Wynns trying to earn a roster spot as the outfield takes shape

Orioles catcher Austin Wynns doesn't duck the question. He was asked if the 2020 season represents a big year for him.

"Every year is huge," he said during an interview Tuesday afternoon. "Every year, for everyone. You can't take anything for granted. Each year, you have to take in strides. You have to improve, you have to be better and make adjustments. This game is built on adjustments. And physically, mentally you have to be there. To answer your question, it's huge. Every year, huge."

The club's 10th-round pick in 2013 out of Fresno State, Wynns has 70 big league games and 192 plate appearances under his belt over the last two seasons. He's hit .239/.271/.339 with a .610 OPS. He has thrown out 10 of 36 trying to steal, and that's a 28 percent caught-stealing rate.

Wynns is one of six catchers on the club's 60-man player pool, but two catchers were sent to the alternate camp at Double-A Bowie that opened yesterday. They are Adley Rutschman and Taylor Davis. That leaves four catchers in big league camp competing for two or maybe three spots on the opening day roster of 30. Joining Wynns at Camden Yards are Pedro Severino, Chance Sisco and Bryan Holaday.

During baseball's shutdown Wynns was in Baltimore, but the Camden Yards facility was closed until recently.

"It's strange, weird," he said. "Being quarantined in Baltimore there are challenges and just make the best out of it. That's what we did. That's what I did. Stayed busy. Stayed engaged as much as possible. Did what I can for the community. Did what I can just in the baseball world and with my loved ones."

Wynns has seen several pitchers that have looked solid so far, including lefty Tommy Milone, who stymied him at the plate during Monday's intrasquad game.

"Struck me out twice (Monday)," Wynns said with a laugh. "He looked phenomenal. Caught his bullpens and some intrasquads from spring training 1.0. He looks good, he looks sharp. His fastball command, his changeup, his spin. He had a great tempo yesterday, and that's him. You can look at his track record. He's durable and you know what you'll get out of him. Great guy to be around. He brings a lot."

Wynns said he got plenty of training in before baseball resumed with workouts at Camden Yards on July 3.

"Physically, great shape. Mentally, great shape," he said. "We know what we need to do to stay in shape. I had the luxury of training here and it was great. Ready to go for whatever will come this year."

He added the catchers have been a pretty close-knit unit within the larger roster. They are trying to help each other while at the same time understanding they are trying to beat each other out for roster spots.

"Competition will always be there," said Wynns. "Our relationship with everyone is really great and we mesh very well together. We all bring something to the table. Holaday, Sevy, Sisco. It's fun. We always keep that competitive nature when we do early work or any kind of exercise with Cuz (coach Tim Cossins). And you use all that practice and when you cross those lines, leave it out there."

Outfield taking shape: With the news yesterday that free agent Yasiel Puig is signing with Atlanta and also that Anthony Santander is now cleared for Orioles' workouts, the club's outfield is starting to take shape.

Manager Brandon Hyde will try to get Santander quickly ready for opening day, which is now just nine days away. The Orioles have seven outfielders on the player pool that also includes Austin Hays, DJ Stewart, Ryan Mountcastle, Mason Williams, Cedric Mullins and Dwight Smith Jr., who has yet to take part in workouts. The club has provided no information on Smith.

Hyde is hoping Santander will be ready for the opener, rather than having to wait longer to make his first regular season appearance.

"I prefer to get him going, to be honest with you," Hyde said. "Tony is a big part of our team. He's a middle-of-the-order hitter for us. We're going to try and get him ready as quickly as we possibly can."

Hyde provided a little more clarity on Mountcastle's defensive outlook for 2020 yesterday. He's pretty much an outfielder who could also play some first base. But his days playing on the left side of the infield may be done.

When asked if he's comfortable with Mountcastle playing left field in a big league game right now, Hyde didn't say yes or no. It seems the youngster still has some learning to do in the outfield. He made 26 starts in left late last season at Triple-A Norfolk. He looked comfortable there in Florida, but still has just that handful of games under his belt in the outfield. That lack of experience may be a factor to keep Mountcastle off the opening day roster as much as any service-time considerations. But his day is likely coming. An outfield left to right of Mountcastle, Hays and Santander could be interesting.

"I think he needs experience in the outfield," said Hyde. "It's still really new to him. He's doing a nice job of working on it daily. But yeah, I think he needs reps. It's something that is new to him. So, you know, as long as he is not with us, he's going to continue to make defense a real priority. And you'll see him, probably, play the majority of the time in left field. He might get a few reps at first base also, but we really want to make the primary focus for him left field because it's new to him. It's important for him and for us for him to be able to play the outfield. I think at this point we are not hitting him ground balls on the left side of the field, so we're really focusing on his defense in left field primarily and first base next."