SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles are back on the road this morning, with their buses heading down I-75 south to the Twins’ complex in Fort Myers. Turn right off the Daniels Parkway exit. A left puts you on the Red Sox’s spring turf.

A helpful tip for you tourists.

Grayson Rodriguez makes his second start after registering two scoreless innings against the Tigers in Lakeland and tossing 99 mph bowling balls.

An ample amount of fuss has been made over Rodriguez, the precise level we anticipated, and he deserves. He comes as advertised. The hype is warranted.

But what about players in camp who are exceeding it? Guys who didn’t create any buzz before it opened or have pumped up the volume?

SAN DIEGO – The Winter Meetings have reached their fourth day of activity if you include Sunday. Some do, some don’t. Depends on your flight schedule.

Let’s say third full day and get on with our lives.

The work rhythm seems a bit off, which I blame on a more condensed version with the Rule 5 draft happening this afternoon instead of Thursday morning. The embedding yesterday of the first draft lottery also provided a new wrinkle for the older beat and national crews.

The Orioles possess the 17^th pick in the Rule 5, which lessens the chances that they’ll use it. Having the first or second makes it a no-brainer.

I’ve been relying on their track record of activity, with a selection made every year since 2006 - the exception, of course, being 2021 because the Winter Meetings were canceled – but executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias talked yesterday about the uncertainty that comes with a later selection and indicated that his club could pass.

The Orioles will have seven representatives on the Scottsdale roster in the Arizona Fall League, including outfielder Heston Kjerstad and infielder César Prieto.

Also playing in the AFL are pitchers Noah Denoyer, Nolan Hoffman, Easton Lucas and Nick Richmond, and outfielder Reed Trimble.

MLB Pipeline ranks Kjerstad as the No. 10 prospect in the organization and Prieto 19^th.

These are important at-bats for Kjerstad after the late start to his professional career following a diagnosis of myocarditis in 2020 and his hamstring injury in March. The second-overall pick in the 2020 draft appeared in 22 games with Single-A Delmarva and 43 with High-A Aberdeen during the regular season.

Kjerstad batted .463/.551/.650 with nine doubles, two home runs and 17 RBIs in 98 plate appearances with Delmarva and .233/.312/.362 with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and 20 RBIs in 186 plate appearances with the IronBirds.

The failure yesterday of Major League Baseball and the Players Association to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement and the subsequent cancellation of the first two series leaves the Orioles with the possibility of opening their season at Tropicana Field on April 8. A best-case scenario that requires the two sides to resume negotiations in New York. The Orioles most recent opener in St. Petersburg happened in 2015, a convenient drive from major league camp in Sarasota. Chris Tillman...

The Orioles added two pitchers Wednesday in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft. This phase is very different than the major league Rule 5, which was postponed for now during the lockout. These players do not need to be placed on the 40-man roster and they are, essentially, now Orioles. No need to send either of them back to the team from which each was claimed. They can also play on any affiliate the Orioles send them to in 2022. Since these players were neither on any club's 40-man roster...