr Johnson from Mays High School in Atlanta. "Considered the best pure high school hitter in decades," Callis writes, with a scout comparing Johnson to Wade Boggs for plate discipline and Vladimir Guerrero Sr. for bat-to-ball skills.

The Orioles aren't easy to predict when it comes to drafting, especially with their underslot strategy and tendency to avoid "need picks" as opposed to going with the best player, in their eyes and on their board.

A second baseman/shortstop wouldn't seem to be a high priority with the influx of middle infield prospects, so many shortstops who could slide over to complete the double play pairing. But the athleticism of these players opens more options.

Also, Johnson is a high school player, and a special one, who won't be ready for a while. They can figure it out later. The importance lies in pumping talent into the system.

Here's a scouting report from PerfectGame.org:

"Compact strong athletic build. Left-handed hitter, creates easy plus bat speed, attacks balls in the zone but sees the ball extremely well and will not expand, has incredible raw power for his size, hit a violent line drive game home run off a 93 mph fastball, perhaps the top all around hitter in the 2022 class. 6.65 runner in the sixty. Has very quick feet on defense, works low to the ground behind balls, has a chance to stay at shortstop but if not will be a highest level defensive second baseman. Plays with a big personality and leadership skills on and off the field. Excellent student. Named to play in the Perfect Game All-American Classic."

There doesn't appear to be a pitcher right now with 1/1 credentials and the Orioles haven't made arms a priority early in the draft under executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias. It's position players, with college outfielders following Rutschman as the club's first picks the past two drafts.

You'll likely see different players attached to the Orioles at No. 1 as the draft date nears. Callis has prep outfielder Druw Jones, son of former Gold Glove center fielder Andruw Jones, going to the Diamondbacks at No. 2, LSU third baseman Jacob Berry to the Rangers at No. 3, Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee going to the Pirates at No. 4, and IMG Academy outfielder Elijah Green, son of former NFL tight end Eric Green, at No. 5.

Callis told MASNsports.com that he expects the draft order to remain unchanged in 2022 under a new collective bargaining agreement.

* On this date in 2013, the Orioles signed outfielder Xavier Paul to a minor league contract, my second-favorite Xavier after Avery. A year earlier on this date, they signed right-hander Zech Zinicola to a minor league deal. Easily my favorite Zech - and still, to this day.

On this date in 2011, the Orioles signed outfielder Endy Chávez. You guessed it, the best Orioles Endy ever.

Paul played in 349 major league games in six seasons, none with the Orioles. He batted .254/.316/.431 with 12 doubles and 12 home runs in 81 games with Triple-A Norfolk in 2014, the Orioles released him on Aug. 3, the Diamondbacks released him later in the month after he appeared in 14 games and he never made it back to the majors.

Zinicola made 46 relief appearances with Double-A Bowie in 2013, a year after his suspension for a second violation of the minor league drug policy, and posted a 2.92 ERA in 64 2/3 innings. His last year pitching for an affiliated team.

Chávez batted .203/.236/.278 in 64 games in 2012. He was a defensive replacement for right fielder Chris Davis in the wild card game in Texas and appeared in three games in the AL Division Series against the Yankees, going 0-for-1 with a strikeout.

The Orioles lost the ALDS. So much for a happy Endy.