Baltimore Orioles 26-man Opening Day roster projection 1.0

With Super Bowl Sunday only five days away and the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks pulling off one of the most shocking trades in NBA history, it is easy to forget that the Baltimore Orioles report to spring training in just nine days. And as bitter as the Orioles' end to the 2024 season was (it's hard to not think about the bases loaded, no out opportunity the Orioles squandered in Game 2 against the Royals), it is refreshing to know that baseball is, finally, right around the corner.

The Orioles had a busy, yet unspectacular offseason, adding Tyler O'Neill, Gary Sánchez, Tomoyuki Sugano, Charlie Morton, Andrew Kittredge, and Dylan Carlson on major-league deals while losing Corbin Burnes, Anthony Santander, Danny Coulombe, and Jacob Webb, among others.

Unlike our Baltimore Orioles 2024 Opening Day projection, the 2025 roster picture seems a bit clearer, at least for now. Obviously as injuries, roster moves, and player struggles occur, the projection is subject to change. But as of today, this is my best guess for who travels north to Toronto for the Orioles' opening series against the Blue Jays.

Around the Diamond: Adley Rutschman (C), Ryan Mountcastle (1B), Jackson Holliday (2B), Gunnar Henderson (SS), Jordan Westburg (3B), Tyler O'Neill (RF), Cedric Mullins (CF), Colton Cowser (LF), Ryan O'Hearn (DH)

The Orioles will start the 2025 season with a similar group to the one with whom they concluded the 2024 season, with one major exception: Tyler O'Neill is replacing Anthony Santander as the team's new primary right fielder.

While this change may present a drop off, the Orioles are counting on internal improvement to awaken an offense that slumped horribly down the stretch and scored just 1 run in the two-game series against the Royals.

Yes the Orioles will be counting on Adley Rutschman to return to form after he inexplicably fell apart in the second half of the 2024 season. The Orioles will also be hoping for a second-year jump from Jackson Holliday, who blazed through the minors before struggling in his first season in Baltimore.

As discussed below, the Orioles upgraded offensively at backup catcher this offseason by signing 32 year-old Gary Sánchez. The veteran is also likely to see at-bats at DH against lefty-starters in place of Ryan O'Hearn, and hopefully will take some of the catching burden off of Rutschman.

I also expect Heston Kjerstad to see plenty of time in right field (with O'Neill moving to left, DH, or the bench) and Ramon Urías backing up Jackson Holliday at second if he struggles out of the gate. In other words, the Orioles' top 9 will not necessarily be their top 9 all season.

Bench: Heston Kjerstad, Ramón Urías, Gary Sánchez, Dylan Carlson

Barring a trade or injury, Kjerstad, Urías, and Sanchez appear to be locks for three of the four bench spots. The final spot comes down to Jorge Mateo, Coby Mayo, and the recently-signed Dylan Carlson.

The issue with Mateo, who is recovering from left elbow surgery, is whether he will be healthy enough to make the team as a super utility player. Mike Elias was vague when discussing Mateo recently, stating he is "not going to be a hundred percent citizen of spring training, but he’ll be ramping up and we’ll be able to address whether or not he’s going to break for exact Opening Day a little bit later."

Mayo could make the Orioles with a hot spring training, or an injury or trade of Mountcastle, O'Hearn, or Kjerstad. However, as of now, I think the Orioles give him a bit more seasoning in AAA after his disappointing debut in 2024. However, if Mayo tears it up in AAA, the Orioles will need to find a spot for him fast.

Starting Pitchers: Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer, Tomoyuki Sugano

It's wild to look back at last years' preseason roster projections, which initially had Corbin Burnes and Kyle Bradish forming a dynamic 1-2 punch atop the Orioles' rotation. Last year's preseason projections also included John Means and Tyler Wells.

Fast forward to February 2025. Burnes is off to Arizona, while Bradish, Means (who is still a free-agent) and Tyler Wells are all recovering from elbow surgeries and will clearly not open the year in Baltimore's rotation.

Since then, the O's have added righties Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, and Tomoyuki Sugano, with the former coming over in a deal with Tampa and pitching admirably down the stretch last season. Likely joining these three will be Grayson Rodriguez, whom the Orioles hope can stay healthy all season, and old reliable Dean Kremer, who enters his sixth year in the Orioles' rotation.

The Orioles have solid starting pitching depth behind these five, with Albert Suárez, Cade Povich, and Trevor Rogers hoping to make noise in spring training. However, barring something unforeseen, Suárez will open in the bullpen with Povich and Rogers starting in AAA.

Relief Pitchers: Albert Suárez, Keegan Akin, Cionel Perez, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto, Andrew Kittredge, Yennier Canó, Félix Bautista

Similar to the rotation, barring an unforeseen trade or injury, the bullpen appears relatively set. I know it may be foolhardy to say that 9 days before spring training starts, but at this time it's hard to argue with any of the above 8 making the pen.

Suárez is likely next man up if a starter gets hurt, but the Orioles should be more than happy to use him in long relief. Akin, Perez, and Domínguez can handle the middle innings, while Soto, Kittredge, and Cano will hopefully form a bridge to Félix Bautista, who the Orioles hope gets back to form quickly.

There are other options lurking, such as Bryan Baker, Colin Selby, Chayce McDermott, and Brandon Young, but in this first iteration, those four likely won't join the Orioles in Toronto on Opening Day.