BRADENTON, Fla. – Confirming what was already assumed, the Orioles are absolutely not worried in the least that Gunnar Henderson is off to a 2-for-21 batting start this spring. Henderson, considered the favorite to win the American League Rookie of the Year award and the consensus No. 1 prospect in the sport, is batting .095 with nine strikeouts.

“You know I just think he’s honestly pressing a little bit,” manager Brandon Hyde said this morning. “I didn’t see his game yesterday, I was at the other place, but I think he’s got a typical young person’s spring honestly. I just want him to relax and play. He’s such a good player, he’s going to be fine. I think he is just having young guy at-bats right now, he’s trying to get hits and I’m not worried about it all.”

After going 0-for-2 versus Detroit yesterday, Henderson is 0-for-13 his last five spring games.

Henderson told me recently he feels his swing is fine but that he is playing catchup in getting at-bats because he missed some time early in camp with a minor wrist issue. Hyde said his wrist is fine now.

“I didn’t get too many at-bats leading up to the games,” he said. “Pretty much all my live at-bats this spring have been in the games. Just working through that process. Just a progression thing going right now. Just need to see pitches and get as many at-bats as I can. But I feel comfortable in the box right now," said Henderson. 

BRADENTON, Fla. – The Orioles have taken the short ride north for their latest road game, taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Orioles (7-9-2) split two games on Monday, beating Detroit 11-7 at home and losing to Atlanta 6-5 in North Port in a game that was shortened to seven innings by rain.

The Orioles hit eight homers yesterday, six in Sarasota and two in North Port. They have scored 67 runs the past 10 games. 

Orioles closer Félix Bautista will make his long-awaiting spring debut today and is scheduled to pitch the first inning after being held out of games to this point. He has thrown several bullpen sessions and checked all the boxes he needed to get to this point. Now the Orioles hope the final two weeks plus will be enough time for him to be ready for Opening Day and they are confident he will be. It’s a nice step for him today here in Bradenton.

Right-hander Tyler Wells (0-1, 7.71 ERA) is expected to follow Bautista to the mound this afternoon at LECOM Park. Wells has allowed four runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. He last pitched last Thursday in Clearwater against the Phillies allowing one run over 2 2/3 innings. Bruce Zimmermann is also scheduled to pitch for the Orioles.

Terrin Vavra, who is batting .474 (9-for-19) is leading off today and playing second base. Adley Rutschman hits second and will catch. Heston Kjerstad, who hit his third homer Monday against Atlanta, will bat eighth and play in right field and Colton Cowser hits ninth and plays in center.

The Orioles wanted Kyle Gibson to do more than cover innings out of the rotation when they signed him as a free agent. They wanted to improve their chances of winning on the days that he pitched. They wanted his leadership in a clubhouse that lost influential veterans Jordan Lyles, Rougned Odor and Robinson Chirinos.

They sought a character guy, drawn to his makeup as much as his arm.

Gibson was the Phillies’ nominee last year for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, bestowed annually to the player who best represents the sport through community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions on and off the field.

Per Major League Baseball, Gibson raised more than $108,000 for charities during his 1 ½ seasons in Philadelphia. His impact was immediate, his qualifications for the award indisputable.

Within his first week, Gibson invited teammates and fans to join him as he organized a campaign to assist local families and children struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through his #ALLWIN initiative, he made a personal donation for every win and strikeout through the rest of the season, with two local charities the biggest benefactors – “Cradles to Crayons,” which supports low-income and homeless children, and “Philabundance,” which serves those facing food insecurity in the Philadelphia area.

SARASOTA, Fla. – With his pitching every fifth day schedule lining up closely where he could pitch nearly on schedule on Opening Day at Boston, right-hander Kyle Gibson made his third spring start and threw well in the Orioles' 11-7 win over the Tigers this afternoon.

The Orioles split their squad and played twice. The other half of the roster lost 6-5 to Atlanta in North Port in a game called in the top of the seventh due to rain.

Here at Ed Smith Stadium, the Orioles hit six homers, some seemed to be helped by the gusting wind toward left field. They had 15 hits in all and the 11 runs is their most this spring after they had scored 10 runs three times. O’s batters have scored 67 runs the past 10 games.

Gibson allowed some hard contact, including on a solo homer to Akil Baddoo, the second batter of the game. But that was the only run he gave up in four innings. He allowed three hits with no walks and two strikeouts on 46 pitches, 33 for strikes.

He is rounding into form nicely with an ERA of 2.00 in nine spring innings after outings of two, three and four innings. In that time, he has yet to walk a batter with six strikeouts.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said lefty Keegan Akin “has thrown the ball as well as anyone in camp, this whole time.” He likes Akin’s mid-90s velocity, his breaking pitches and said he is having a great camp.

Akin appreciates hearing that, but after a second half in 2022 where his stats fell off, he is trying to get back in attack mode on the mound and find the form he had in the first half last year.

Before the All-Star break, the 27-year-old Akin had an ERA of 2.36, WHIP of 0.881 and OPS against of .580. But in the second half, his ERA jumped to 4.76 with a 1.482 WHIP and .768 OPS against.

This spring he has thrown five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk with five strikeouts. In the fifth and sixth here against Boston on Sunday, he threw two scoreless, retiring six of seven batters.

“Just throwing strikes,” he said this morning in the Baltimore clubhouse of his solid spring to this point. “It is something I could praise myself for the beginning of the year last year. Feel like I got away from that in the second half and paid for it. Trying to get back on track, throw strikes and fill the zone up. It has worked so far.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles will play the first of two scheduled split-squad game days today. Part of their roster will be at Ed Smith Stadium hosting the Tigers and part of the roster heads to North Port to play the Braves.

The Orioles (6-8-2) will also play two games on March 19, facing the Yankees and the Pirates.

Right-hander Kyle Gibson (0-0, 1.80 ERA), a possible O’s Opening Day starter, gets the home start in Sarasota versus the Tigers. Right-hander Spenser Watkins (0-0, 1.80 ERA) starts against the Braves.

O’s home lineup vs. Tigers
Austin Hays CF
Adley Rutschman DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Gunnar Henderson SS
James McCann C
Adam Frazier 2B
Franchy Cordero LF
Nomar Mazara RF
Jordan Westburg 3B

Kyle Gibson RHP

Ryan McKenna is one of those unique guys in baseball who has a defined role without knowing exactly where he’s playing on any given day. Or if he’s playing.

He’s as set as an unsettled player can be, if that makes sense.

The Orioles don’t need McKenna to hit .300 or to be an on-base machine, though they’d gladly take it. They just want him to bring his speed, his tools to handle every outfield position, and his commitment to stay ready for any situation and any point in a game.

The Ferrari parked in the garage. Eagerly waiting to rev the engine.

“Me and Brandon (Hyde) have a pretty good relationship,” he said recently. “He’s been pretty open with what I’ve been doing and saying, ‘Hey, I like what you’re doing, we really like you as a player.’ And it’s been awesome to have that open communication.

SARASOTA, Fla. – In the first few innings today, Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez was getting swings and misses, putting up zeros, hitting the high 90s at times and showing why he is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. But it got away from him a bit in the fourth as Boston scored four runs.

The Orioles ended the day with a win, thanks in large part to Adley Rutschman’s grand slam to left in the last of the fourth. That turned a two-run deficit into a 6-4 Baltimore lead and they won by that score. The Orioles improved to 6-8-2 in front of a sun-splashed crowd of 6,959 at Ed Smith Stadium.

Boston (9-3-3) lost for just the third time in 15 games.

Rodriguez fanned two batters in each of the first three innings. Through three he had faced one batter over the minimum with a shutout on one single allowed. He needed just 26 pitches the first two innings as his fastball touched 97 and 98 mph on the stadium radar gun.

But Boston put the first five batters on against him in the fourth, scoring twice to gain the lead. He left down 2-1 with the bases loaded and no outs. Right-hander Morgan McSweeney inherited the huge jam and two more runs scored on his watch, both charged to Rodriguez.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles announced today the passing of Luis Andrés Ortiz Soriano, a 20-year-old minor league player from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. 

A team statement read: "Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the passing of minor league pitcher Luis Andrés Ortiz Soriano. Luis was an inspiration to all who knew him, especially as he courageously battled cancer. Our hearts go out to his family and friends."

The young man did not have any stats for the 2022 season. In 2021 in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League he went 1-2 with a 5.52 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.

Manager Brandon Hyde passed along his thoughts to start his pregame press update.

"Want to pass on condolences to the Luis Ortiz family. Sad news last night. From all of us here - our major league staff and players - we want to give our condolences to the Ortiz family," he said. 

Opening Day is less than three weeks away and the Orioles remain on hold with their most important roster decisions before flying to Boston.

Don’t ask them about the five starters in their rotation or the composition of an eight-man bullpen. Don’t ask about the primary backup for first baseman Ryan Mountcastle or whether a non-roster invite could be introduced on March 30 or put feet on the orange carpet for the first home game.

They just don’t know.

I still don’t know how Tyler Wells got bumped from the five leading candidates to start after his impressive first half in 2022, except that someone must go and the Orioles have Kyle Gibson, Cole Irvin, Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer and Grayson Rodriguez. Rodriguez starts this afternoon against the Red Sox's split-squad in Sarasota.

What in the world would have happened if DL Hall hadn't experienced lower-back discomfort before arriving in camp, which prevented him from accumulating the necessary innings to be a starter?

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Sometimes in spring training games a pitcher could be working on something new or trying to add his repertoire. O’s right-hander Austin Voth did that today as the Orioles faced the Toronto Blue Jays.

Toronto hit two-run homers in the sixth and seventh off right-hander Mike Baumann as the Blue Jays beat the Orioles 8-6.

The O's rallied in the ninth on Connor Norby's RBI single and Heston Kjerstad's 105 mph RBI double, but fall to 5-8-2. They host Boston tomorrow with right-hander Grayson Rodriguez on the mound.

Voth, who allowed two runs and three hits in 2 2/3 innings, threw a sweeper for the second time this spring today. It’s a pitch with big movement that often breaks the width of the plate. Per Statcast, his sweeper today sat right between his cutter and curveball in velocity. The sweeper averaged 83.2 mph with his cutter at 89.2 and curve at 77.9 mph.

“This is the second outing that I started throwing a sweeper,” Voth said outside the Baltimore clubhouse. “I want to incorporate that a bit more. I know that is going to be a big pitch for me down the road. And then, backdoor cutters to lefties and also throwing it frontdoor as well. Just trying to get a better feel for my spin right now.”

DUNEDIN, Fla. – The Orioles will be without infield prospect Joey Ortiz for likely a few days at least. Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters here today at TD Ballpark that Ortiz is now in concussion protocol. He took a bad-hop groundball off his head in drills a few days ago and has not yet been cleared to return to the field.

The club’s fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft, Ortiz is 3-for-12 with a double, triple, one run scored and two RBIs in six spring games.

He is ranked as the No. 66 prospect in the FanGraphs.com top 100 list and is also rated No. 71 by ESPN, No. 95 via Baseball America and The Athletic and No. 99 by MLBPipeline.com.

Left-hander Cole Irvin threw to hitters today on an Ed Smith Stadium back-field, Hyde said, but he did not get a chance to see the outing before he headed to today’s game. Nor did he have a report yet on it.

O’s lefty pitching prospect  DL Hall was also scheduled to throw to live hitters for the first time today as well back in Sarasota. Hall keeps progressing toward getting into a spring game after being slow played earlier in camp. He dealt with some lower back discomfort before spring training began but all is fine now. Soon he will get into game action.

DUNEDIN, Fla. - The Orioles headed north today for a game with their American League East rival Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. The Orioles are 5-7-2 after a 5-5 tie last night with the Minnesota Twins at Ed Smith Stadium.

Terrin Vavra is in the lineup for the second day in a row after missing seven games due to left shoulder soreness. He went 1-for-2 last night with a single and is batting .538 (7-for-13) in five spring games. Vavra is starting today at second base and batting leadoff.

Gunnar Henderson, who is 2-for-17 in spring games, made the trip and is batting second at third base. Colton Cowser will start in center field and right-hander Austin Voth will make his third appearance and gets the start on the mound. He has allowed five runs in five innings this spring. He gave up four runs over three innings in his last outing, March 6 vs. Philadelphia. 

Also scheduled to pitch today for the Orioles are Mike Baumann, Cionel Pérez and Logan Gillaspie. Right-hander Chris Bassitt is set to start for Toronto.

Extra pitchers here today from minor league camp are Ryan Conroy, Blaine Knight, Connor Loeprich, Clayton McGinness, Griffin McLarty and Kevin Smith.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Ryan Mouncastle is not exactly a veteran on the Orioles, although he has been a regular for back-to-back years and played more than half the game in the shortened season in 2020 with the club. But he’s been in enough spring training games to know what he wants to get done to prep for the year under the Florida sun.

Like any player, ending spring healthy is goal No. 1. If he is feeling good about his swing heading into the year, that would be a nice bonus.

But he doesn’t put too much into what the spring stat sheet says about his production in Florida.

“My timing, hitting-wise, if it feels right towards the end of spring (is important). Most of the time – I don’t think I’ve had the best spring training numbers – but I just want to be ready for the season. If I get out of this healthy with some good timing at the plate, that’s all I want.”

After a 2022 season where his homer numbers dropped from a team rookie record 33 in 2021 to 22 last year with the new outfield dimensions at Camden Yards, he took some solace in his expected numbers which showed how hard he hit the ball last season and how often he did that. So, he said, his winter work was along similar lines from past offseasons, just looking to make small improvements anywhere he could.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The initial round of camp cuts in Clearwater this week weren’t complicated. The groupings were some young prospects who can get more work at Twin Lakes Park as they prepare for the season, and other players who had little or no shot at heading north and didn’t force the issue.

That was it.  

Three more cuts were made late last night following a 5-5 tie with the Twins. Right-handers Noah Denoyer and Seth Johnson were optioned and left-hander Cade Povich was reassigned to minor league camp.

The battles for final spots haven’t subsided.

The World Baseball Classic trimmed the original 71-man roster with Cedric Mullins joining Team USA, Anthony Santander and Darwinzon Hernández reporting to Team Venezuela and Dean Kremer leaving Thursday for Team Israel after throwing one last bullpen session with the Orioles and winning the ping pong tournament. John Means and Dillon Tate eventually will go on the injured list.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Kyle Bradish became the first Orioles pitcher tonight to make three starts this spring. He’s the first to work four innings.

No one has done it better.

Bradish shut out the Twins over the first three frames before Matt Wallner homered with one out in the fourth. He struck out the next two batters to give him eight for the game.

“Pretty pleased,” he said. “Everything was really good. Commanded the zone from the second on.”

"Showed really good stuff again," said manager Brandon Hyde. "Some deep counts there early but I thought he got better as the game went on. Really good breaking ball. Love that he's throwing that two-seamer that he introduced second half of last year that made a huge difference. He's just carried that work into this year. He's doing a great job so far this spring."

SARASOTA, Fla. – Maryland Governor Wes Moore tonight said he is very confident the Orioles will soon have a new lease to play well into the future at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He said things “are moving fast” to get that done.

The Governor and Orioles Chairman & CEO John Angelos visited The Battery Atlanta on Thursday, to explore the 365-day entertainment experience around Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves. The Battery Atlanta is a 2,000,000-square-foot mixed-use destination, which offers an unprecedented entertainment experience including shops, restaurants, and a 4,000-seat venue for all genres of live music.

Today the Governor met with team officials and O’s players and threw out the first pitch before tonight’s spring training game at Ed Smith Stadium with Minnesota.

The Orioles current lease expires Dec. 31. Angelos has expressed confidence that a new lease could be completed by the All-Star break.

“I’m very confident that we are moving fast on this," Governor Moore said. "It should not be lost on anybody that the first trip that I took outside of the state was down here. Was to spend time with the Orioles. To make sure they understand how big of a priority this is for me and how big a priority this is for the state. So we feel very confident that we have the same goal. The goal is to make sure there is Orioles baseball in Baltimore for generations to come. I feel very good about our prospects to get this deal done very quickly.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – The 12 roster cuts that followed yesterday’s 7-6 loss to the Phillies included infield prospects Coby Mayo and César Prieto, who weren’t making the club and now can get more at-bats and reps over at Twin Lakes Park before likely assignments to Double-A Bowie.

Mayo went 2-for-14 with a 111.5 mph double, two RBIs, two walks and five strikeouts. Prieto was 3-for-11 with a double and three RBIs.

MLP Pipeline ranks Mayo as the organization’s No. 10 prospect and Prieto 18^th. The top nine players remain in camp.

Also reassigned were first baseman Curtis Terry, outfielder Robert Neustrom, catcher Ramón Rodriguez and right-handers Wandisson Charles, Ofreidy Gómez, Morgan McSweeney Kade Strowd, Cole Uvila, Chris Vallimont and Ryan Watson. The official spring training count is down to 59 players.

“It’s time to just kind of starting reducing our camp size,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “I’m going to try to bring those guys over as much as possible. We’ll have some innings at the end of games to continue to have them play in some of our games, but we just felt like it was important to reduce the camp size a little bit. Want to see those guys get a lot of reps.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – Terrin Vavra has recovered from the discomfort in his left shoulder and is starting at third base tonight against the Twins at Ed Smith Stadium.

Vavra is 6-for-11 with a double, triple and home run as he fights for a spot on the bench. He was supposed to start in left field the day that he was scratched.

Ryan McKenna gets another start in center field with Cedric Mullins away from camp and playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Kyle Stowers is in right field and Austin Hays is in left.

Adam Frazier is leading off as the second baseman. James McCann is catching Kyle Bradish, who’s allowed one run and two hits in five innings over two spring starts.

Joe Ryan is starting for the Twins.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The rest of Jackson Holliday’s teammates who stuck around for Wednesday’s exhibition game were gone from the complex or back indoors to shower and change into their clothes. The kid wasn’t ready to leave the field. He couldn’t just walk away from fans who lined up to get his autograph.

They handed him pieces of paper or baseballs shoved through a gap in the protective netting. One after another. Adults and children.

Holliday has looked the part since he arrived at his first major league camp, with maturity that belies his youthful face. And he’s keeping his locker, surviving yesterday’s first round of cuts that claimed 12 non-roster invites.

He came off the bench again yesterday in Clearwater, replacing Gunnar Henderson at shortstop and grounding out in the eighth inning. He’s 3-for-9 with a double, three walks, two strikeouts and a handful of impressive plays in the field that highlight his range and cannon arm.

“It’s been great,” he said. “It’s been a good learning experience and been pretty awesome to be part of this organization and with all these talented guys and getting to know them and building relationships for the future.”