SARASOTA, Fla. – Jorge Mateo felt great physically. He was better emotionally.

Mateo finally made it back into the lineup this afternoon after undergoing reconstructive-elbow surgery on Aug. 29. A meaningless exhibition game was ultra-important to him. He needed it.

“It was amazing,” he said. “I was so excited. Just to be there on the field with my teammates, that was unbelievable to me.”

Mateo saw one pitch in the second inning and bounced to third baseman Edmundo Sosa. He struck out on three pitches in the fourth.

In the field, Mateo handled every ball hit his way and had back-to-back assists in the fourth. He started a 6-4-3 double play to end the first inning and covered the bag for a force in the fifth, throwing late on an attempted DP.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles are playing a doubleheader today if you count Spring Breakout, which follows the Grapefruit League game against the Pirates.

The over-hyping makes me break out in a rash, but fans get a chance to see 21 of the top 30 prospects in the organization. Catcher Samuel Basallo leads the way, and outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. will try to build on his one-game hitting streak after last year’s bunt single in Bradenton.

I understand that one game doesn’t constitute a streak. Here are a few other things that we (think we) know:

* OK, this one is confirmed: Zach Eflin will be the Opening Day starter. I pegged him as the favorite when the Orioles arrived for spring training, and Grayson Rodriguez’s elbow inflammation cemented his chances.

Experience and track record gave Eflin an edge. Rodriguez has the higher ceiling but won’t reach it with a sore elbow. Check back next spring.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Zach Eflin threw in the bullpen earlier today to prepare for his Sunday start against the Phillies at Ed Smith Stadium. His last time facing hitters occurred on a back field. He’s got two more appearances lined up before it gets real.

In Eflin’s case, that’s Opening Day on March 27 in Toronto.

Eflin received confirmation this morning that he’d face the Blue Jays in the first game of the 2025 season. He was called into manager Brandon Hyde’s office, instructed to sit down on a couch and handed a tablet. The Orioles put him on a video call with his wife Lauren, oldest daughter Ashton and twins Austen and Hallie.

“We have some people who want to say some things to you,” Hyde said.

Lauren counted off “1-2-3” and they told him, not quite in unison, that he’s be the Opening Day starter.  

SARASOTA, Fla. – Zach Eflin entered camp this spring as the favorite to receive the Opening Day start on March 27. Grayson Rodriguez’s injury seemed to make it official.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde did so this afternoon. It’s happening as expected.

Hyde announced that Eflin, 30, will face the Blue Jays on March 27 at Rogers Centre, the right-hander’s second Opening Day assignment in a row after handling the honors for the Rays in 2024.

Eflin threw four innings on a back field recently while the Orioles played the Yankees in Tampa. He’s started twice in the Grapefruit League and allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings.

"I told him today," said Hyde, who was joined by pitching coach Drew French, pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek and bench coach Robinson Chirinos. "He's very appreciative and he understands how much it means, so that was a very cool moment.

SARASOTA, Fla. – There must be a voodoo curse in the Orioles déjà vu.

Their rotation was ravaged by injuries last season, and five starters at the major or minor league levels are headed for the IL – Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells, Trevor Rogers, Chayce McDermott and Grayson Rodriguez, who joined a club that’s about as exclusive as the local Publix.

Rodriguez is receiving multiple opinions to determine the cause of the discomfort in the back of his right elbow, the severity of it and how long he’s going to be out. He won’t be ready for Opening Day, which punches a hole in a rotation that lost ace Corbin Burnes to free agency.

“It’s a huge loss, but at the end of the day we need Grayson for pretty much the majority of the whole season,” said Zach Eflin, the uncontested starter on March 27 in Toronto. “If it’s something that happens, preferably it would be now and get it out of the way and come back stronger. It’s a blow, but fortunately for us we have depth and we have the next guy up mentality, so we’ll be prepared for any situation we encounter.”

“It’s tough I think whenever you have an injury,” said Cade Povich. “We saw it unfortunately too many times last year with guys going down. It’s tough. I see how hard he worked to get back last year. Got here early, I’ve seen how hard he’s worked to come back, so hopefully it’s nothing big. Hopefully it’s something short and he can get back quick.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – A 95 mph fastball from Pirates reliever Peter Strzelecki tonight dropped Ramón Urías to the dirt in the bottom of the fifth inning. Urías stayed down for a few seconds while the crowd gasped in unison, got back to his feet and struck out.

Urías grabbed his equipment bag and walked down the right field line toward the clubhouse. He was coming out anyway, with manager Brandon Hyde making multiple substitutions. He left third base and upheld his status as a healthy infielder.

The gasps became sighs of relief.

Jordan Westburg returned to the lineup, but Gunnar Henderson remained out with a strained right intercostal and Jorge Mateo won’t be ready for Opening Day after his reconstructive elbow surgery in August, though he’s swinging a bat.

The Orioles need Urías to be their utility guy. They might need him to play shortstop for Henderson or third base if Westburg slides over. Tailing fastballs with his name on them are frowned upon in this establishment.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Rosters were announced today for the second Spring Breakout game. Orioles prospects will play Yankees prospects on March 15 at 6:05 p.m. in Sarasota.

Among the 26 Orioles are top prospect Samuel Basallo and No. 3 prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr.

Here is the complete list:

Pitchers
LHP Luis De León
RHP Michael Forret
RHP Nestor German
RHP Keeler Morfe
RHP Patrick Reilly
RHP Levi Wells
RHP Cameron Weston

Catchers
Ethan Anderson
Samuel Basallo
Miguel Rodríguez
Creed Willems

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles are on the road again today with their bus pointed toward Fort Myers for another game against the Twins at Hammond Stadium.

The redundancy this spring is mind numbing. No games in Port Charlotte, the third-shortest trip from Sarasota. Only one in North Port, which is the second shortest and super convenient for manager Brandon Hyde, to close out the Florida portion of the schedule.

Out of nine games, the Orioles have played the Pirates three times – losing all three - host them again Thursday night and head back to Bradenton Monday afternoon for a MASN telecast. They’ve gone to Clearwater twice and have a split-squad game there Sunday afternoon. They were in Fort Myers Friday and return less than a week later.

The five projected starters are impressing, and Grayson Rodriguez’s next turn is today. He tossed 1 2/3 scoreless and hitless innings against the Blue Jays in his debut. The only baserunner came from a hit-by-pitch.

“I was able to drive the fastball, changeup was working good, was able to throw the new sweeper once and got a bad swing on it, so I was pretty excited about that,” he said afterward.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Zach Eflin makes his exhibition debut this afternoon, with the Orioles traveling to Fort Myers to play the Twins.

Gary Sánchez is behind the plate for Eflin.

Coby Mayo gets the start at first base.

Jackson Holliday is leading off and playing second base. Colton Cowser is in center field, Heston Kjerstad in left and Dylan Carlson in right.

Liván Soto, who’s 3-for-6 with two doubles, is the shortstop.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Tommy Joseph noticed it right away.

After spending the 2024 season as assistant hitting coach in Seattle, Joseph accepted the same job with the Orioles and immediately was struck by the positive atmosphere and tight bonds formed among players who genuinely care about each other. They’re teammates but also friends. They have the same goals and each other’s backs.

The hitting philosophies are almost universal, with Joseph saying, “You try to score more runs as the other team. You’ve just got to find as many ways to do that as you can every day.”

And then, there’s this:

“In terms of the environment and the culture, just being here a couple days, you can tell it’s very special. They’ve built something very special and the players really bought in on everything here," he said.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Heston Kjerstad sat quietly at his locker yesterday morning, staring at his phone with legs stretched out and empty chairs on both sides of him. An isolated figure. Pretty much how he likes it.

Kjerstad isn’t anti-social. He just doesn’t command a lot of attention in a clubhouse with some extremely high-profile young players.

The bat, however, can get loud.

The Orioles want to hear it a lot this season. No more breakdowns in his quest to become a regular contributor at the major league level. No injuries or illnesses. No interruptions and options. It’s time to find out what they have in Kjerstad beyond sick power and potential.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias told the media last week that this is a “big opportunity” for Kjerstad and the second-overall pick in the 2020 draft “earned the right to get a lot of at-bats in the corner outfield and in the DH spot, specifically against right-handed pitching.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – The decision to sign with the Orioles came easily to outfielder Tyler O’Neill. It wasn’t just the money, though the idea of being paid $49.5 million over three seasons with an opt-out clause after the first year enticed him.

“It was always chasing Baltimore last year,” he said.

O’Neill caught them via contract negotiations.

He spent last summer with the Red Sox after six with the Cardinals, enabling him to form his opinion of the Orioles.

“Playing in the AL East, I’m familiar with the division,” he said. "Baltimore’s the team to beat. Obviously, when they have interest in me early in the offseason, I was really excited about that. Just really excited to join these guys and get going.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Opening Day roster for the Orioles isn’t going to include infielder Jorge Mateo. The fastest player in camp made a speedy exit from it.

On the first workout day, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias confirmed that Mateo is making progress but probably won’t get enough at-bats to be ready on March 27 in Toronto.

“He’s doing a hitting progression, hitting buildup,” Elias said. “He’s playing catch. Everything’s going well, but he’s likely to be held back in camp. Probably not somebody we’re going to see in Grapefruit League until very, very late in camp and that will probably put him in a position where he’s unlikely to make the Opening Day roster, but we anticipate him being a huge part of this team. He’s gonna be back in the early part of the season, hopefully not too long after Opening Day. But he’s in a very good spot.”

Mateo underwent ligament-repair surgery on his left elbow on Aug. 28 after suffering a severe dislocation in a collision with shortstop Gunnar Henderson. He could have given the team a seventh infielder and right-handed hitting backup in the outfield.

The Orioles signed Mateo to a $3.55 million contract with a $5.5 million club option for 2026 to avoid an arbitration hearing. They missed his speed and defense last summer, but he hit .229/.267/.401 in 68 games.

SARASOTA, Fla. - The due date has arrived for Orioles pitchers and catchers. They’re required to report today unless they have visa issues. There’s usually one in every crowd.

Not that the complex has been empty. Players arrive early, including the ones rehabbing from surgery. Physicals are taken and the back fields are occupied. Tossing a baseball back and forth in the morning feeds the senses.

The media gains access early Thursday. It isn’t like those Fort Lauderdale days when beat writers and columnists stood inside the clubhouse and waited for someone to show up with their bags. They’d usually just phone the manager and say, “I’m here.”

They meant the state of Florida. Guys weren’t in a big hurry to check into the outdated and dilapidated facility.

Beyond some roster competitions this spring, and there don’t appear to be many, is the battle for the Opening Day start. This is assuming that a decision isn’t already made and spring performances could factor into it.

Unlike your neighbor’s golden retriever, Zach Eflin despises walks. 

“I hate giving people a free pass … It really comes down to… I don’t like giving in to guys and just letting them take first base,” Eflin said with a smile in his first interaction with Baltimore reporters after being traded to the O’s back in July.

The right-hander went on to toss over 55 innings for the Orioles in the second half of last season. In that stretch, Eflin only walked 11 batters. The veteran’s aptitude for limiting free passes helped him allow just 16 total earned runs in his nine starts in Orioles orange. 

Nearly 100 pitchers in baseball had a fastball of at least 95 mph last season, but Eflin doesn’t pitch that way. The righty boasts a six-pitch arsenal, but none exceed an average of 93 mph. He won’t rack up the strikeout numbers, nor tout a huge whiff rate. 

Eflin excels at commanding the strike zone. His 3.5% walk rate put him in the 98th percentile in the majors in 2024. And when he did move out of the zone, he did so intentionally, to the tune of a 32.6% chase rate according to Statcast, good for the 88th percentile in baseball. 

As we are now just a few weeks away from the start of spring training and the new season, today let’s take a look at the O’s roster in terms of four components.

They are the offense and defense and the pitching – starting pitching and the bullpen.

We don’t know the Opening Day roster yet, obviously, or the final roster that will start camp, but at this point it’s pretty set. Yes, we could get a change or a few of them, but today we're going with what they have right now to assess how it all looks.

If you break those four down, I see all four as solid units for the team heading into the season. I will rank them as they look today, from strongest to weakest:

Offense

So, anything going on today?

We’re still waiting for an outcome with infielder Livan Soto, who was designated for assignment on Jan. 10 when the Orioles claimed right-hander Roansy Contreras on waivers from the Reds.

A week has passed, which could bring an announcement later today. Catcher René Pinto was designated on Jan. 3 and the Diamondbacks claimed him on the 10^th. But catcher Blake Hunt was designated Monday, and the Orioles traded him to the Mariners Wednesday for cash considerations.

In one of those baseball twists, the Orioles designated Contreras for assignment yesterday while claiming infielder Jacob Amaya, a former top 30 prospect, on waivers from the White Sox.

There will be a quiz later.

Zach Eflin picked up a baseball earlier than usual this offseason, an impressive feat for a man with his hands full.

Eflin is having a mostly typical winter professionally back at home in Orlando, even in temperatures that dipped into the 30s. The rest of it is more of an adventure, controlled chaos that amuses and fulfills him.

“Everything else life-related, there is no normalcy or anything, just from having three (children) under 3 ½ at this point and an eight-month pregnant wife,” Eflin said yesterday in a phone conversation. “Things are very reactionary nowadays.”

The Orioles will get a full season from Eflin after he made nine starts in 2024 following a deadline trade that sent minor leaguers Jackson Baumeister, Mac Horvath and Matthew Etzel to the Rays. He posted a 2.60 ERA and 1.120 WHIP and allowed one run in four innings in Game 2 of the Wild Card round against the Royals before receiving a quick hook.

The rotation currently is aligned to make Eflin, 30, the favorite to start on Opening Day in Toronto, with Grayson Rodriguez providing the main competition. Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton signed one-year deals, and Dean Kremer returns after registering a 3.82 ERA in 12 second-half starts.

We could call it a “two tiered” Orioles rotation at this point. They have two at the top right now in right-handers Zack Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez and three that follow that in some order.

As of today, Eflin or Rodriguez could get the Opening Day assignment with the other starting second.

Third through fifth in some combo, is expected to be Dean Kremer, Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton. That is how I stack it as of today, Kremer, Sugano and Morton fifth. Others may project Morton at No. 3 or Sugano at No. 3. Lot of options here. No lefties in this rotation, but they are in the depth behind this group currently with pitchers like southpaws Cade Povich and Trevor Rogers. Could one of that duo impact the Opening Day five? Of course, it’s baseball, changes and injuries happen. Always write your plans in January in pencil with a big eraser close by.

The Orioles hopes for Eflin are likely big. In 2023 he pitched to an ERA of 3.50 with 16 wins for Tampa Bay and finished sixth for the AL Cy Young award. Traded to the Orioles on July 26 last summer for three minor leaguers, he went 5-2 with a 2.60 ERA over nine starts.

With a combined 3.54 ERA and 1.054 WHIP the past two seasons producing an ERA+ of 115, he will be expected to pitch to that form for the 2025 Orioles.

Rather than ask (beg?) for more mailbag questions, I decided today to pose a few of my own.

Here are three for you to consider. Share your answers.

If the Orioles don’t acquire a No. 1 starter, should Zach Eflin or Grayson Rodriguez start on Opening Day?

Eflin has the edge in experience and track record. He’s also good, so the assignment wouldn’t be based only on those two factors.

The Rays named Eflin their Opening Day starter this year, and he held the Blue Jays to one run through five innings before the game unraveled for him in a five-run sixth. He surrendered three home runs in an 8-2 loss.