Good Morning Birdland,
It is getting increasingly difficult to write these opening thoughts to the Bird Droppings while the Orioles make no roster moves of note. There has been zero significant movement
in quite a while.
In case you have missed the last…uh…five months (?), the Orioles still want to sign a “frontline” pitcher. They have been linked to every viable free agent you can think of. Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, Lucas Giolito, Zac Gallen. Yep. All of them. Nothing has changed there in a long time.
Looking at the roster, they need bullpen help too. But there is even less noise there. In fact, it has been silent. Mike Elias added Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Helsley a few months back, and then hunkered down. The best guess is they will add some fringier arms on minor league deals with spring invites, and then they will pick up some scraps as teams cut their “extras” throughout February and March. Bullpen heros can come from unexpected places, but you would like to have a bit more certainty.
The position player groups seem set. At least to begin the spring. No trade of Coby Mayo or Ryan Mountcastle is imminent. The 40-man roster has no true utility man on it. They did just add Bryan Ramos as a potential bench option, but almost all of his experience as a pro has come at third base, so he’s not the most versatile. Colton Cowser is lining up to be the center fielder most days with Leody Taveras in tow to spell him on occasion.
The pieces are not fitting together perfectly. But they don’t have to. Elias has made it clear that he wants to build redundancies into the squad so that an injury here or there doesn’t derail the season. Players can be optioned to Triple-A if they see fit. That includes Mayo and Jackson among others. In a 162-game season, players that begin the year in Norfolk are still likely to get their big league chance. That’s the theory anyway.
Links
Kyle Bradish beats Orioles in arbitration, will get $3.55M in ’26 | ESPN
The Orioles and Bradish filed at numbers that were $675,000 apart. It would have been nice to see the two sides come to agreement rather than going through the arbitration process. It’s pretty common for the experience to sour a player’s view of their organization. If healthy, Bradish is a player that is probably going to be pretty important to this team for a few more years, at least. It would be best to keep him in good spirits. But it’s a business. I know, I know.
Orioles 2026 minor league coaching staffs announced | On The Verge
This is a great, simple and contextual look at the changes made at each of the levels going into 2026. I do not personally know enough about minor league coaches to really have an opinion. But it doesn’t seem like the Orioles did much of an overhaul here, so they must be happy with the general direction of player development.
Gunnar Henderson is one of the fastest players in MLB. He spent the offseason working to get faster. | The Baltimore Banner
Best. Shape. Of. His. Life! OK, no one actually claimed that in the article, and it was interesting to read about the sort of stuff Henderson is focused on. He is aware of how big he is, and the way in which that can work against him as he ages. These sorts of drills aim to to hold onto that foot speed and athleticism for as long as possible.
What to expect at Orioles spring training | Roch Kubatko
Maybe it has been this stretch of ridiculously cold weather around Baltimore, or perhaps the team has just made some genuinely exciting moves this offseason, but I am more excited for spring training than I have been in a few years. Man, it is really gonna hurt if/when this team falls apart.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
February 4 is bereft of former Orioles player birthdays, but some of the non-baseball people celebrating today are former Vice President Dan Quayle (b. 1947), rock star Alice Cooper (b. 1948), actor Rob Corddry (b. 1971), former boxer Oscar De La Hoya (b. 1973), and comedian Hannibal Buress (b. 1983).
This day in O’s history
2011 – The Orioles sign Vladimir Guerrero to a one-year deal. It would prove to be the final season of his Hall-of-Fame career. Over 145 games with the O’s, Guerrero will hit .290/.317/.416 with 13 home runs and a 98 OPS+.
