SARASOTA, Fla. – Félix Bautista completed his second live batting practice session this morning in the intense Florida heat on the Camden Yards replica field, and it won’t be much longer before he pitches in his first Grapefruit League game.

Heston Kjerstad and Gary Sánchez kept alternating at-bats until Bautista faced seven hitters. He threw 25 pitches with Triple-A catcher Maverick Handley behind the plate.

Kjerstad struck out swinging twice and Sánchez was caught looking. Kjerstad also lined to right field and either singled or doubled into left-center field. Sánchez also popped up and grounded to third base.

One of Bautista’s splitters caused Sánchez to flail at it below the zone. He had an audible reaction to it before turning to Handley for apparent confirmation on the pitch. Or perhaps they were just admiring the quality.

Bautista has graduated from bullpen sessions. The first live batting practice was Sunday while the Orioles traveled to Clearwater to play the Phillies.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The first exhibition game is done, which brings us to the first road exhibition game. Gas up the rental and head northwest to Clearwater.

If you reach Dunedin, you’ve gone too far.

Left-hander Cade Povich starts against the Phillies after posting a 2.60 ERA and 0.868 WHIP in five September outings and holding opponents to a .162 average. He could be the first alternative if a spot opens unexpectedly in the rotation.

“Povich, what he did in the month of September kind of speaks for itself,” said MASN analyst Ben McDonald, who’s in camp as a guest instructor. “All I heard about him was his stuff was good in the minors, but could he get it over the plate, and I feel like he did in September. His stuff was pretty good.”

The exposure to major league hitters has accelerated Povich’s development.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Because he didn’t play winter ball, Orioles pitcher Albert Suárez is in the best shape of his life.

He really means it.

Suárez didn’t join Caracas in Venezuela after making 32 appearances with the Orioles last season and totaling a career-high 133 2/3 innings in his return to the majors. He rested, he worked out and he earned the first exhibition start Saturday afternoon against the Pirates in Sarasota.

“For me, just how I prepared in the offseason,” he said of receiving the honor. “I think I’m well prepared to be able to start the first game of spring training. So it means a lot.”

Times can change quickly and Suárez is a baseball example. He reported to camp last spring as a non-roster invite and impressed the Orioles to the point that they selected his contract in April. Now he’s practically a lock to be introduced on Opening Day in Toronto.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The drama was building. Manager Brandon Hyde walked to the entrance of the baseball operations center, where media gathers for his morning scrum, and teased the day’s big news.

Who’s starting the exhibition opener Saturday afternoon against the Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium?

Hyde asked for everyone’s predictions, which were written down on a notepad. He listened to the names and confirmed that one person got it right.

Albert Suárez will do the honors on the MASN broadcast.

“Just lining things up, honestly,” Hyde said. “Albert’s ready to go and we’re just kind of going in order a little bit. Like I said, don’t read anything into it. Big Al is ready and you work back from the first day of the season and do the best you can, and things change all the way through that. You shuffle some things around. But we’re stretching Al as a starter and we’ll see how it goes.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – Gary Sánchez’s experience catching Japanese pitchers won’t necessarily give him regular starts on days that Tomoyuki Sugano is on the mound.

Maybe it evolves that way.

Sánchez was behind the plate yesterday for Sugano’s bullpen session, and he’s caught Masahiro Tanaka with the Yankees and Yu Darvish with the Padres.

“Post-bullpen, Gary and I sat on the mound and kind of talked about his experience with Tanaka and some of the other guys that he’s caught,” said pitching coach Drew French. “The versatility that they have and what their preferences are and how they talk about themselves, and I definitely think there are some parallels from his prior years in the game with what Tomo features.”

So what about becoming Sugano’s personal backstop?

SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles pitching coach Drew French was eager to begin working with Tomoyuki Sugano even before the Japanese right-hander agreed to a $13 million contract. The deal became official and French approached interpreter Yuto Sakurai with a favor. Simple in nature but hugely meaningful.

“I said I need to start learning his language a little bit,” French said. “I’ve done some things to try to help myself, but ultimately woke up the next day and forgot them.”

French had a specific translation request. He wanted to know how to say, “good job.” It’s like he anticipated what would happen during the first bullpen session.

“Ultimately, that’s the phrase I went with today,” French said, “and hopefully tomorrow I can learn another one.”

Might I suggest “great job?”

SARASOTA, Fla. – Tomoyuki Sugano can work through a lineup and jet lag with similar ease.

The first bullpen session for Sugano this morning lived up to the tremendous hype. He threw 35 pitches and exhibited his usual pinpoint control. Only the slider was omitted from a repertoire that consisted of a four-seam fastball, cutter, splitter, sinker and curveball.

“It’s everything that was advertised when we started vetting him in free agency,” said pitching coach Drew French. “That’s what our scouts said and our org loves... We think at times it’s going to be 80 command. It’s really, really good. Definitely sides of the plate, he understands horizontal game, and how he mixed his pitches. It was just nice to finally be in person and see him do his work.”

Sugano was late to camp while obtaining his visa in Tokyo, his arrival delayed until Saturday, and he requested that his debut in the 'pen be pushed back from yesterday. He was totally worth the wait.

“I was happy to have good command in today’s session, so that was good,” he said via interpreter Yuto Sakurai.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Samuel Basallo won’t make the club out of spring training. He never stood a chance. He didn’t report thinking that it could happen. That isn’t why he’s here again.

The Orioles want Basallo to experience a full slate of workouts after he reported last February with a stress fracture in his elbow. They want to keep him near Adley Rutschman and Gary Sánchez, bench coach and former catcher Robinson Chirinos and catching instructor Tim Cossins, absorbing as much as he can hold.

“I want him to get the experience of major league camp,” manager Brandon Hyde said yesterday. “Last year, he was here but he wasn’t playing, so getting into some major league spring training games behind the plate, getting at-bats against major league spring training arms. And just kind of soaking it in a little bit.

“And then being in groups with the guys he’s in groups with that are having good seasons in the major leagues. Just him being around and taking it all in. He’s getting a lot of at-bats. I’m going to play him.”

Basallo is receiving the most attention in the first week of anyone who isn’t competing for a job. He’s one of the top prospects in baseball and he’s only 20 years old, so he wasn’t going to sneak in and out each day. But his batting practices, work behind the plate, size and maturity also get him noticed.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Tommy Joseph noticed it right away.

After spending the 2024 season as assistant hitting coach in Seattle, Joseph accepted the same job with the Orioles and immediately was struck by the positive atmosphere and tight bonds formed among players who genuinely care about each other. They’re teammates but also friends. They have the same goals and each other’s backs.

The hitting philosophies are almost universal, with Joseph saying, “You try to score more runs as the other team. You’ve just got to find as many ways to do that as you can every day.”

And then, there’s this:

“In terms of the environment and the culture, just being here a couple days, you can tell it’s very special. They’ve built something very special and the players really bought in on everything here," he said.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Heston Kjerstad sat quietly at his locker yesterday morning, staring at his phone with legs stretched out and empty chairs on both sides of him. An isolated figure. Pretty much how he likes it.

Kjerstad isn’t anti-social. He just doesn’t command a lot of attention in a clubhouse with some extremely high-profile young players.

The bat, however, can get loud.

The Orioles want to hear it a lot this season. No more breakdowns in his quest to become a regular contributor at the major league level. No injuries or illnesses. No interruptions and options. It’s time to find out what they have in Kjerstad beyond sick power and potential.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias told the media last week that this is a “big opportunity” for Kjerstad and the second-overall pick in the 2020 draft “earned the right to get a lot of at-bats in the corner outfield and in the DH spot, specifically against right-handed pitching.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – Cedric Mullins is the last man standing, and running, among the trio of young outfielders who made their way from the minors to Camden Yards.

Austin Hays was traded to the Phillies last summer and he signed with the Reds as a free agent. Anthony Santander received a five-year deal with the Blue Jays.

Mullins is approaching his own free agency as he prepares for his eighth season in the majors. The Orioles drafted him in 2015.

“On the personal side, there’s a lot of focus involved, of course, but on the team side of things, it’s business as usual,” Mullins said. “We go about it day by day, looking to improve the team.”

Santander’s big personality is conspicuous by its absence in the clubhouse. However, the Orioles will be in Toronto for a four-game opening series, so the reunion isn’t too far down the runway.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Mountain is moving in the right direction.

Félix Bautista is throwing in the bullpen and his surgically repaired elbow is responding favorably to the workload. He hasn’t experienced any setbacks, nothing that makes him doubt his availability on March 27 at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

“I feel really good right now, thank God,” Bautista said this morning via interpreter Brandon Quinones in his first media scrum since last spring training. “Marching on, everything is going according to plan, and that remains the goal to be ready for Opening Day.”

Bautista hasn’t unleashed a pitch since Aug. 25, 2023 against the Rockies at Camden Yards. He walked off the mound with two outs and two strikes, a 102.3 mph fastball not hinting at a physical issue but his reaction to it and departure setting off alarms.

Surgery followed two months later, leading to a prolonged and lonely rest and rehab schedule. He sat out the 2024 season, while the Orioles returned to the playoffs and were swept by the Royals in the Wild Card round.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Heston Kjerstad arrived early at Orioles spring training, well ahead of the report date for position players. He’s fighting for a roster spot in a crowded outfield, and if he doesn’t make the club, it won’t be for lack of an opportunity.

Kjerstad had his 2024 season ruined by a concussion, a Clay Holmes 96.8 mph sinker to the helmet on July 13 causing benches and bullpens to empty. He was limited to 39 games, with momentum destroyed from a .314/.417/.529 first half. He went 9-for-48 after the break.

Spring training stats are important in some cases, but they apparently won’t apply to Kjerstad.

“I don’t know that he needs to tear the cover off the ball in the Grapefruit League,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said earlier today. “We’ve seen him do that already. He’s played pretty well in a limited opportunity at the major league level. He’s played really well in the minors, and he’s going on 26 and this is a big opportunity for him.

“I think he’s kind of earned the right to get a lot of at-bats in the corner outfield and in the DH spot, specifically against right-handed pitching. But long term, this guy when we took him, one of the best hitters in college baseball and he can hit left-handed pitching. But the big leagues are tough and that’s why we’re putting together a team that has some right-handed options, as well.”

The Birdland Caravan returns for another three-day winter tour beginning on Jan. 30 at multiple locations throughout the region, and the list of Orioles participants includes high-profile players Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle and Colton Cowser. Jordan Westburg and former No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday also are scheduled to make appearances.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde will attend select events. Other players include Ryan O’Hearn, Albert Suárez, Cade Povich and pitching prospect Chayce McDermott.

Caravan stops will be made throughout the state, including Baltimore, Bel Air, Columbia, Ellicott City, Halethorpe and Severn, plus “surprise locations” in Frederick, Harford and Montgomery counties. Fans in Pasadena and Westminster will get the chance to meet and take photos with the Oriole Bird, Mr. Splash and the Camden Franks.

A new feature is the requirement of tickets to attend several events, such as the Kids Rally in Severn, the bowling experience at Bowlero in Columbia, the Orioles PLAY BALL Rookie Clinic in Ellicott City, the Rip and Play event at Bel Air Sports Cards, and every Happy Hour.

Fans must purchase tickets in advance at Orioles.com/Caravan due to limited availability. Profits will benefit the Orioles Charitable Foundation supporting impactful community initiatives and programs.

SEATTLE – By now, I’m sure you’ve seen the fact that the Orioles have secured their first winning month since Aug. 2017. That’s a really long time. 

What’s been behind that winning month? 

The O’s have gone 14-10 in June, outscoring their opponents 121-96, good for a +25 run differential. The offense has averaged 5.03 runs per game over that stretch, which is third-best in the American League.

Last night’s nine runs showcased just how potent this offense can be. 

“Excited with how we swung the bat last night,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “We did a great job of grinding out a starter, spoiling a bunch of pitches. Even our outs were loud at times.”

The year 2025 is upon us. Break out the resolutions and other promises that will be broken like a hockey player’s front teeth.

I usually avoid them but figured I’d come up with a list and invite everyone here to share their own. They can be personal and professional. They can be Orioles related. They can come back to bite you now that they’re documented.

Don’t be ashamed if the elliptical that you kept talking about before Christmas is used to dry your cotton laundry. Or if a vow to avoid having your favorite team dictate your mood is shattered 10 minutes after pitchers and catchers report. These things happen. You’re in a safe space here.

Here we go. I typed softly in case you’re hungover.

No more whining about travel.

If the Orioles are, indeed, done with the position side of their roster beyond maybe some minor league signings, we can begin crafting lineups against right-handed and left-handed starters.

Why? Because what else are you gonna do besides eat leftovers and talk about Corbin Burnes?

The chatter now has him seeking at least $245 million. I’ll gladly wear it if wrong.

(Update: Burnes is in agreement with the Diamondbacks on a six-year, $210 million contract, allowing him to pitch close to home. The New York Post's Jon Heyman was first with the news. The deal includes an opt-out after two seasons. The Orioles reportedly were aggressive in their pursuit but remain without a No. 1 starter via free agency or trade.)

I’m correct when I say that the Orioles can go with many combinations and the lineup construction often hinges on who’s hot and who’s not. An extended Gunnar Henderson slump, for example, can lower him from the leadoff spot. Same goes for a middle-of-the-order bat. And there are multiple choices for a designated hitter against a right-handed starter.

When the Orioles recently announced their coaching staff for the 2025 season, one of the new hires was Robinson Chirinos, who will be the team’s bench coach.

That is quite the entry into the coaching ranks for Chirinos, 40, whose last season playing in the majors was in 2022 for the Orioles.

He played in 67 games for that O’s team, and in 220 plate appearances he hit .179/.265/.287/.552. Those numbers don’t come close to telling the real story of his year. He was a major presence in the O’s clubhouse, cited often by manager Brandon Hyde as a clubhouse difference-maker for an O’s club that went from 52 wins in 2021 to 83 that season.

He helped teach the Orioles how to win.

That was the team’s first winning season since 2016, and the 31-win gain was the O’s largest in a single season since 1989, when they made a 33-game improvement from their 54–107 record in 1988.

Let’s be blunt here.

Anyone shocked that the Orioles left the Winter Meetings without a No. 1 starter or upgrade further down the rotation is forgetful or unfamiliar with how the club usually operates. You set yourselves up to be disappointed.

Closer Craig Kimbrel was a surprise signing last December on the final day before executives boarded flights home. The Orioles normally nab a minor league free agent or two, make a selection or two in the Rule 5 draft and hope that talks lead to a later agreement or deal prior to the start of spring training.

Laying groundwork also happens at these meetings. Lines of communication aren’t snipped.

The Corbin Burnes trade was finalized on Feb. 1, a stunner that delivered a legitimate ace on a rental basis. Kyle Bradish was injured, which probably amped the urgency to make a move. That’s how the dots are connected.

The Orioles are not guaranteeing that Jackson Holliday will be their starting second baseman when the 2025 season starts, but it’s pretty clear they expect exactly that result.

At age 20 in 60 games last season, he hit .189/.255/.311/.565 for an OPS+ of just 66.

His struggles led some fans to question how he became the No. 1 ranked player in the minors and to question his potential? I can remind you how – he earned it.

I asked manager Brandon Hyde this week if Holliday is his guy at second base?

“Think we’re going to give him every opportunity,” the skipper said. “Loved the way he finished the season last year (going 4-for-5 the last weekend). I like the swing adjustments that he’s made. I just talked to him yesterday, he feels great. And you know, he’s a big part of the future for us. We’re going to give him every opportunity this spring.”