Orioles first-day spring training notes on Kjerstad, Mateo, Wells, Rogers and more

SARASOTA, Fla. – Heston Kjerstad arrived early at Orioles spring training, well ahead of the report date for position players. He’s fighting for a roster spot in a crowded outfield, and if he doesn’t make the club, it won’t be for lack of an opportunity.

Kjerstad had his 2024 season ruined by a concussion, a Clay Holmes 96.8 mph sinker to the helmet on July 13 causing benches and bullpens to empty. He was limited to 39 games, with momentum destroyed from a .314/.417/.529 first half. He went 9-for-48 after the break.

Spring training stats are important in some cases, but they apparently won’t apply to Kjerstad.

“I don’t know that he needs to tear the cover off the ball in the Grapefruit League,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said earlier today. “We’ve seen him do that already. He’s played pretty well in a limited opportunity at the major league level. He’s played really well in the minors, and he’s going on 26 and this is a big opportunity for him.

“I think he’s kind of earned the right to get a lot of at-bats in the corner outfield and in the DH spot, specifically against right-handed pitching. But long term, this guy when we took him, one of the best hitters in college baseball and he can hit left-handed pitching. But the big leagues are tough and that’s why we’re putting together a team that has some right-handed options, as well.”

Manager Brandon Hyde added that Kjerstad will get “a ton of at-bats here in spring.”

“He’s put up huge Triple-A numbers, and there’s opportunity now,” Hyde said. “There’s a little bit more opportunity than in the past. We’ll give him every opportunity.”

The outfield could feature some platooning, and especially in center with Ramón Laureano able to sub for Cedric Mullins against left-handed pitching. Kjerstad could get some starts replacing Tyler O’Neill in right.

“I think that’s up to Brandon,” Elias said, “but his skill set is a right-handed hitter with a glove that can play center field, and an arm that can provide some impact from the outfield. Certainly if that’s what is on the docket, a platoon or spelling a left-handed center field, that’s definitely part of the plan.”

Said Hyde: “We’ve got five guys, three lefties and two righties that for me all need at-bats, so we’re gonna kind of see how it goes at this point. I’m not setting in stone any sort of platoon, who’s going to platoon with who or whatever it may be. Just like the pitching, I want to get five guys who are healthy at the end of camp and then we’ll kind of go from there matchup wise or whatever it may be.

“O’Neill and Laureano have had good careers and can do some special things. Laureano defensively, I’ve seen a lot. I’ve seen O’Neill offensively and the power he has with Boston last year. So I think we have some movable pieces and we’ll see how it shakes out.”

Hyde is entering his seventh season as manager and believes that he’s working with his deepest roster.

“I (also) think it’s the most experienced,” he said. “Even our young guys … Gunnar’s (23) and three years in. I think this is Charlie (Morton’s) 17^th major league camp. There’s way more experience in that room.”

Hyde added that “the big-time hope” is for tough decisions and conversations to happen at the end of camp.

“That’s never a fun day,” he said, “but that means you’re deep.”

* Jorge Mateo said the brace on his surgically repaired left elbow was removed about three months ago. The club expects him to eventually land on the injured list, but he isn’t conceding anything.

“Feeling really good,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones.

“That’s still a goal of mine, to try to be ready for the start of the season.”

Mateo is taking one-handed swings as part of his progression. His other adjustment in camp is being without friend Anthony Santander, who signed a five-year deal with the Blue Jays. How much will Mateo miss him?

“A lot, a lot,” he said with a grin, “because I would always beat him playing chess.”

Hyde endorsed the cautious approach with Mateo, choosing to look further down the road and eliminate risks.

“We want Mateo to be ready when he’s ready and not try to push anything, but he’s making great progress,” Hyde said. “He’s following the progression well and he might miss a little bit of time, but we want him to be fully healthy when he comes back.”

* Tyler Wells, rehabbing from reconstructive elbow surgery, is playing catch on flat ground and said everything is good.

“We’re just kind of taking it a day at a time,” he said. “That’s kind of how these rehabs go and offseason is treating me really well and feeling really good right now, and it’s just good to be back.”

Wells doesn’t know when he’ll be ready to pitch. The Orioles are hoping for a post-break return.

“It’s a day-to-day process for me right now,” he said. “I don’t have any timeline or anything like that. I’m just trying to focus on what I can take care of in my day-to-day stuff and make sure I’m recovering well, that I’m working out, eating right, things like that.”

The Tommy John surgery in the minors in 2019 wasn’t duplicated last year. Wells underwent a procedure that involved an internal brace and is supposed to accelerate his recovery. But the other difference is that Wells is married now with a baby due next month.

“You’ve got a family to worry about, you get to go home to your wife and dog,” he said. “You don’t carry baseball around with you all the time. You have other things you can focus on away from the field.”  

Kyle Bradish also is playing catch. He didn’t speak to the media today but will be available at some point.

* Elias indicated that he’ll keep checking on possible upgrades for the roster but is content with its present construction.

A championship-caliber unit?

“Yeah, I think we’ve put ourselves in a really good position to continue to play toward the top of our division,” he said. “Obviously, the competition’s really stiff and Major League Baseball, we all know what the landscape looks like, but we’re really excited about where the team’s at, where the organization’s at, where the franchise is at, and I think we’re going to have a great season.”

* Hyde estimated that eight or nine pitchers will be stretched out in camp to stay in the starter competition.

The rotation appears set with Morton, Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and Tomoyuki Sugano, but there’s never enough pitching. Trevor Rogers is restricted to playing catch after dislocating his right kneecap in January, but Albert Suárez, Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott are going to be on a starter’s schedule.

“I just want our guys to stay healthy in camp and then we’ll kind of see how things are at the end,” Hyde said. “That’s my main concern right now, the main focus is to get these guys ready to start the season. Everything goes well these next six weeks and then we’ll see where our rotation is at that point.”

* Rogers said he suffered the subluxation in his knee last month while throwing on a turf field, a flukish injury that ruins his bid for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

“Landed wrong and unfortunately it dislocated, but thankfully it wasn’t a complete dislocation, just dislocated for a brief second and went back into place, so it could have been a lot worse,” he said.

“When I try to lock it out, that’s the only time where it bugs me, but I’m walking around normally. Probably the biggest thing is I’m playing catch every day, so whenever I get back to 100 percent I should be able to ramp up pretty quickly.

The Orioles don’t have a definitive timetable for Rogers to get back on a mound and to face hitters. It’s going to be at least a couple of weeks. He isn’t cleared to participate in fielding drills.

“I’m able to do some conditioning on the bike, that type of thing,” he said, “but that’s pretty much it right now.”

Rogers was working hard to improve on his output with the Orioles following the deadline trade with Miami. He felt like he could make a serious run at a job and avoid going back to Triple-A.

“It was definitely not the way that I would want me spring to go based on how my season ended up,” he said. “Definitely not the start I’d want, but got to be where my feet are. This is the hand that I’ve been dealt, and got to make the best of it.

“I was really liking where my mechanics were, where my stuff was. I hit 93 (mph) in the bullpen, which was huge for me based on everything that happened last year. So I was really liking where I was going, and honestly I still like where I’m headed. Just another bump in the road. And to be honest, I’d rather it happen right now in spring training than the middle of the year.”

* Jackson Holliday put on more muscle over the winter. His arms are noticeably bigger. His back is ripped.

The youthful face hasn’t changed, but the kid is jacked.

“He still looks real young, but physically his strength is impressive, how he can drive the baseball,” Hyde said. “He’s in great shape right now.”

* First baseman Ryan Mountcastle also reported early among position players. He walked into the clubhouse today soaked in sweat from the workout.

* Uniform numbers from some of the newcomers:

Tomoyuki Sugano – 19
Gary Sánchez – 99
Andrew Kittredge – 39
Charlie Morton – 50
Tyler O’Neill – 9
Dylan Carlson - 15
Ramón Laureano – 12

* Daz Cameron cleared waivers and is a camp invitee.