This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BALTIMORE -- Shortly after a group of Orioles players were introduced Saturday evening in the filled-to-the-brim taproom at UNION Craft Brewing Company -- the final stop for this weekend’s Birdland Caravan -- the large crowd of orange-clad fans broke out in a chant of “Let’s go, O’s!”
Baltimore is getting excited for baseball season even though football season isn’t quite over yet, with the Ravens set to play in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. And despite the fact that many of those O’s fans are still hoping to see a starting pitcher acquired to boost the rotation.
It hasn’t exactly been a loud offseason for the Orioles. But did it need to be? They’re returning the bulk of a team that won 101 games and the American League East title in 2023. Much of their young core is still improving as they gain big league experience. The farm system remains loaded with top prospects, many on the cusp of the Majors.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who are champing at the bit to prove themselves, to earn spots. I think that hunger is going to push us to be just as good as we were last year,” infielder Jordan Westburg said this week. “Sure, we’d love to make a big move, and you’d love to have an ace or a superstar on the team. But as the roster is right now, I think everybody is pretty confident in the clubhouse that we can go out and win ballgames and compete in the AL East.”
There are budding superstars (Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson) and potential future aces (Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez) already on Baltimore’s roster. The O’s also made the necessary move of signing free-agent closer Craig Kimbrel, who will serve as a one-year stopgap for the injured Félix Bautista (Tommy John surgery).
Yet, much of the offseason buzz surrounding the Orioles has centered around one question -- when will they add that frontline starting pitcher general manager Mike Elias has been targeting since November?
The returning players in Baltimore can’t worry about that. In only a few weeks, they’ll be reporting to Sarasota, Fla., for Spring Training and preparing for what they believe will be another successful season.
“As a player, you don’t dive too deep into that stuff. It’s a matter of personal improvement,” center fielder Cedric Mullins said. “You can help the team by improving your game as well and trusting the brass is going to make the decisions necessary to continue to elevate us. I know that we’re still in the hunt. It’s just a matter of continuing to focus, walk into Spring Training and see what happens.”
Westburg and Mullins weren’t alone. The overarching tone among Orioles players who attended Birdland Caravan events was a confidence that the team is poised to again be among the AL’s best this year. There isn’t any concern about a lack of offseason transactions.
As Rodriguez put it, the players went into the offseason with a “sour taste in our mouth” after Baltimore was swept in three games by Texas in the AL Division Series, which marked the first postseason experience for much of the team’s roster. The bitterness has since turned into motivation to make an extended October run in 2024.
“Everybody is just ready to make up for that, to attack the season,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a new year. Go a little bit further in the playoffs. Hopefully, we’re in the World Series this year.”
The Orioles could increase their championship odds by making at least one big move before pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training on Feb. 14 (or even after that). But if they don’t, expectations will still be high for Baltimore, especially internally.
“It’s hard not to be happy with pretty much the same group that won 101 games, right? But at the same time, I’ve seen the comments that Mike has made -- there’s always room to improve,” catcher James McCann said. “If we showed up to camp tomorrow with the team the way it is, I feel very confident in what we have. But at the same time, if there’s a way to improve, I’m sure Mike and his team in the front-office group is going to do that.”