Sights and sounds from Day 1 of O's camp

This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The sun rose over left field at Ed Smith Stadium early Thursday morning, welcoming the arrival of another Orioles Spring Training. Every team is hopeful when camps open in mid-February, but Baltimore has particular reason for optimism coming off its 31-game improvement from 2021 to ‘22.

With pitchers, catchers and numerous others reporting to camp Wednesday, the work began Thursday. Here’s a timeline detailing some of the notable sights and sounds from the Orioles’ first spring workout (all times Eastern).

8 a.m.: Players trickle into the clubhouse, catch up with teammates

Players arrive at different times on varying days, so there are plenty of hugs and handshakes at this early stage in camp as teammates reunite. Infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra calls this time of year “super exciting,” especially given the O’s current outlook.

“Obviously last year was a pleasant surprise for a lot of people, especially fans,” Vavra said. “Just excited to see everyone back with the same goal in mind and keep building off last year, knowing this year’s different and we’ve got big hopes.”

9:45 a.m.: GM Mike Elias shares slew of injury updates

Elias met with the media for the first time this spring and began by rattling off injury news, most notably concerning a pair of relievers. Dillon Tate (right flexor forearm strain) is likely to open the 2023 season on the injured list and miss most, if not all, of April, while closer Félix Bautista (left knee sprain/right shoulder soreness) may be late getting into Grapefruit League action. Bautista’s Opening Day status will be determined by how quickly he can ramp up.

All O’s injury updates throughout Spring Training -- plus the regular season and beyond -- can be found here.

10:15 a.m.: Manager Brandon Hyde gives thoughts on MLB’s new rules for 2023

Hyde also held his first spring media session, and the hot topics were the three rule changes coming to MLB this year -- the pitch timer, shift restrictions and larger bases. The Orioles are already helping players get acclimated to the differences and will have drills to simulate game situations involving them.

Which of the changes does Hyde believe will have the biggest impact?

“I think the pitch clock -- on the hitter,” Hyde said. “I think hitters are going to feel early on -- especially guys that have been in the league for a while -- they’re going to feel a little bit rushed. But I do not know. We’ll see. Ask me two weeks in.”

10:45 a.m.: Pitchers begin bullpen work

On four adjacent mounds on a backfield, various quartets of pitchers threw bullpens. The first foursome was an interesting group, because three of them were the O’s primary offseason additions to the pitching staff -- Mychal Givens, Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin. They were joined by Austin Voth.

Gibson threw to Adley Rutschman, marking the first time the veteran right-hander has worked with the rising star. The two chatted afterward, discussing the session.

The second group of bullpen sessions featured four of the 12 pitchers competing for a spot in the rotation: Dean Kremer, Mike Baumann, Kyle Bradish and Bruce Zimmermann.

11:50 a.m.: Rutschman steps into batting cage

There wasn’t a ton of batting practice taking place because not all of the position players are in camp yet. But that didn’t stop Rutschman from getting in his cuts. He came over to the main field at Ed Smith Stadium and displayed some impressive swings.

12:05 p.m.: Tate provides update on injured forearm

Tate sustained the right flexor forearm strain during a workout in November. At this point, the righty can play catch and work out, but he has to keep it light.

“I’m able to keep it in check for the most part, if it’s at an easy intensity,” said Tate, who is waiting for the training staff to map out his rehab plan.