SARASOTA, Fla. – Rain is in the Sarasota forecast beginning later this afternoon and continuing through Sunday. The Orioles’ workout schedule is going to be impacted.

Head indoors and shorten the day.

Corbin Burnes threw live batting practice this morning, with Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn among the batters he faced. Rutschman lined a loud single up the middle against reliever Bryan Baker.

Jackson Holliday finished his workouts and stopped by a group of fans to sign autographs. He could have stood there all day. No one is more popular among players.

No one else is currently the No. 1 prospect in baseball.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Jackson Holliday isn’t in Orioles camp to soak in the atmosphere, get acclimated to the coaching staff and wait to be summoned into manager Brandon Hyde’s office with news that he’s reassigned to the minor league side.

Holliday could sit down again with Hyde and executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias, but this time to be congratulated for making the team.

Only a few months past his 20^th birthday.

As the No. 1 prospect in baseball.

“It’s a little bit more exciting, right?” Holliday said this morning in his first media scrum at his locker. “You get a chance to make the team. But just trying to take it day by day and enjoy these guys and enjoy getting better.”

SARASOTA – Kyle Stowers got married in November. He’s back to full health after a shoulder injury and fractured nose messed with his 2023 season. He’s surrounded by friends inside the Orioles spring clubhouse.

Life is good.

To make it better, he’d need to again break camp with the team. But it’s hard to kill his positive vibe.

Stowers went 2-for-30 with the Orioles but posted a .364 on-base percentage and .511 slugging percentage with 17 home runs in 68 games with the Norfolk Tides and won a Triple-A championship. He went 5-for-7 with a home run on a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League and 9-for-18 with a double and three home runs with High-A Aberdeen.

The shoulder injury cost the 26-year-old Stowers two months of Norfolk’s season. He was down again after a fastball crashed into his face in an Aug. 29 game against Worcester.

SARASOTA, Fla. – John Means joined teammates in spring training warmups this morning, but his throwing distance looked more like a football practice. Deep bombs to his intended target.

Long, long tossing to get his arm loose before heading to the row of mounds.

Means didn’t have his first offseason bullpen session until Jan. 30, with the club slow-playing him back from October elbow soreness. He’s set to begin the season on the injured list, but with the chance for a quick return.

“The way he didn’t finish the season, was unable to pitch in the postseason and then shutting him down for a little while, he’s just a little bit late with his normal throwing program progression. And so, he’s about a month behind,” manager Brandon Hyde said during his daily media scrum.

“If all things work out, sometime in April. I think that’s what we’re planning on. It’s a rough draft right now because it’s a long way away, but we expect him to be ready sometime at the beginning of the season.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – Kyle Bradish said he’s “very confident” that he can recover from his elbow injury and be a major contributor to the 2024 Orioles.

Bradish was diagnosed in January with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain.

“I’m feeling really good right now,” he said this morning. “I’m going to take it day by day, trust the process and the schedule and everything.”

Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias confirmed yesterday that Bradish will begin the season on the injured list. Bradish was expected to be the No. 2 starter behind Corbin Burnes.

“Obviously, I was bummed, based on the year we had last year and coming into this year feeling really confident,” Bradish said of the diagnosis. “It’s a little bit of a setback, but like I said, I feel confident that I’ll be able to pitch and help this team out this year.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – Former Orioles manager Buck Showalter used to make a point about the unpredictability of baseball by quoting one of his favorite sayings.

If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.

It’s supposed to apply to life, but it also works with sports.

Think you have every angle covered before spring training and discover on the first day that two-fifths of the starting rotation appears headed for the injured list.  

Kyle Bradish has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the irritation noticeable while working out in January. He’s definite for the IL.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg was sitting on his couch with wife Anna Claire when she suddenly went from spouse to source.

“I didn’t have my phone on me,” Westburg said this morning. “We were watching a movie and she’s like, ‘Hey, who is Corbin Burnes?’ It was just a random question for her to ask. I was like, ‘Why do you ask?’ And she shows me her phone and there’s the Oriole Bird logo and ESPN notification.”

That was the precise moment when Westburg found out that the Orioles acquired Burnes, the No. 1 starter they sought throughout the winter, from the Brewers for pitcher DL Hall and infielder Joey Ortiz.

“I was fired up about it. It was exciting,” Westburg said.

“I’m trying to think of what my initial reaction was. I think it was just pure excitement for the organization really. I think a lot of people on the outside have been wanting that ace and we went and got him. Just really exciting.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles’ pitching depth will be tested early.

Kyle Bradish will begin the season on the injured list with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right elbow. He received a platelet-rich plasma injection and begins a throwing progression on Friday.

John Means is a month behind the other pitchers after experiencing elbow soreness before the playoffs, and he’s also expected to land on the IL.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias is becoming known for dropping injury news on the first day of camp. He was at it again this morning.

Bradish, who finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting and started Game 1 of the Division Series, felt some irritation in the elbow last month while throwing. An MRI confirmed the injury.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Temperatures at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota are expected to reach the 70s again today. Sunscreen is readily available in the baseball operations building and the athletic trainers’ carts during workouts, and also in the dugout once exhibition games begin.

Can’t block out the excitement that comes with the first official day of pitchers and catchers spreading out on the back fields and in the bullpen area.

Optimism also is running high for a club that posted the best record in the American League last year. It’s time to defend the division title.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias will meet the press later this morning, which presents another opportunity for a health check.

Not Elias’, since we’re assuming that he’s fine.

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles used the day that they could begin moving players to the 60-day injured list by deepening an outfield that wasn’t lacking in players.

Peyton Burdick was acquired from the Marlins this afternoon for cash considerations. The 40-man roster remains full after closer Félix Bautista, recovering from Tommy John surgery, was placed on the 60-day IL.

Burdick, who turns 27 in a few weeks, is a former third-round draft pick in 2019 out of Wright State University who’s batted .200/.281/.368 over parts of two seasons with the Marlins totaling 46 games. He has six doubles, five home runs, 13 RBIs and 53 strikeouts in 139 plate appearances.

Burdick appeared in 14 games last season and went 6-for-33 with two doubles and a homer. He’s a career .235/.353/.457 hitter in 396 minor league games who can play anywhere in the outfield.

The raw power, graded plus-plus by scouts, produced 24 home runs last summer in 114 games with Triple-A Jacksonville.

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles have signed all 17 of their arbitration-eligible players for the 2024 season.

Only two of them went to hearings.

First baseman Ryan O’Hearn agreed to terms earlier today on a $3.5 million contract that includes a $7.5 million club option for 2025. He was the last remaining unsigned player.

The sides found middle ground after O’Hearn’s agency filed at $3.8 million and the Orioles countered at $3.2 million.

O’Hearn didn’t break camp with the Orioles last spring but had his contract selected in April and batted .289/.322/.480 with 22 doubles, a triple, 14 home runs and 60 RBIs in 112 games. He made 59 starts and 70 appearances at first base, with Ryan Mountcastle twice going on the injured list.

The next story posted here will have a Sarasota dateline.

Get used to it.

Orioles pitchers and catchers report today, with the first workout unfolding on Thursday, coinciding with the beginning of media access. Players will take their physicals and hit the fields. The sounds of baseball will puncture the silence.

Bring on the suspense.

The start button will be pressed for the march toward another division title and much deeper dive into the playoffs. To be one-and-done again will be unacceptable. To simply contend will be setting goals way too low.

While most eyes will rest upon Jackson Holliday, other prospects, and major pitching additions Corbin Burnes and Craig Kimbrel at spring training, there are plenty of storylines to go around during those six weeks. Lots to fill notepads and space on laptop screens. Lots to keep fingers busy.

Checking under the radar ideas can put a reporter over the top.

Top Orioles prospect rankings are light on pitching, but Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott tend to be listed back-to-back within the first dozen or so, and they’re counted among the camp invites. McDermott was the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year.  

Both pitchers are eyeing 2024 for their major league debuts. They won’t break camp with the team, but their arrivals could come later.

“I mean, it’s a goal I have for sure,” Povich said at the Birdland Caravan. “Obviously, things have to fall into place. Just kind of trust the work I’ve done this offseason and hope whatever comes, comes.”

I’ve written about the end of a traditional spring training storyline, the blame falling upon the broad shoulders of James McCann. Only an injury can spark a debate over the identity of the backup catcher.

It’s happening again with the Opening Day starter.

The Orioles didn’t trade for Corbin Burnes to put him behind someone else in the rotation. The announcement is a formality. Manager Brandon Hyde will be asked about it multiple times in camp, probably in a joking manner. Or for planning purposes, allowing beat writers to launch their stories.

Kyle Gibson wasn’t the immediate choice last winter, but he morphed into the favorite in Sarasota based on his experience, impressive results and the lack of an obvious alternative. If not him, whom?

John Means was handed the ball in back-to-back seasons, after losing the assignment to Tommy Milone in 2020 – yes, Tommy Milone – due to a “tired arm.”

Being aware of the mounting number of airline safety issues, I’m afraid to bring a heavy mailbag to Sarasota and risk having the landing gear fail or a few bolts bust off the wings.

Let’s lighten the load here in our last pre-spring training sequel to the beloved original in 2008.

You ask, I answer, you wonder if I’ve finally relented and began doing some editing, and I wonder if you started drinking early.

I adore your style, length (shut up), clarity and brevity. To change it would be like tossing soup on the Mona Lisa.

Also, a reminder that my mailbag refuses to be pushed around or disrespected, and yours does a bully’s homework.

Whatever speech that Orioles manager Brandon Hyde chooses for his team prior to the first full-squad workout at spring training, he won’t be armed with the same motivational tools that he wielded in the past.

Nobody believed in the Orioles during those 100-loss seasons. They had no reason.

Seemed like everyone was expecting a regression after 83 wins in 2022. They had no faith.

Matching or exceeding the 101 victories last summer that led to a division title and top seeding in the American League playoffs is a tall order. Players don’t seem concerned about trying to reach it.

A few of them dropped 102 into the conversations at the Birdland Caravan, before the Corbin Burnes trade, but more in a joking manner than stated or necessary goals.

Five more days.

Orioles pitchers and catchers must report to the Ed Smith Stadium complex by Wednesday, a deadline that doesn’t create a frantic race to the finish line. The complex already has activity. Early arrivals are the norm.

But that’s when it must happen, followed the next morning by the first workout and farmer's tan.

Perhaps the Orioles will quiet the roster churn. They’ve stayed busy, with No. 1 starter Corbin Burnes the major move but the utility competition increasing with Wednesday night’s trade for Nick Maton and Thursday afternoon’s waiver claim of Liván Soto.

Every announcement can lead to a question. Let’s begin with Maton.

With spring training starting next week and the club’s first pitchers and catchers workout set for a week from today in Sarasota, the Orioles added another infielder to fill their 40-man roster.

Venezuelan-born Livan Soto, recently designated for assignment by the Angels, was claimed on waivers today by the Orioles to fill their 40-man.

Soto, 23, has hit better in the majors in limited time than he has during a six-year career in the minors. He also has two options remaining.

The lefty batter went just 2-for-9 (.222) with the Angels last year but hit .400 (22-for-55) during the 2022 season over 18 games. He got a call-up in mid-September 2022 to make his major league debut. 

So over 22 major league games in parts of the last two seasons, he has hit .375/.414/.531/.946. On the farm last season between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit .237/.342/.358/.700 in 110 games.

Now that they have added the 2021 National League Cy Young award winner, right-hander Corbin Burnes, just how good is the Orioles rotation? Does it stack up among the top groups in the American League?

A discussion of this on MLB Network this week led the analysts to ponder that question and believe the answer is likely yes.

They listed a graphic of “notable 2024 projected rotations" in the American League, listing in no particular order, Seattle, Baltimore, New York, Houston and Toronto.

Here are the pitchers projected to be in all five:

Seattle: Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo

The Orioles today announced their minor league coaching and player development staff assignments for the 2024 season. Three full-season managers return, but two move to different affiliates.

Buck Britton will return for his third season as manager of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. In 2023, he led the Tides to a record of 90-59 as they won the International League championship and the Triple-A National Championship Game. Last year, he was the winner of the Orioles’ Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award.

Roberto Mercado moves up to Double-A Bowie to serve as manager after leading High-A Aberdeen the last two seasons. In 2022, he took Aberdeen to the playoffs and won the Ripken Sr. Award.

Felipe Rojas Alou Jr. will move up to manage Aberdeen. He has been with the O’s organization for 16 years and managed Single-A Delmarva the last two seasons.

Collin Woody will be a first-time manager, taking over at Delmarva. He served as a fundamentals coach the last two seasons in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.