Baltimore Orioles: The Opening Day Roster, For Now

The Opening Day roster for the Baltimore Orioles is all but officially set.

A waiver claim (or two) may still be made and Opening Day rosters don’t have to be set until Thursday, March 28th, at noon, however, we finally have a pretty clear picture of what the roster will look like for the Baltimore Orioles.

Reports out of O’s camp this morning provided plenty of updates on the current roster situation as the Orioles prepare for their final spring training game of the season.

It now appears that Mark Trumbo, Alex Cobb, and Austin Wynns will begin the season on the injured list with Trumbo likely headed to the 60-day list. Barring any setbacks, Cobb will be eligible to return on April 4th and pitch in the home opener for the Baltimore Orioles against the New York Yankees.

As of noon on Monday (March 25th), here is a breakdown of what the 25-man roster will look like for Opening Day on Thursday.

• Starting Pitchers: Andrew Cashner, Dylan Bundy, David Hess, Mike Wright

Cashner will now slide into the Opening Day role for manager Brandon Hyde, but we don’t know the order of the rotation after that.

• Relief Pitchers: Nate Karns, John Means, Jimmy Yacabonis, Paul Fry, Pedro Araujo, Miguel Castro, Mychal Givens, Richard Bleier

Araujo will remain on the active roster until he has fulfilled his service time. Hyde has commented that he likes Araujo’s stuff, meaning the former Rule 5 pick will get an opportunity to continue his development in the minors after his required major league time is up. I wrongly assumed that Tanner Scott would make the roster above Jimmy Yacabonis, only because we aren’t 100% sure on what role Yacabonis will serve for the Orioles, although for now, that role will be that of an opener.

Positional Players Likely To Be On The Baltimore Orioles 25-Man Roster.

• Catcher: Pedro Severino, Jesus Sucre

This could still change, but for now, Baltimore will elect to go with two defensive-minded catchers behind the plate while Chance Sisco begins the year with the AAA Norfolk Tides to continue his development.

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• Infield: Chris Davis, Jonathan Villar, Richie Martin, Rio Ruiz, Renato Nunez, Drew Jackson (utility), Hanser Alberto

Trumbo’s trip to the IL means a rotating door of designated hitters and that both Ruiz and Nunez will slot into the batting order. The only real surprise here is Hanser Alberto, but his spot seemed pretty safe once the Orioles decided to move on from Alcides Escobar and became all but guaranteed with the Trumbo confirmation. However, if Mike Elias makes any waiver claims, Alberto could be the first player to go.

• Outfielders: Trey Mancini, Cedric Mullins, Joey Rickard, Dwight Smith Jr.

A starting outfield of Mancini, Mullins, and Rickard is all but guaranteed with Smith coming off the bench. Nothing against Mancini, but he isn’t an outfielder. We all know that. Personally, Mullins is the only intriguing name I see on this version of the active roster. Luckily, we can watch the Norfolk Tides and Bowie Baysox on MiLB TV.

Thoughts on the roster, Baltimore Orioles fans?