Eric Young Jr. on his opportunity and leadership role

SARASOTA, Fla. - Outfielder Eric Young Jr. and infielders Hanser Alberto and Steve Wilkerson reported to Orioles camp this morning, leaving infielders Jonathan Villar and Alcides Escobar as the only position players who haven't arrived.

Escobar signed a minor league deal yesterday and might not get here until Monday's first full-squad workout.

Young, who's been assigned No. 28, also received a minor league contract with a spring invite. He's a career .245/.312/.332 hitter in 10 major league seasons, including stints with the Rockies, Mets, Braves and Yankees.

"Just kind of wanted to see an opportunity as well as things that I'm passionate about," he said. "I love helping the younger players. I'm fortunate enough to say I've been playing as long as I have and to come here and still get an opportunity to play, as well as being able to share my knowledge with the younger players, two for one."

Young was stuck in another slow-moving free agent market. The lanes jam for everyone. Not just the guys seeking record-breaking deals.

"You try to take everything in stride," he said. "There's been a slow offseason for free agents in general. It's kind of tough to see. There's a lot of great talent out there still waiting for an opportunity. At the same time people are going to get put in situations. It's all how you respond to it. Try to keep going forward.

"Like I said, thankful to be out here and have an opportunity to play baseball. You're not always going to have that opportunity, so you want to make sure that you're thankful for the chances that you do get and try to take advantage."

The right field competition now includes Young, though he also could serve as a fourth outfielder. Most of his experience is in left field with 342 starts among his 393 appearances. He's made 80 starts in center, 34 in right and 46 at second base.

"I came up as a second baseman. I've played all three outfield spots. I've played emergency shortstop, emergency second base. At this point, there's really not much on the baseball field that I'm scared to do," Young said.

"Whatever they ask me to do, to create opportunity, create competition, I'm all for it."

Young is the rare veteran in camp, his 34th birthday arriving in May. He's been thrust into the middle of a rebuild and is eager to become a leader inside the clubhouse.

"Just because guys aren't veterans does not mean they don't have talent," he said. "I think all it is is just getting experience out there and getting comfortable on the field and believing in yourself and I think anything is possible.

"I've been on teams that had great teams on paper and didn't really do anything on the field and vice-versa. I think if everybody goes out there and gives everything they've got and reach their full potential, you've still got to show up between the lines, even those teams with the big names on them.

"It's a passion of mine, coming in to work with the younger players. I'm going to do that naturally, even if they didn't ask me to do that. I'm going to do that naturally because I love this game of baseball, and I definitely want to see everybody reach their full potential when the opportunity (warrants) because it's not easy being a professional and it's definitely not easy as long as I have. If I can share that knowledge with anybody else to extend their career, I'm all for it."

Young profiles as a future manager or coach, but he isn't ready to hang up the spikes.

"I don't know," he said. "I've heard that. I've never put it out there in the air, but I've heard that before. So, if we get to that down the road there I'll definitely consider it, but still fortunate to play right now."

Young appeared in 41 games with the Angels last year, slashing .202/.248/.303 in 117 plate appearances, and batted .300/.367/.453 in 84 games at Triple-A Salt Lake. He led the National League in stolen bases with 46 in 2013 while splitting the season between the Rockies and Mets.

Having speed increases Young's chances of finding work and requires him to be "smarter" about his offseason workouts.

"Not necessarily just trying to blow my legs out. I want to make sure that I keep them healthy and keep them fresh and definitely strong to last and be healthy for the entire season," he said.

"I think the best ability on the baseball field is availability. If you're able to play, all your talents can show, but if you're hurt and not really taking care of your body, you're not going to be able to showcase whatever your greatest tool is.

"I think running and creating havoc on the bases is always going to create more opportunities, not only for the baserunner, but also for the hitters behind. You're going to get better pitchers to hit just because now that pitcher's attention is divided, and then obviously if you get better pitches to hit, then you put up more runs. I know more teams have kind of veered away from it, but I think if you're a smart baserunner and a smart team about stealing bases, then you create more opportunities for the hitters and do go a team as a whole."

Young is taking fewer chances, and not only because his plate appearances have declined.

"I'm being smarter about the situation, smarter about who's up at the plate, who's hitting, what's their strengths, what's their weaknesses," he said.

"If I'm at first base and I want to leave a hole open, I'm not going to force the stolen base because I want to leave a hole open, but obviously at the same time if I can get to second base and the pitcher is giving it to me and now we have a runner in scoring position and a single scores one run, then you've got to go and take advantage of it.

"In addition to being smart about it and not running in random situations, now knowing the situation, who's hitting, who's pitching, what the defense is trying to do if the shift is on. All those things kind of play into the part."

I'm still getting to know Young, but if social media is any indication, he's one of the more popular players in baseball. Congratulatory tweets to Young filled my timeline after news broke that he signed with the Orioles. Former teammates and fans from his previous clubs reached out to him in droves.

"I'm just very thankful," he said. "I've worked very hard at my craft. I don't think any part of my career has been easy. I've worked really hard to play this long. For those fans who are supportive and appreciate just the hard work and the passion that I put out on the field, I'm just really appreciative and real thankful of them.

"I want to continue to put that same effort out there so new fans in Baltimore can get that same experience."