Baltimore Orioles: The Birds Get to Work Before WBC

It’s February in Sarasota and the Baltimore Orioles position players have finally flocked to spring training.  The first official workout is February 17th and have three weeks until they lose five players to the World Baseball Classic

With the World Baseball Classic coming up in a few weeks, the Baltimore Orioles’ players and staff have to fit a lot more into this abbreviated spring training than usual.  Newly acquired catcher, Wellington Castillo, has the big job of establishing rapport with the pitching staff before heading off to play with Manny Machado and the Dominican Republic team.

It’s nutty to think three weeks won’t be enough time to figure out a new pitching staff, but that’s what a lot of fans and journalists are complaining about these days. With five years of service time, I think he knows what he needs to do to prepare for the upcoming season.

When it’s all said and done, all it’ll take is a full run through the rotation to figure out each pitcher’s tendencies. No offense, but it’s baseball, not rocket science.

While we’re talking about the WBC, what do you think of Manny’s new glove? I’ll respect Manny’s decision to play for the Dominican Republic for his family, but wouldn’t he look a lot better in the stars and stripes of the USA?

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It was reported by Brittany Ghiroli that he was taking reps at shortstop today. Could this simply be a way to get some reps in for when J.J. Hardy needs a day off, or could it be an indicator that Manny might be playing shortstop for the Dominican team in the WBC?

Interest in Wieters by the Rays

In quite the surprising move, the Rays have reportedly offered Matt Wieters a contract.  Figures aren’t currently available, but for the Rays it makes sense for the right price.  Wieters just doesn’t have a logical fit on this 25-man roster after Francisco Peña cleared waivers and resigned with the Orioles on Wednesday.

I think Wieters has a ton of upside for any young team. He’s a great source of knowledge to a young rotation like the Rays. Not to mention switch hitting catchers are a rarity.  As long as he can keep his average up, there’s no downside of having a guy like him on your club, even if it’s just for one season.

I’m going to cringe if he rips a 2 out double down the line at Camden Yards this year, but it’s business. The Orioles had all winter to resign him, but they obviously thought:

A.) his best years were behind him,

or

B.) the price was too high.

Next: Chris Tillman believes he won't miss much time

We’ll see which side was right in the next few months or so.