BALTIMORE -- Orioles manager Brandon Hyde spent much of Spring Training attempting to find the best configuration for his club¡¯s outfield. There were a lot of versatile pieces, but what would be the optimal way to place them into the puzzle?
Cedric Mullins would play center field most of the time, per usual, and nowhere else. Meanwhile, Colton Cowser, Ramón Laureano and Tyler O'Neill had the ability to play all three outfield spots. And Heston Kjerstad could play either corner.
But four games into the 2025 season, Cowser went on the injured list with a fractured left thumb. The 25-year-old is expected to miss about two months.
The outfield calculus changed.
¡°It¡¯s a little bit of a unique situation because Tyler¡¯s played both, Laureano¡¯s played all three,¡± Hyde said. ¡°Tyler has won [two] Gold Gloves in left, but he¡¯s also comfortable in right, played a little bit more right as of late, played really well in right in Toronto.
¡°Cowser played really well in left for us last year. Now, we lost Cowser. We had a lot of talks.¡±
The starting outfield for Baltimore¡¯s 3-0 loss to Boston at Camden Yards on Wednesday night helped reveal what the O¡¯s have settled on. O¡¯Neill will play a lot of the time in right -- as he did in this game -- with either Laureano or Kjerstad starting in left, depending on the matchup. (Laureano, who bats right-handed, started Wednesday. Kjerstad hits left-handed and should be in left for Thursday¡¯s series finale vs. the Red Sox.)
Even without Cowser -- who was an American League Gold Glove finalist in 2024 -- the Orioles¡¯ new-look outfield should provide the type of defense that makes it a strength for the team.
Take the sixth inning of Wednesday¡¯s contest, for example.
Mullins has made too many highlight-reel plays to count during his eight-year run in Baltimore. The 30-year-old¡¯s defense is one of his most valuable attributes, and he made his first dazzling play of 2025 by robbing Triston Casas of a hit with a diving catch to open the frame.
Mullins¡¯ leadership should help the outfield group jell as he plays with several different faces in the corners.
¡°On defense, he can run them down with the best of them,¡± said O¡¯Neill, who signed a three-year, $49.5 million deal in December. ¡°Obviously, we¡¯re peeking in at each other and still continuing to learn each other out there and getting a feel for that.¡±
Immediately after Mullins¡¯ stellar grab, Laureano showed one of the primary reasons why he was signed to a one-year, $4 million contract by the O¡¯s in February.
Known as ¡°Laser Ram¨®n¡± because of his well-above-average arm strength, Laureano recorded his first outfield assist for Baltimore by throwing out Trevor Story, who tried to stretch a single into a double. The 30-year-old Laureano scooped up the ball in left-center and made a perfect throw to Jordan Westburg covering second.
¡°Just trying to get a good read for the ball and always thinking they¡¯re going to go, always,¡± Laureano said.
Those high-effort plays preserved a second straight quality start for Zach Eflin, who allowed three runs over six innings. The righty is certainly a fan of an outfield configuration featuring Laureano, Mullins and O¡¯Neill based on what he saw Wednesday.
¡°It was incredible. I definitely thought the one to Cedric late in the game was going to fall, and then he Superman caught it,¡± Eflin said. ¡°And then, Story got another base hit off me and tried to stretch it into a double, and I was kind of thinking, ¡®Ram¨®n¡¯s got a rocket out there,¡¯ and he just let it eat. ...
¡°Hats off to those guys for continuing to play hard late in the game like that.¡±
Of course, it will be nice when the Orioles can reimplement Cowser into the fold later this season. But for now, it seems their outfield could be quite fine, especially as they¡¯ve settled on how to put everything together in the interim.