Latest sampling of spring training storylines

Baseball remains in lockout mode, but representatives for ownership and the union met on back-to-back days. Communication is better than complete silence.

My hot take.

Per reports, Major League Baseball increased its proposal to raise the minimum salary for players with up to one year of service time from $600,000 to $615,000. MLB also proposed a $10 million bonus pool for pre-arbitration-eligible players, while the union has sought $105 million.

Lots of work to be done, but this is progress.

Orioles pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report on Feb. 15. Will they?

I've already written 14 anticipated spring training storylines that should keep me busy, whether or not I'm able to provide in-person coverage down in Sarasota.

There's the rotation behind John Means and Jordan Lyles, whether Adley Rutschman will get a fair shot at breaking camp with the team, whether Rougned Odor will avoid becoming Yolmer Sánchez, who's on the left side of the infield, how Yusniel Diaz will look in camp, whether Paul Fry rediscovers his command and confidence, whether there's a noticeable difference in Trey Mancini after a normal offseason, what role is bestowed upon Jorge López, whether Tyler Wells is on the team and the closer, who catches if it isn't Rutschman, whether Félix Bautista makes the club, if DJ Stewart solidifies his spot on the roster, how Heston Kjerstad will look and whether Jahmai Jones will instill confidence in his work at second base.

Here are two more:

Where does Tyler Nevin get most of his work on the back fields and in games?
Nevin was counted among the 16 Orioles making their major league debuts last season, and the last name made him a little more recognizable than some others. His father, Phil, was the first overall selection in the 1992 draft and served as Yankees third base coach when the Orioles traded for Tyler on Aug. 30, 2020.

Phil Nevin joined the Angels coaching staff earlier this month. Tyler will attempt to win a job in spring training after appearing in six games and going 4-for-14 with two doubles and a home run.

The home run was hit in the Orioles' final game of the season in Toronto, the ball traveling 442 feet into the upper deck at Rogers Centre.

Baseball-Reference.com lists Nevin, 24, as a left fielder and first baseman. He made three starts in left and two at first base with the Orioles, but did more moving around at Triple-A Norfolk with 39 starts at first, 37 at third, 20 in left and eight in right.

Most of Nevin's starts in the minors came at first base with 235, but he also made 138 at third.

The Orioles don't need another first baseman with Mancini and Ryan Mountcastle, and with Rutschman also capable of playing the position when he isn't behind the plate. They don't really need a left fielder with Stewart, Austin Hays and Ryan McKenna in camp.

They don't have a definite starter at third.

Don't follow that trail or you may get lost.

The Orioles figure to evaluate Nevin at multiple positions, including third, where he owns a .912 fielding percentage in 140 minor league games. He doesn't profile as a typical utility player with no experience in the middle infield, but could provide some right-handed pop off the bench with 16 home runs last summer in 111 games with Norfolk.

If he doesn't win a starting job, of course.

One of the perks of media access on the back fields is checking where players are taking grounders and fly balls. The games aren't always the entire story.

The question is worth asking if that access is denied again due to COVID-19.

Are the Orioles open to shifting Mike Baumann to the bullpen?
Baumann, 26, also made his major league debut in 2021 and he's the organization's No. 10 prospect per MLBPipeline.com. He has a mid-to-upper 90s fastball and a power slider that elicits swings and misses, and some scouts think he's best suited for a late relief role.

The Orioles, of course, are trying to develop him first as a starter. Seventy-four of his 77 appearances in the minors came from the rotation. In six starts last summer with Norfolk, Baumann allowed only six runs and 18 hits in 27 innings and made his Orioles debut on Sept. 7, earning the win by allowing only an unearned run over 3 2/3 innings.

As a reliever.

Baumann entered four games for the Orioles in the fifth, third, fifth and sixth innings. They were careful with him after he twice experienced soreness in his right forearm/elbow, which first surfaced in 2020 at the alternate camp site. They also needed assistance in a bullpen that was crumbling from the pressure of so many short starts.

As more of the pitching prospects are promoted - Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, DL Hall are just three who could debut this summer - Baumann will be jostling for position in the rotation. A scenario that works wonderfully for an organization so dependent on its cast of arms to pull it through the rebuild.

In the meantime, he'll be stretched out in camp to keep him as a starting option. We'll monitor his appearances in exhibition games - when he enters them, along with his results.

Manager Brandon Hyde will be asked about Baumann's "role," and eventually we'll learn whether the bullpen is a landing spot to keep him on the roster if he isn't starting, or if the Orioles want him taking the ball every fifth or sixth day at Triple-A.

Here's where this article becomes interactive:

1. Where does Nevin gets most of his exposure in spring training?

2. Should Baumann be a starter or reliever?

3. Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway?

(You can ignore the last one.)

Note: The Orioles opened their second hitting minicamp yesterday in Sarasota for players who aren't on the 40-man roster and it runs through Monday. First-round outfielders Kjerstad and Colton Cowser, and Cuban infielder César Prieto, are holdovers from the first camp.

They're joined by TT Bowens, Collin Burns, Trendon Craig, Andrew Daschbach, Adam Hall, Coby Mayo, JD Mundy, Connor Norby, Connor Pavolony, John Rhodes, Jacob Teter, Creed Willems and Donta' Williams. A camp heavily influenced by 2021 draft selections.

Shortstop Joey Ortiz and outfielder Ryan Higgins are rehabbing at the Ed Smith Stadium complex.

Player development staff are running the camp.