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.

BALTIMORE -- With less than a month to go until the Orioles report to Sarasota, Fla., for Spring Training, the 2025 roster picture is beginning to take shape.

Baltimore has signed five Major League free agents, each of whom is likely to be on the Opening Day roster. There¡¯s still time for more moves to be made -- perhaps a bigger swing, such as a trade for an ace? -- but the O¡¯s have plugged many of their holes to this point.

The Orioles¡¯ March 27 Opening Day matchup at Toronto may still be 71 days away, but let¡¯s take an early attempt at projecting the 26-man roster for the upcoming season.

POSITION PLAYERS (13)

Catchers (2): Adley Rutschman, Gary S¨¢nchez

James McCann is out, and S¨¢nchez (signed to a one-year, $8.5 million deal for 2025) is now in. Once again, there won¡¯t be a backup catcher competition in Spring Training, as the 32-year-old will serve as the No. 2 to the two-time All-Star Rutschman.

Samuel Basallo (the Orioles¡¯ No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 13 overall) will be in big league camp for the second straight spring, but the 20-year-old is unlikely to debut until the second half of the 2024 season, at the earliest.

Infielders (7): Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jorge Mateo, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O¡¯Hearn, Ram¨®n Ur¨ªas, Jordan Westburg

The left side of the infield should feature a pair of 2024 All-Stars, with Henderson locked in at shortstop and Westburg likely to play more third than second. That will especially be the case if Holliday solidifies his status as the starting second baseman during the spring.

The right-handed-hitting Mountcastle and the lefty-hitting O¡¯Hearn will again split duties at first. Ur¨ªas continues to bring value as somebody who can play anywhere in the infield, while Mateo can fill in up the middle.

In this scenario, corner infielders Emmanuel Rivera and Coby Mayo (Baltimore¡¯s No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 8 overall) are left off the roster, but either could play his way onto the team with a strong spring.

Outfielders (4): Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Cedric Mullins, Tyler O¡¯Neill

Mullins will again be the starting center fielder, and Cowser will be an everyday player who can start at any of the outfield spots. O¡¯Neill will get a lot of starts in the corners and potentially at designated hitter, while Kjerstad will also factor into the rotation in the corners and at DH.

The power potential of O¡¯Neill (31 home runs last season for the Red Sox) and Kjerstad (six homers in 52 MLB games) should help offset the likely loss of free agent Anthony Santander (team-high 44 home runs last year).

O¡¯Hearn could be used to fill in at the corners, if needed. Same with the speedy Mateo in center.

PITCHERS (13)

Starters (5): Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, Charlie Morton, Grayson Rodriguez, Tomoyuki Sugano

Would the O¡¯s be fine entering the season with five right-handers in their rotation? If not, Cade Povich or Trevor Rogers could win a spot as the top left-handed options in the mix.

Eflin, Kremer and Rodriguez should all be back as key contributors from last year. Morton ($15 million) and Sugano ($13 million) were each signed to one-year deals that should make them locks for the team, considering their salaries.

The group is lacking a true ace after Corbin Burnes signed a six-year deal with the D-backs. But there¡¯s plenty of depth, with Chayce McDermott (Baltimore¡¯s No. 5 prospect), Albert Su¨¢rez and Brandon Young (O¡¯s No. 18 prospect) also slated to participate in the rotation competition.

Kyle Bradish (Tommy John surgery) and Tyler Wells (UCL reconstruction) will open the year on the injured list, but they both could return later in the season.

Relievers (8): F¨¦lix Bautista (closer), Keegan Akin, Yennier Cano, Seranthony Dom¨ªnguez, Andrew Kittredge, Cionel P¨¦rez, Gregory Soto, Albert Su¨¢rez

Bautista, an All-Star in 2023, will return to the closer¡¯s role after missing all of the ¡®24 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Cano, Dom¨ªnguez and Kittredge (signed to a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $10 million) should all pitch in high-leverage spots, while the trio of lefties (Akin, P¨¦rez and Soto) will also likely be in the late-inning mix.

The final spot could go to Su¨¢rez, who is unlikely to win a spot in the rotation. But the 35-year-old righty proved how valuable he can be in 2024, when he recorded a 3.70 ERA over 32 games (24 starts). He could be used as a multi-inning weapon out of the ¡®pen in ¡®25.