Hello, friends.
There are now six weeks remaining until Orioles Opening Day. We’re three days from position players being required to report, with the first spring training game now eight days away. Many position players have reported days early.
Last night brought the late-breaking news that the Orioles are adding one more pitcher to the starting rotation after all. It’s Chris Bassitt time, y’all. Mike Elias didn’t get any impact guys on the free agent market but, just like last year, he’s once again
dipped into the well of older guys who will sign for one-year deals of over $10 million. It didn’t work out too well with Charlie Morton last year. Hopefully it goes better with Zach Eflin and Bassitt this year.
Assuming that neither of these guys is a Morton-level disaster, the signing does at least seem to reduce the chances that the Orioles have to give a lot of starts to guys who have no business being major league starters. That’s what happened in 2025 when so many starts were made by Cade Povich and Brandon Young. Going into 2026, it seems that the 6 and 7 options for starters are Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells. That’s not an exciting improvement, but it is an improvement. It’s not immediately clear how the guys will line up for Opening Day. That’s a problem they can figure out if everyone gets through camp healthy. That sure didn’t happen last year.
Earlier yesterday was “Elias tells us about all of the secret offseason injuries” time. The big one from that news dump is that Jackson Holliday broke his hamate bone within the last week and will have surgery that will have him on the shelf until around Opening Day; he’ll have to start ramping up like he would have done during spring training only after that. Holliday’s injury was one of only a trio of hamates to come up in baseball as camps open, joining New York Met Francisco Lindor and Arizona’s Corbin Carroll.
The other update was about Jordan Westburg, who has been dealing with a sore oblique for about three weeks. Elias said that Westburg should miss the first few exhibition games but will be back after that.
As I wrote yesterday, this news provides a retroactive explanation for last week’s trade for Blaze Alexander. If the Orioles were already aware of something going on with Westburg, it makes a lot more sense to act to not have Jeremiah Jackson as the backup infielder. Holliday’s injury happened after the Alexander trade, according to Elias. So, having a guy to back up that position in place is even more of a bonus.
That’s a tough couple of injuries. The surgery for a hamate break can have lingering impacts on a player’s power even after they return. Oblique injuries also tend to be of the nagging sort. If Holliday returns around May 1 but isn’t full strength until July or August, that’s a problem for the 2026 Orioles. If this is the start of a season of injuries for Westburg, that’s also a problem.
For now, at least, there are no major issues with the pitching staff. The only injury that Elias reported yesterday is Colin Selby having shoulder inflammation. I would say that it is not especially likely that the success or failure of the 2026 Orioles hinges on the availability of Colin Selby. The anticipated starting rotation enters camp healthy, which to me makes the Bassitt signing a bit more of a head-scratcher, but someone’s going to get hurt eventually.
Last year’s start of camp injury dump wasn’t too bad, but then a bunch of injuries happened during spring training. Then, you know, the injuries just kept happening all through the year. One spring-injured player, Grayson Rodriguez, never pitched last season. That’s only a problem for the Angels to deal with this year, since the Orioles traded him for outfielder Taylor Ward. It’s still weird. I hope it works out.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Notes from day one of Orioles spring training (School of Roch)
Roch Kubatko runs down some of the day one action, including live batting practice thrown by Dean Kremer and Shane Baz.
Even if another starting pitcher walks through that door, these Orioles starters know the onus is on them (The Baltimore Banner)
As it turns out, Bassitt will now be walking through that door. How much of Elias’s confidence in the group of starting pitchers he’s assembled you share probably has a lot to do with how you feel about the potential fortunes of this year’s team.
Pete Alonso sets tone on first day of spring training (The Baltimore Sun)
The Polar Bear’s veteran leadership and its impact on the clubhouse generally and possibly certain players specifically is a good bet to be one of the ongoing storylines through Orioles spring training.
Five options to play second base with Holliday starting the year on the IL (Orioles.com)
The first name listed is Westburg, who notably for this moment is also hurt!
ZiPS 2026 movers and shakers: Hitters (FanGraphs)
Dan Szymborski looks at players whose 2026 projections have improved the most since this time a year ago, and on the other end, players whose projections have fallen the most. The Orioles, unfortunately, have four players on the list, including Holliday, and that’s before even factoring in this hamate injury’s downtime and effects.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Nothing of particular note in Orioles history is recorded on this day. Today is probably not going to be that changes, but I guess you never know.
There is one current Oriole who has a birthday today. Happy 27th to outfielder Heston Kjerstad. Yes, he’s 27. Several former Orioles were also born today: 2013 catcher Chris Snyder, 2007 outfielder Adam Stern, 1978-79/82 reliever Don Stanhouse, 1971-72 pitcher Pat Dobson, and 1957-60 pitcher Jerry Walker.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: 16th president Abraham Lincoln (1809), biologist Charles Darwin (1809), auto engineer Louis Renault (1877), rapper Gucci Mane (1980), and actress Christina Ricci (1980).
On this day in history…
In 1689, a special Parliament of England convened and proclaimed that when the monarch James II fled to France, that constituted abdicating his throne.
In 1733, the North American colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe. This was the thirteenth of the thirteen colonies that eventually became the United States to be founded.
In 1912, China’s last emperor, styled the Xuantong Emperor, abdicated his throne.
In 1947, French fashion designer Christian Dior unveiled a “New Look.” Don’t ask me to explain it.
A random Orioles trivia question
I received a little book of Orioles trivia questions for Christmas. Each time it’s my turn in this space, I’ll ask a question until I run out of questions or I forget.
The last question from Sunday is the first one that I believe stumped everyone on their first guess. Merv Rettenmund was the player who led the 1970 Orioles in batting average with a career-best .322. Today’s question:
Who was the only player to record his 3,000th hit in Memorial Stadium?
If you’re answering early in the day, please be kind to those who may arrive later and place your guess behind spoiler text in the comments.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on February 12. Have a safe Thursday.
