SARASOTA, Fla. -- Of the various assessments and roster decisions facing the Orioles this spring, determining what role best fits one of their longest-tenured pitchers is taking precedence. Is Mike Wright Jr. a starter or reliever? It’s a simple question without an easy answer.

The Orioles are giving themselves the bandwidth to finally find out.

Wright continued to make his case for the former Tuesday, his latest showing in what has become an annual audition for the right-hander. After tossing two scoreless innings to open the club’s 11-5 loss to the Rays, Wright now has thrown four shutout frames to begin what can be reasonably called a make-or-break spring.

“I learned a lot in the bullpen. I definitely liked starting. They approached me and asked me if that’s what I want to do, and I said yes,” Wright said. “That’s not definitely what I’m going to do. I do have to win that spot.”

Said manager Brandon Hyde: “I think he would like to be considered as a starter, but again, we have a lot of guys who fall into that category.“

The uncertainty is nothing new for Wright, who has spent the bulk of his big league career shuffling between starting and relieving roles. Drafted and developed as a starter, Wright made 21 starts and nine relief appearances over his first two Major League seasons, then spent most of 2017 as a starter at Triple-A Norfolk. He won a rotation spot last spring before the Orioles signed Alex Cobb, only to make 46 of his 48 appearances out of the pen.

Now 29 and sporting a career 5.75 ERA, Wright arrived in Sarasota with a heightened sense of urgency. With as many as six bullpen jobs available, avenues exist for Wright even if he cannot claim the fifth starter job. But he also knows his situation is more tenuous than most. Out of Minor League options, Wright must prove he’s one of the Orioles' 12 or 13 best pitchers come late March or risk losing his 40-man roster spot.

“I came in wanting to be as prepared as possible,” Wright said. “There are a lot of people competing, a lot of young pitchers with a lot of promise. In a rebuild, I understand they get first dibs.”

Which is why Wright returned home this winter not focusing on starting or relieving, but on getting himself ready to split the difference. During his offseason bullpen sessions, he worked to refine all four of his pitches, several of which he shelved last year in relief. He built to 45- to 50-pitch up-and-down sessions, meant to simulate multi-inning appearances.

“You want guys who can recover quickly, who are not regimented from a rest standpoint,” Hyde said. “Guys who can get out of their routine quickly, that’s really, really valuable.”

For reference, Hyde pointed to Cubs lefty Mike Montgomery, who thrived in a swingman role over Hyde’s last two seasons in Chicago. By starting 33 games and relieving 49 since 2017, Montgomery showed the versatility teams crave in an era in which they routinely cycle through double-digit starters over a 162-game season. The Orioles used 14 starters last season; they could challenge that number in 2019.

“If you can go through five throughout the season, you’re really fortunate,” Hyde said. “You want depth. To have as many options as you can in the rotation is definitely best for us.”