3 Orioles who'll make the 2026 Opening Day roster but won’t survive the summer

With football season in the rearview mirror, baseball is free to take center stage as teams are now flooding Florida and Arizona with spring training underway. The Baltimore Orioles have descended upon Sarasota, and fans are already surmising which players will make the team's Opening Day roster and who'll be left out in the cold when the season begins next month.

Recent news of Jackson Holliday's injury is sure to shake up almost every preseason roster prediction, though several spots are already spoken for. Newcomers like Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward are locked in at their respective spots, as are starting pitchers like Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish.

There's a handful of players in camp, however, that while talented enough to make the Orioles Opening Day roster, are unlikely to make it past the summer. Which three Orioles players will break camp with the big league ball club, but be off the roster before the All-Star break?

3 Orioles who'll make the 2026 Opening Day roster but won’t survive the summer

Leody Taveras, Orioles outfielder

Leody Taveras was a savvy pickup on the part of Mike Elias at the outset of the MLB offseason, but it's quite likely that he's simply acting as a placeholder until some of the O's young talent is ready for The Show. Enrique Bradfield Jr. is knocking on the Major League door, and that may well spell the end for Taveras before the summer comes to a close.

Dietrich Enns, Orioles pitcher

Dietrich Enns took the long and winding road to get back to the majors. He spent several seasons overseas pitching for the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball and then another year with the LG Twins of the KBO before coming back stateside and joining the Detroit Tigers. Enns joined Baltimore midway through the 2025 season after being DFA'd by Detroit, but with no minor-league options remaining, it's difficult to see him sticking around for a full season.

Ryan Mountcastle, Orioles first baseman

The assumption was that Ryan Mountcastle would be traded this offseason. At the moment, however, those plans have been placed on hold. In fact, the Orioles signed Mountcastle to a one-year deal with a team option for 2027. That, however, is little more than cost certainty for another ball club. With Alonso and Coby Mayo on the roster, Baltimore has little need for another first baseman, and will likely trade Mountcastle sometime later this season.