An early look at O's potential Opening Day roster

BALTIMORE -- During the second half of the 2024 season, Baltimore¡¯s roster was hampered by injuries to key players. Lineup pieces such as Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle, Ram¨®n Ur¨ªas and Jorge Mateo all had stints on the injured list, as did right-hander Grayson Rodriguez.

The Orioles, who went 33-33 after the All-Star break, have spent the offseason adding depth to their 40-man roster. They believe that depth will help rectify the issues they encountered last year, and it will also create some intense battles for roster spots this spring.

¡°The competition in Spring Training is going to be more than ever before here,¡± manager Brandon Hyde said earlier this month. ¡°But also, we¡¯ve created some depth, which is really, really important going forward.¡±

With the first pitchers and catchers workout set for Thursday, here¡¯s a pre-Spring Training 26-man roster projection for the O¡¯s.

Catcher (2): Adley Rutschman, Gary S¨¢nchez
Rutschman, a two-time All-Star, returns as the starting catcher for his fourth MLB season. S¨¢nchez signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal to serve as the backup catcher, and the 32-year-old right-handed hitter could get some DH at-bats against left-handed pitching.

First basemen (2): Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O¡¯Hearn
The righty-hitting Mountcastle and lefty-hitting O¡¯Hearn will each continue to get starts at first base and will also factor into the DH rotation. O¡¯Hearn had an $8 million team option that was picked up by the Orioles in November.

Second baseman (1): Jackson Holliday
The 21-year-old Holliday is the front-runner to be the starting second baseman despite his struggles during his rookie season (a .189/.255/.311 slash line in 60 games). MLB Pipeline¡¯s former No. 1 overall prospect may need to have a solid camp to win the job, though.

Shortstop (1): Gunnar Henderson
After splitting time between shortstop and third base during his 2023 American League Rookie of the Year campaign, Henderson settled in as the everyday shortstop in ¡®24. He¡¯ll be there again in ¡®25.

Third baseman (1): Jordan Westburg
A first-time All-Star in 2024, Westburg should get starts at both second and third in his third big league season. But if Holliday seizes the job at second, Westburg could get more time at third.

Utility infielder (1): Ram¨®n Ur¨ªas
A 2022 Gold Glover at third, Ur¨ªas provides value by filling in anywhere around the infield. He could get more playing time early in the season if infielder/outfielder Mateo (a super-utility candidate) begins the year on the injured list while recovering from left UCL reconstruction surgery.

Outfielders (5): Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Ram¨®n Laureano, Cedric Mullins, Tyler O¡¯Neill
If Mateo opens the season on the IL, then Baltimore could carry five traditional outfielders. The majority of starts will likely go to the trio of O¡¯Neill (who signed a three-year, $49.5 million deal in December), Mullins (a former All-Star and Silver Slugger) and Cowser (the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up).

Kjerstad provides left-handed power, can play the corner spots and should also be heavily involved in the DH mix. The right-handed-hitting Laureano (who signed a one-year, $4 million deal) has above-average arm strength and can fill in at all three outfield positions.

Starting Pitchers (5): RHP Zach Eflin, RHP Dean Kremer, RHP Charlie Morton, RHP Grayson Rodriguez, RHP Tomoyuki Sugano
The 41-year-old Morton ($15 million) and the 35-year-old Sugano ($13 million) each signed one-year deals to join the O¡¯s rotation. Sugano will be pitching in MLB for the first time after a stellar 12-year career in Japan.

If the Orioles want a lefty on their starting staff, then Cade Povich and Trevor Rogers are the top candidates. But it could be challenging to fit one of them into the rotation, assuming everybody stays healthy.

Relief Pitchers (8): RHP F¨¦lix Bautista (closer), LHP Keegan Akin, RHP Yennier Cano, RHP Seranthony Dom¨ªnguez, RHP Andrew Kittredge, LHP Cionel P¨¦rez, LHP Gregory Soto, RHP Albert Su¨¢rez
Bautista, an All-Star in 2023, will be back after missing all of the ¡®24 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He and the next six names on this list should be locks for the bullpen, as long as no injuries occur.

Su¨¢rez will be in the rotation competition, but the 35-year-old could get bumped to the ¡®pen, where he¡¯s proven he can be valuable in a multi-inning role. The Venezuelan had a 3.70 ERA in 32 games (24 starts) for the O¡¯s last season.