Baltimore Orioles: Predicting The Opening Day 25-Man Roster

Spring training games are underway, so let’s take a shot at predicting the Opening Day 25-man roster for the Baltimore Orioles.

Baseball. Is. Back. The magical sounds of fresh baseballs popping gloves and screaming off bats have returned and the Baltimore Orioles are playing pretty decent baseball. At the time of this piece, the Orioles are 2-1, with a number of young players showing early life in spring.

Before we get too far into spring training, I thought I would take a shot at predicting the Opening Day 25-man roster for the O’s. Typically at this point, we might be looking at one rotation spot up for grabs, a bullpen spot or two, and who rounds out the bench. However, this is the 2019 Baltimore Orioles and nearly every single position is up for grabs.

Outside of the top three rotation spots, first base, centerfield, left field, and second base, it is anyone’s ball game. The new man leading the charge in the Charm City, Brandon Hyde, has preached versatility on defense, leading me to believe there will be a wide variety of lineups used this season, along with a heavy reliance on the Baltimore-Norfolk shuttle, per usual.

I’ve said numerous times already that this season isn’t about wins and losses. If you are patient enough to sit through another 100+ loss season, you will get the opportunity to see some pretty exciting young prospects make their MLB debuts this year. Names like Yusniel Diaz, Keegan Akin, and Ryan Mountcastle are likely to be up at some point, Diaz probably much earlier than any other prospect on the farm.

Until guys like Diaz earn the call, who will the Orioles name to their 25-man roster? Let’s start by taking a look at the starting rotation and bullpen.