Spring training only lasts about six weeks, but it can often feel much longer. The excitement over pitchers and catchers finally reporting in mid-Februrary has already worn off by the time March arrives. The World Baseball Classic gave us all something a little more interesting to watch this year, but nothing compares to seeing your local team on the field in games that actually matter. In just a few of days, we will get that back in our lives.
But before that can happen, let’s take a look back at the spring training that was, and churn up a few takeaways from the work the team did down in Florida.
Injuries are already a problem, of course
The Orioles entered camp with Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday already dinged up. They have since lost Andrew Kittredge to shoulder inflammation. None of them are expected to miss too much time, but who knows.
The Westburg elbow injury will need to be monitored all season long, and it could just be a ticking bomb. He has missed a lot of time due to injury recently, so the Orioles probably shouldn’t have been counting on him anyway, but it’s never fun to miss a former all-star. The alternatives, like Coby Mayo, could end up perfectly fine, but none of them are as sure of a thing as Westburg, who is a decidedly above-average third baseman when healthy.
Holliday is making progress. He is already taking live at-bats and is expected to start a rehab assignment at Triple-A relatively soon after the season begins. What seems to be the bigger concern is how long it takes Holliday to actually bounce back fully. Hamate bones can linger and sap players on their power. Holliday’s modest 17 home runs a season ago tied for the team lead. His replacement, likely Blaze Alexander, is unlikely to provide that kind of thump.
Kittredge may be the most costly injury out of the gate. The Orioles bullpen doesn’t have too many proven arms. The veteran was one of the few, and in the current configuration was probably going to be used in a set-up role for Ryan Helsley. That won’t be possible anymore. But there is good news here. Kittredge believes he will be on the IL for the minimum number of days, so the bullpen shouldn’t be without him for too long.
The front office believes in the pitching staff, at least to begin the season
This applies to both the starters and relievers.
Each of the six main starters are healthy, which is something of a shock. All signs seemed to be pointing to Zach Eflin opening the year on the IL just to give him more time to ramp up from his back surgery. Instead, he tossed 5.1 shutout frames in his last spring outing and is set to be in the rotation. Dean Kremer is the odd man out, for now anyway. The Orioles optioned him to Triple-A over the weekend. Mike Elias indicated that it will be a brief stint, simply taking advantage of off days early in the year to make the roster math work.
Trevor Rogers is getting the Opening Day nod ahead of Kyle Bradish, but those two should form an impressive 1-2 punch throughout the year. Rogers had a 2.51 ERA this spring while Bradish was down at 2.35.
In the bullpen, the Orioles will be relying on quite a few unproven names. Rico Garcia and Dietrich Enns are out of options. Garcia tossed 5.2 scoreless frames in the Grapefruit League, Enns served up eight runs in 6.2 innings. Both are expected to make the team. Grant Wolfram may have been the most impressive reliever in camp. The hard-throwing lefty was on the bubble, but his pristine ERA and 10 strikeouts over six innings likely clinch his spot. Jackson Kowar might make it as well. The 29-year-old was OK this spring (1.50 WRA, 1.50 WHIP), but he is also out of options and could be worth giving an extended tryout.
Helsley looked incredible in his final tune-up against the Nationals on Sunday. Although a bit wild, he was into the triple digits with his fastball, and struck out the side. As long as the Orioles can get him late-game leads with some regularity, they should be in a good spot.
So far, the club has not looked to supplement the arms with any late-spring additions. But they could be waiting to learn more about Keegan Akin. He was stopped from entering a late spring game due to some adductor discomfort. A short IL stint could be coming.
Coby Mayo has earned a long look at third base
The injury to Westburg hurts. We know he is going to miss some regular season time, and even when he returns it is unclear what his level of availability is going to be. That makes Coby Mayo the logical next man up, and boy was he good this spring.
The 24-year-old hit .389 with two home runs and a 1.039 OPS. And while he only worked two walks, he also only struck out four times. That’s a 10% K-rate. He struck out 28.6% of the time last season. It’s only the spring, but that feels like a player that is seeing the ball better than ever before. If he really is rounding into form, that could push the Orioles offense to another level.
It’s not as if Mayo was without competition this spring. Jeremiah Jackson, Bryan Ramos, and Luis Vázquez have all been in camp and having success. None of them have Mayo’s upside, but they could be viewed as safer picks to take Westburg’s innings at third base. Mayo fended them all off for an extended look at the hot corner.
The outfield roles may constantly change
This Orioles roster is full of outfielders. Colton Cowser, Taylor Ward, Dylan Beavers, Tyler O’Neill, and Leody Taveras are all expected to make the Opening Day squad. Alexander and Jackson have also played outfield. And Heston Kjerstad had himself a big spring before a hamstring injury put him on the shelf early, so he is likely set for Norfolk.
But nothing is set in stone. The Orioles outfield was a weakness last year, largely due to injuries to Cowser and O’Neill. The front office clearly wanted to fortify that group in 2026, and they have done just that. But it has left the unit feeling a bit…ambiguous.
Cowser should be the everyday center fielder, but he struggled badly in 2025 and has had issues with left-handed pitching. That’s where the right-handed hitting Taveras comes in. He’s not exactly a world-beater against southpaws, but he can play center, run a little bit, and be serviceable at the plate.
The corner spots could be constantly shifting around. Ward is likely to play everyday in left field, but weird things can happen for a player joining a new team. O’Neill and Beavers are likely to share right field and get into the DH mix a bit. But it’s unlikely to be a straight up platoon. O’Neill makes too much money to sit against every right-handed pitcher.
What seems likely to happen most games is that Taveras enters as a defensively replacement in left for Ward and Beavers finishes games in right, whether he started or not. Along with Cowser in center that gives the Orioles a solid defense to wrap up wins.
The value of spring training is not something that can be quantified, mostly because we don’t have the full picture. We see the games and we get reports of what happens on the backfields, but there are a bunch of unknowns. Is a pitcher working on a specific offering? Is a batter tweaking their stance? Is the coaching staff experimenting with a new defensive alignment? We can’t know. And that is why all of the results from the O’s action down in Florida has to be taken with a boulder of salt.
What we can objectively say is that the Orioles are entering the 2026 season on a better foot than they began 2025. That doesn’t guarantee success in a tough AL East, but it’s better than the inverse.
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