SARASOTA, Fla. - Nick Markakis and Zack Britton have returned to the Orioles – to serve as spring training guest coaches.

They aren’t making a comeback.

Nine former Orioles will report to the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota to instruct the current players:

Scott McGregor – Feb. 12-22
Ben McDonald – Feb. 18-22
Zack Britton – Feb. 18-20
Brian Roberts – Feb. 24-28
J.J. Hardy – Feb. 20-26
Adam Jones – Feb. 24-March 7
Al Bumbry – March 1-5
John Shelby – March 6-10
Nick Markakis – March 6-10

Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. isn’t on the list, but he’s expected to make an appearance in camp. Ripken joined the ownership group headed by David Rubinstein.

Gunnar Henderson is following a tough act in the Home Run Derby.

Adley Rutschman didn’t advance past the first round last summer, but he hit 20 homers left-handed and seven more right-handed in the 30-second bonus round. Henderson will stick with the left side. Seems almost boring by comparison, but this is no time to experiment.

Rutschman brought the added storyline of playing at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, the ballpark he attended as a kid growing up in Sherwood, Oregon. And his father, Randy, pitched to him, providing a sentimental angle.

ESPN and the rest of the media ate it up. Had to loosen their belts.

Chicago’s Luis Robert Jr. moved on to the second round by hitting 28 home runs. However, a format change this year doesn’t pit two players against each other. The strict tournament style is gone.

Ryan Mountcastle was drafted by the Orioles as a shortstop in 2015, the 36^th-overall selection out of a Florida high school with bat skills that figured to stamp his ticket to the majors. Evaluators assured that he’d hit at any level.

But where to play him?

The arm didn’t work at short, leading some members of the organization to quickly push for a position change. Others were slower to concede.

Valuable time was lost, and that created some friction. As if more of it was needed behind the scenes.

The Orioles decided to try him at third base full-time in 2018 after his 16 starts in the Arizona Fall League. They introduced him to left field the following year at Triple-A Norfolk, setting up his major league debut in 2020. But the career-changer came with the commitment to first base, where he made 82 starts in 2021 and 123 in ‘22.

The Orioles will celebrate the 40^th Anniversary of the 1983 World Series title with a special pregame ceremony on Saturday, August 5, prior to the 7:05 p.m. ET game against the New York Mets. The pregame ceremony will feature returning players of the 1983 championship team, including Orioles Legends and National Baseball Hall of Famers EDDIE MURRAY, JIM PALMER, and CAL RIPKEN, JR.

The first 20,000 fans, 15 and over attending Saturday’s game will also receive an EDDIE MURRAY 1983 World Series bobblehead, presented by Royal Farms.

In addition to Murray, Palmer, and Ripken, over 20 members of the 1983 World Champion Orioles have already confirmed their attendance, including MIKE BODDICKER, AL BUMBRY, STORM DAVIS, RICK DEMPSEY, DAN FORD, GLENN GULLIVER, TITO LANDRUM, DENNIS MARTINEZ, TIPPY MARTINEZ, SCOTT McGREGOR, PAUL MIRABELLA, DAN MOROGIELLO, ALLAN RAMIREZ, GARY ROENICKE, LENN SAKATA, JOHN SHELBY, KEN SINGLETON, JOHN STEFERO, and BILL SWAGGERTY.

Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 6:20 p.m. to enjoy the ceremony. To purchase tickets for the August 5 game, please visit Orioles.com/tickets.

Murray and additional members of the 1983 team, along with the Oriole Bird, will participate in a clinic at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for 50 local Baltimore City youth from The Weinberg Y in Waverly, providing instruction on the fundamentals of baseball.

NEW YORK – Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman has more to do at the All-Star Game than represent the American League.

He’s also trying to win the Home Run Derby.

Rutschman is participating in next Monday’s event at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, joining the Mets’ Pete Alonso, the Rays’ Randy Arozarena, the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez.

Two more hitters are needed to complete the field.

Trey Mancini is the last Orioles player to participate in the Derby, finishing as runner-up to Alonso in 2021.

The Orioles third-ever No. 1 overall MLB Draft pick arrived at Camden Yards today. But not for good this time. Jackson Holliday, taken No. 1 overall by the team July 17, has signed his first pro contract and will report to the O’s camp in Sarasota, Fla. tomorrow.

He is going to start his pro career playing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.

“I’m very, very excited to start playing,” the 18-year-old Holliday said at today’s introductory press conference that also featured O’s executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and Holliday’s agent Scott Boras. “It’s been a little bit since I’ve been able to compete on the baseball field. So very excited to get down to Florida and get going. This is what I wanted to do as long as I can remember. It’s a blessing to be where I’m sitting right now.”

Holliday got a bonus of $8.19 million, a record for a high school selection. He produced prodigious 41-game high school stats of .685/.749/1.392 with 29 doubles, six triples, 17 homers and 79 RBIs. His 89 hits set a national high school record.

He gets scouting tool grades of 55 or better across the board with his hit tool, running and arm grading out at 60 by Baseball America.