All spring training, I’ve been wondering how the Orioles would juggle all of their various considerations to set their lineup on Opening Day. Now the day has arrived and we’ve finally got our answer. Here’s how they’re set for the first game:
Trevor Rogers gets the start.
As a long-time Dylan Beavers booster, I’m bummed to see him left out here. I’m also not surprised. The Orioles didn’t sign O’Neill or trade for Ward to have them sit on the bench most of the time that they are healthy. Ward does not seem like the ideal leadoff batter as a guy who had only a .317 OBP last year. If he can at least be in the .330 range, that would be better.
The fill-ins for Jackson Holliday at second base and Jordan Westburg at third base have gone as expected based on what the team was doing in spring training. Alexander plays second, Mayo plays third. How well Mayo looks at third base in real regular season games might determine what adjustment is made when Holliday returns in two to three weeks.
Rutschman as the cleanup hitter when he slugged just .366 a year ago is a big vote of confidence from the team in his rebounding from that struggle. I’m hoping that does not prove to be foolish confidence. Basallo at #5 is also a big vote of confidence in the rookie.
The Orioles used 148 different batting orders last year and never used the exact same lineup more than four times. A lot of that was chaos revolving around injuries (especially to catchers) and also the July trades, but even if there’s more roster stability this year, there will still be a lot of day-to-day tweaking as bench players get a little playing time, guys deal with minor injuries, and platoon advantages are hopefully exploited. This may be the Opening Day lineup but we won’t know if it’s the lineup (or most of the lineup) until more games are played.
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