Kjerstad could make 2025 lineup debut this weekend

TORONTO – Only two games into the season and some Orioles fans are wondering why Heston Kjerstad isn’t in the lineup.

Why wait until Day 3? Do it now and avoid the rush.

Kjerstad entered Thursday’s game in the eighth inning and threw out Alejandro Kirk from right field. Asked about it afterward, manager Brandon Hyde said, “Heston and (Jorge) Mateo, quick tag, keep the tag on.”

“I gave Heston a little bit of a heads up, but not much,” Hyde added, “and goes in the game and makes a really nice play.”

Heston didn’t play last night in an 8-2 loss. No one pinch-hit, pinch-ran or entered for defense. Kjerstad sat on the bench and watched the Orioles be held to three hits.

They have two more games against Blue Jays right-handers Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt. That’s two opportunities for Kjerstad to start in right or as the designated hitter. But consistent at-bats will be tough to find because of the roster's construction.

Tyler O’Neill extended his Opening Day home run streak to six in a row and he wasn’t sitting last night. Ryan O’Hearn was the DH and cleanup hitter again after singling Thursday, lining hard into a double play and being robbed on George Springer’s diving catch in center. He’s usually the DH or first baseman against right-handers, and he singled last night in the fourth inning after Alan Roden’s diving grab in left denied him in the second. Colton Cowser played left field and led off again, and he’s an everyday player.

Gary Sánchez is going to catch this weekend, maybe today following a night game, which probably leaves Adley Rutschman with DH duties.

Hyde mentioned his potential plans for Sánchez yesterday, then added, “And possibly Kjerstad here in the next day or two.”

There you go.

Kjerstad is an extra outfielder, and that job brings a certain level of inactivity. The word “extra” pretty much gives it away.

The same goes for Ramón Laureano, but he backs up in center and at both corners and he can spell Cedric Mullins as a right-handed bat. Laureano might not start until the Orioles face a left-hander, which happens in the Red Sox series next week at Camden Yards.

If it’s any consolation, Kjerstad should beat him to the lineup. And the second-overall pick in the 2020 draft isn’t going to sit for long stretches. The outfield, DH and pinch-hitting opportunities will keep him from disappearing. It just doesn’t guarantee a start within a season’s first two games.

“This is a big opportunity for him,” Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said last month in Sarasota “I think he’s earned the right to get a lot of the at-bats in the corner outfield and in the DH spot, specifically against right-handed pitching.”

On deck is the issue of making room for Gunnar Henderson when he’s reinstated from the 10-day injured list. He played shortstop and led off last night with Triple-A Norfolk, and he can rejoin the Orioles on April 3.

That’s plenty of time to accumulate the necessary at-bats and convince the team that he’s ready.

Mateo and Ramón Urías are out of options, and the Orioles like Urías at third base. Of course, they love Mateo’s speed and energy. They’re paying Laureano $4 million and want him as a right-handed backup in the outfield.

Kjerstad has nothing to prove in Triple-A, and optioning him would go against everything we heard in camp.

First things first. Get him in the lineup this weekend.