Health news is good for Orioles at FanFest

The hours that ticked away after the last remnants of the crowd at FanFest had spilled onto the sidewalks outside the Baltimore Convention Center could be spent reviewing and dissecting some of the bullet points from the annual event.

Executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias stressed again that his primary goal is to improve the level of talent throughout the organization. Don't obsess so much over the record, though avoiding another 115-loss season would be celebrated, too.

Manager Brandon Hyde is stressing fundamentals and won't tolerate shoddy baserunning and defense and lackluster effort. Of course, the same was true of former manager Buck Showalter and his coaching staff.

Elias has placed pitching as his top roster priority because you can't have enough of it. But he's also looking for an outfielder, infielder and catcher.

The Orioles aren't expected to sign a free agent for a contract that exceeds one year. In case you really believed that they were a mystery team for Manny Machado.

Elias won't publicly eliminate Adam Jones from consideration for right field as fans and some media continue to put him on the spot. He's going to keep saying that he's monitoring the free agent market and respects what Jones has done for the team and the city. And we'll see what happens.

The minor league coaching staffs should be announced soon, with the Orioles choosing to wait until all of the spots have been filled. There are a few left that apparently remain vacant.

Chris Davis has lost weight, is consulting with people from his days in the Rangers organization and vows to be a much better version in 2019. He also wants to be the clubhouse leader, especially with Jones gone, but concedes that it's harder to do if you're batting .180.

His production matters on multiple levels.

Not only is Chance Sisco ready to compete for a spot on the 25-man roster after twice being demoted last year, he's got an eye on the starting job with Caleb Joseph a free agent. The confidence will do him a lot of good.

Ryan Mountcastle said he's much more comfortable at third base and seems intent on staying there. He's just got to convince everyone else, with the new sets of eyes on him.

All of the injury updates were positive, which left a big impression on me.

Mark Trumbo sounded more confident yesterday in his chances of being ready for opening day after his knee surgery in September. He's been cleared for baseball activities, including the start of hitting drills at the minicamp in Sarasota that apparently drew more players than advertised.

"Things are good," he said. "The strength is right where we want it. Going to progress to a little more running. I've been hitting and that checked out fine. Throwing is fine. I think as we kind of get closer I'm going to go down to Florida a little early to kind of test it a little bit more. And I don't see any reason why things won't be where they need to be."

Reliever Richard Bleier is long-tossing and getting ready to throw off a mound following lat surgery in June.

"I'm feeling great," he said. "It's coming along extremely well. It's definitely been a long process. I'll admit to that. But I feel like I'm past the hump and throwing long toss. About to get off the mound. We're definitely getting there for sure."

Being on the active roster for opening day remains a realistic goal for Bleier, who's posted ERAs under 2.00 in each of his three major league seasons.

"I don't see why not at all," he said. "As far as the scheduling goes, the scheduling is for opening day, so unless there's any setbacks or anything, which I hope there's not, I think I should be ready."

Hunter Harvey, the former first-round pick who's been buried by injuries, has rid himself of any discomfort in his shoulder and forearm.

"Feeling really good," he said. "Body feels good. Actually got on the mound this past week and have two bullpens in now. Feeling good. Worked my butt off this offseason again and hopefully just trying to prevent injuries.

"It's been tough the last few years and hopefully we can put everything together this year. I haven't felt anything other than normal soreness now."

Harvey, 24, has scaled down his goals. Of course, he'd like to pitch for the Orioles this summer, but staying off the disabled list is the main focus.

"I'd like to pitch a full season," he said. "Hopefully, it's at the big league level. But just want to pitch a full season."

Outfielder Austin Hays, also one of the top prospects in the system, was held back in spring training by a shoulder injury and underwent ankle surgery in September. He's down to his last real test on the ankle and is a prime candidate to bounce back in 2019 and eventually get back to the majors.

"Ankle is feeling really good," he said. "Last stage. When I went down to Sarasota for about 10 days a week ago, I was starting to incorporate the cutting. Running full speed, planting on the right foot coming off of it. So we started doing that and it feels real good. So the last step would be baserunning when I get to spring training. But as far as sprinting and everything like that, I'm going all out and it feels really good, so I'm happy with where I am and how the recovery process is going."

Asked whether he ever felt 100 percent last year, the 23-year-old Hays replied, "I would say around the first 30 games when I came off the shoulder injury, my body was feeling pretty good. I would say I was healthy for the first 30 games and then that's when the ankle started to bother me. About half of the games I played with that ankle injury."

Rule 5 pick Richie Martin, a candidate to start at shortstop or serve in a utility role, is deemed a plus defender whose bat has lagged. He had a breakout 2018 season at Double-A Midland by slashing .300/.368/.439 with 29 doubles and eight triples in 118 games and offers a fairly simple explanation.

"I worked on a lot of things in the offseason," he said. "And there's so many things. I saw a hitting guy, I had my eyes checked.

"I had really bad vision. I never realized it until I went to the doctor. You grow up and you're not used to knowing that your eyesight can be better until you actually sit down and have your eyes really checked. So I got contacts and I wear contacts every game at night and it really helped that. A lot of little things, mechanical and mental. It all helped."

Seems like the eyesight might be pretty big deal here.

"It was bad," he said. "I don't know the numbers, to be honest, but now with the contacts it's just night and day with my vision. Even driving at night, it's crazy how much better I can see. Like, lights will be blurry, but when I put my glasses on or my contacts it's crystal clear, so that helped a lot."