Some scenes from today's Orioles workout

SARASOTA, Fla. – Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and Dean Kremer will be leaving Orioles camp in a few weeks to get ready for the World Baseball Classic. They got together this morning on the Camden Yards replica field and played their own game.

Kremer threw live batting practice to Mullins and Santander, providing one of the most interesting scenes from the first three days of spring training workouts.

You can only watch so many bullpen sessions.

Mullins drove Kremer’s final pitch over the right field fence and the batting cage beyond it. Some observers gasped and hollered, but Mullins downplayed his achievement, saying Kremer told him what was coming.

An impressive blast, nonetheless.

Left-hander Drew Rom also faced Mullins and Santander, who are ramping up earlier than usual before playing for Team USA and Venezuela, respectively. Kremer is on Team Israel’s roster.

Manager Brandon Hyde said they might leave Sarasota on different dates.

“I was talking to Cedric and he wasn’t sure when he was flying out yet,” Hyde said. “I know Dean’s (getting) ready to pitch whenever that first game is. He wants to be ready for that.

“They’re going to be on a little bit different schedule than everybody else.”

The high-intensity innings that Kremer accumulates in the WBC will be followed by many more after the regular season gets underway. They must be blended without risk of injury.

“You hope he has a great experience and pitches well there, and you hope that everything goes well and he comes back healthy, but it’s a different schedule for those guys, especially for Dean,” Hyde said.

“I’m happy with the innings load that those guys threw last year. I think that worked out really well for us this year. Him and (Kyle) Bradish trained together in Arizona, they kept themselves in great shape. Both of their side sessions have been amazing. Just want to keep those guys healthy.”

Chris Vallimont and Cade Povich threw batting practice to Adley Rutschman and Jorge Mateo on a back field. Povich, a 22-year-old left-hander acquired from the Twins in the Jorge López deadline trade, showed off an impressive fastball, and he got Rutschman to swing through a breaking ball.

Rutschman took the last pitch thrown to him – he did that a lot during his sessions – and shook hands with Povich, who’s ranked 54^th on ESPN’s top 100 prospects list.  

Kyle Gibson, Cole Irvin and Austin Voth were in the first bullpen group this morning. Rutschman caught Irvin, saying earlier that it would give him a chance to get acquainted with the left-hander.

Hyde stood with Gibson and catchers James McCann and Anthony Bemboom, going over some of the new rules.

Jackson Holliday, the first overall selection in last year’s draft, shagged fly balls during batting practice.

Hyde didn’t report any new injuries.

“I think we’re in pretty good shape,” he said. “We’ve had nothing to keep guys out of work, so we’re all good.”

The Orioles didn’t schedule any intrasquad games. Hyde said the pitchers won’t be ready before the first exhibition game on Feb. 25. Live batting practices will serve as a substitute.

Hyde liked what he saw from Rule 5 reliever Andrew Politi during yesterday’s side session.

“The reports are, and the video, he’s got really good stuff,” Hyde said. “We’re deeper this year in the bullpen and we’re going to give him an opportunity. He’s going to pitch in some game action, especially early, to give him an opportunity to stick around and be on the club. We like his stuff a lot and hopefully he does well.”

Dillon Tate’s forearm strain that’s sending him to the injured list could open a door for Politi.

“We Rule 5’d him because we like the talent. Now, let’s see if he fits on our roster,” Hyde said.

“We’re deeper than we’ve been in the past and that’s a great thing. But we do feel like he has major league stuff.”

Politi registered a 2.34 ERA and 0.966 WHIP in 50 games, 48 in relief, between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester in the Red Sox system. He isn’t handicapping his chances of heading north with the Orioles.

“Not really thinking about it too much,” he said. “I’m just going out there and competing, doing what I do usually.”

What can he do for the Orioles?

“I think I bring a good mix of pitches that would work in today’s game, and I think I throw a lot of off-speed pitches for strikes,” he said. “I have a good arsenal that will work against a really strong lineup, and I think it will help a lot.”

This is Politi’s second major league camp. The Red Sox didn’t include him on their 2022 roster.

“It’s been awesome, I love it here,” he said. “It’s great people, great teammates, and just a good environment here.”

Politi assumed that he’d get drafted in the Rule 5. He just didn’t know by which organization.

“I had a good amount of teams that were pretty interested going into it, but the interest can’t always follow through,” he said. “Not many guys get taken in this. I knew there was a chance, I knew my name was being thrown around there. I’m just glad it happened.

“I didn’t really have a specific team in mind that I was eager to get to. (This) actually wasn’t one of the teams that I expected. There were a few other teams that I kind of thought would pick me before that, but this is a great fit and it’s a great place to be.”

You can check out my story from December to learn more about Politi.