Gunnar Henderson won’t need to worry about innings and at-bats with the Orioles this season. He’s the everyday shortstop as long as he’s healthy.
He also won’t have any concerns about his role with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, though regular duty isn’t as readily available.
Bobby Witt Jr. also is on the roster, but manager Mark DeRosa said at the Winter Meetings that Henderson is “gonna play.”
“We did it the last time,” DeRosa said. “We had Trea (Turner), we had Tim Anderson, we had Jeff McNeil. You’ve got Brice Turang at second. I know Gunnar won’t go over to second base, but there’s a way to make all these guys happy.”
Appearing as a call-in guest Thursday on the “Orioles Hot Stove Show” on WBAL Radio, Henderson said he was told that he’d play a game at short, a game at third, maybe serve as the designated hitter.
“Whoever’s honestly swinging it better is gonna get the nod,” he said. “It should be fun.”
Henderson is getting into a higher gear sooner than usual because of his commitment to the WBC.
“I’m hitting and fielding and everything right now,” he said. “Just trying to prepare for the WBC, so I’m getting ready a little bit earlier than I normally would, but nothing that’s too crazy.
“I’m super pumped up. To be able to wear your home country’s jersey and just rep that and play baseball for your home country is super awesome, and just honored and humbled to be able to do it.”
* New bench coach Donnie Ecker made an appearance Thursday at Rye Street Tavern for his interview on the “Orioles Hot Stove Show.” He wore a sweatshirt with the area code 410 and city skyline printed on it.
“You’ve got to get into the city right away,” he said.
Ecker already has moved to the area.
“This city, this community, you want to feel it and you want to start earning it,” he said, “and the best way to do that is to put yourself right in it.”
The Orioles chose Ecker in November after he spent the past four seasons with the Rangers. He served as bench coach and offensive coordinator until having the former title dropped last year and being dismissed in May.
Ecker and new manager Craig Albernaz overlapped in San Francisco. Ecker was in Boston when the Orioles hired Albernaz and he didn’t send along a congratulatory text message.
“He called me and it was a three-minute phone call,” Ecker said. “I think we got off that phone call and knew the direction this was going to go.”
Ecker became familiar with many of the Orioles’ hitters during the 2023 playoffs, when he earned a World Series ring with the Rangers. The Orioles were swept in the Division Series. Now he’s going to work with them and newcomers like Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward, who can lift some of the heat off the younger core.
Just go play and be themselves.
“It’s a big deal,” Ecker said. “Self-expression and guys being able to get between the lines and be who they are is such an important component of these guys being able to let the best come out. For all the brilliance we see, there’s a madness to these guys, too. When we watch high emotions or we watch guys slam a bat or throw a helmet, that brilliance and that madness is what makes them unique. And it’s a thing between the lines when they’re in the arena and they’re competing that we want to really allow that to come out.
“When you look at the lineup, there’s a ton of physical just engines, as we would call them. There’s some dudes that can really do some impressive things. And more importantly, we feel grateful already that this is an extra hungry group that is the furthest thing from being satisfied.”
Ecker shared a story about the Rangers’ playoff experience in ’23 and what he learned about his future home.
“We went to Tampa Bay for the first round, we came to Baltimore for the next one, we go to Houston for the ALCS, we go to Arizona for the World Series,” he said. “There was not a better stadium environment and fan base than the one at Camden. So you start to think about the people and the players that this front office has drafted and developed and the great coaches that have been here, and you think about the additions made.
“And that other piece that’s so damn important is making sure the city feels connected to this team and that when people come to Camden, even if you beat us, you’re walking out bloody. And creating that hostile environment in Camden, putting a product on the field that is really, really tough to play against, that’s one of the things early on that Alby and I are looking at and making sure we want to create and pour into.”
* Former Orioles catcher Alex Jackson avoided arbitration with the Twins by signing for $1.35 million.
MLBTradeRumors.com projected a salary of $1.8 million, which made Jackson an Orioles non-tender candidate as a third catcher on the roster. Even $1.35 million seems pricey, given the role.
The Orioles traded Jackson to the Twins on Nov. 21 for minor league infielder Payton Eeles.
* If you wonder whatever happened to former Orioles minor league manager Kyle Moore, he was just named manager of Triple-A Round Rock in the Rangers organization.
Moore was bench coach for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs last season. He managed short-season Aberdeen in 2018, Class A Delmarva in 2019, High-A Aberdeen in 2021 and Double-A Bowie from 2022-23.