A patient and fresh feeling around camp

Pitchers and catchers reported to the Ed Smith Stadium Complex yesterday for the first of 41 days the team will spend together in Sarasota. Before mid-day though, they weren’t the only players that filed in. Among position players getting an early start to their spring were designated hitter Mark Trumbo, projected left fielder Trey Mancini and non-roster invitee, Mike Yastrzemski.

Trumbo has been confident all winter that he’ll be ready for Opening Day. His 2018 season was cut short after just 90 games and he’s prepared to be one of the veteran leaders as the club begins its first full season in full rebuild mode. Speaking with the media yesterday after batting practice, Trumbo said, “What I like most about this is there’s a lot of competition and I think that’s one of the best things that can happen to any club is to have a lot of guys fighting for positions. I think that’s going to get the best out of everybody. And there’s hardly any spots that are really totally wrapped up here. There are a few that are probably spoken for, but a lot of it is wide open. We’ll see how it goes.”

“We’ll see how it goes,” could really be a summary of thoughts regarding the lack of confidence fans have surrounding the Orioles this season. Plenty of times this offseason I’ve read guarantees on them losing well over 100 games, being the worst team in the league and being the laughing stock of the majors. Jon Heyman even got in on the mix, tweeting that a 25-man roster full of players receiving minor league deals was, “Better than Baltimore (anyway).”

The Orioles aren’t likely to play for a postseason spot. They’re not fooling anybody into thinking a second American League East title in five seasons is on the way. The air floating around the first day of big league camp is fresh though, and Manager Brandon Hyde laid out his expectations right away. Speaking with the media yesterday Hyde said, “The bottom line is to compete with each other on a daily basis out here, compete when we break and go to New York. That’s going to be the overlying message is we’re going to prepare and we’re going to compete.”

Hyde wants to create a team identity right from day one. “I want our players to understand the things we believe in and how we’re going to compete in the American League East.” He’s also excited for his first Spring Training to commence as a big league manager. “Bottom line is I’m just looking forward to these guys trying to win jobs and getting to know them as people.”

The notion of needing to get to know the players as people has been carried out all winter. It was not only mentioned by Hyde at FanFest but others like pitching coach Doug Brocail and hitting coach Don Long have each talked about the importance of knowing your players on a personal level.

While getting to know the players over the winter, Spring Training is really the time where it all starts to come together. Speaking with the media yesterday, General Manager Mike Elias said, “That’s one of the cool things about Spring Training. You really get everybody under one roof for the first time and you really get a lot done.”

Not everybody was under the same roof yesterday though, position players aren’t required to report until Sunday. However, the message of competing will be repeated through February and into March when the number of players in camp starts dwindling. “We’re taking a fresh start approach,” Elias said. “We’re assessing everything. We’ve got really open competitions at a number of spots around the diamond. Almost every positional spot is open competition.”

Positional battles around the infield should be fun to watch this spring. You’ve got the third base battle between Renato Núñez and Rio Ruiz. Shortstop could be a dual between Rule-5 picks Richie Martin or Drew Jackson. There’s of course the catcher position which could seat Chance Sisco by the time camp breaks, but who spells him? Is it the recently signed veteran Jesús Sucre, or another name such as Austin Wynns or Martin Cervenka? Then, there’s the fight for the utility infield position between Jace Peterson, Steve Wilkerson, Hanser Alberto or Chris Bostick.

Patience needs practiced now more than ever with the new era of Baltimore baseball. As echoed throughout the winter, turning this franchise back into a winning team isn’t an overnight experience. But as Elias said yesterday, “With so many new faces in terms of front office and coaching staff and even players, kind of our theme for this camp is a fresh start and a fresh look.”