What comes next with Triple-A season pushed back?

The Orioles knew that the Triple-A season could be pushed back at least a month, along with the other affiliates in baseball. The ESPN.com report Wednesday night didn't really blindside anyone in the organization. Only the timing enabled it to sneak up on some people.

They were told that it could be announced by mid-March, but the news came a little bit earlier than that.

How the Orioles deal with the latest changes due to COVID-19 and the need for more vaccinations is a work in progress. Manager Brandon Hyde said yesterday that they'd spent the week discussing it and mapping out a strategy, which apparently will include the return of a secondary camp site.

The phrase that was born in 2020 won't go away before 2022.

Teams were given a 60-man player pool last summer and the Orioles used a slow drip to fill it rather than flooding the Bowie complex. ESPN.com reported that the 2021 secondary sites will hold around two dozen players, which could reduce the number of prospects invited who aren't likely to assist the major league club over the summer.

The lower-level minor league players report to spring training after the current group exists the complex. But what happens to, for example, pitchers Zac Lowther, Michael Baumann and Alexander Wells, outfielders Yusniel Diaz and Ryan McKenna and catchers Austin Wynns and Nick Ciuffo, who aren't projected to make the club but will be a phone call away at Norfolk? Jahmai Jones also becomes a riddle if he isn't in Boston on opening day.

They could remain in Sarasota, Fla., for further workouts. They could report to the alternate site, with the location to be determined.

The area that isn't gray is the enthusiasm over minor league baseball coming back. Delayed but apparently not denied.

"Last year was a little different just because of the fact that we knew there wasn't going to be a season, so that's all you had," said Norfolk manager Gary Kendall. "You had the major league team and we knew that maybe there was going to be a fall instructional league for some of the younger players, but it was really all we had, so we're so excited to get back on the field.

"Really, I'm excited about the season because I think it's eventually going to get here. I think the only way it really impacts me is in the making of the schedule, just because of the intake times and how you have to juggle things around. Normally in a practice setting or a training setting you have access to more fields, whereas if we are in Bowie and one field you really have to be creative about how you're going to split your day up, how you're going to work it and kind of make everything sync up. So that's really the only challenge.

"As far as putting in the work, I know the players will be excited because I think there will be a season after this little delay. And hopefully we get going after a month and possibly tack on some games at the back end to kind of lengthen our season out a little more. So I think, just from my standpoint, I'm excited just to manage, I'm excited to have a job, but the main thing is you want to put together a schedule that's very efficient, very streamlined, very organized, and it's something that every manager that I know of really wants."

Everyone associated with the minors is waiting to find out the plan, their exact duties and where they'll be located before the first games.

"When you leave spring training you're ready to start the season, you're looking forward to going to different places and playing before crowds, and it just gets delayed a month or whatever the time frame's going to be," Kendall said.

"They mentioned possibly a month, but who knows? But I think the players will suck it up and I think they're going to be excited about moving on and getting on with things. I don't really see it being a problem."

Meanwhile, the exhibition games chug along and the Orioles are back at Ed Smith Stadium this afternoon to host the Red Sox. Dean Kremer makes his spring debut, while the Red Sox send Matt Andriese to the mound.

The last of Kremer's four starts in 2020 came at Fenway Park, where he allowed seven runs with seven hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings. He had surrendered only one run in each of the first three starts, but his ERA jumped from 1.69 to 4.82.

The highlight was Bruce Zimmermann's relief appearance, when he allowed one run and two hits in four innings.

Trey Mancini is expected to play first base today and Cedric Mullins could take his turn again in center field after collecting a triple and single in his last game. Austin Hays singled, stole a base and homered yesterday.

"I mean, he's probably my best friend on the team, maybe my best friend in the organization, so we're rooting for each other to just do really well," Hays said yesterday. "It just makes for a really fun competition just because we are such close friends. He gets a couple hits, I get a couple hits, and we go back and forth with each other. So, it just makes it really fun."