Projecting Orioles' 2026 Opening Day roster with renewed hope ahead of spring training

While the Baltimore Orioles still have some time left in the offseason to make more moves, we do have a good sense of what this Orioles' roster is shaping up to be. The lineup is pretty well set and the bench...well, we'll talk about that later. Both the rotation and bullpen could see changes still, but most of the main characters have already been revealed.

In fact, there is enough information as we close in on the start of spring training that we can take some educated (hopefully) guesses as to what Baltimore's Opening Day roster is going to look like in 2026.

Here is a first pass at predicting the Orioles' 2026 Opening Day roster

Don't get too wedded to these predictions as it just takes one roster move or injury or just a crappy spring to shuffle things around a good bit. However, this first pass does feel like a good starting point for discussions at minimum.

Orioles Starting Lineup

Jackson Holliday (2B), Jordan Westburg (3B), Gunnar Henderson (SS), Pete Alonso (1B), Adley Rutschman (C), Taylor Ward (LF), Dylan Beavers (RF), Samuel Basallo (DH), Colton Cowser (CF)

No real surprises with the lineup to start the season here. The first five spots are pretty etched in stoned and alternate handedness well. The bottom third of the lineup is lefty heavy, but Beavers and Cowser are very, very likely to get a chance to stick and the Orioles didn't extend Samuel Basallo to just have him rot in Triple-A even longer.

One last note on Basallo, this is our guess as to wear he will start the 2026 season in the lineup getting a bit of the rookie treatment. If you are placing bets, you may want to gamble that he won't be hitting that low in the lineup for long.

Orioles Bench

Ryan Mountcastle, Ramon Urias, Tyler O'Neill, Leody Taveras

This is where things get a little wonky. Jeremiah Jackson was such a fun story last season and it sure looks like he should have a path to a utility bench spot. However, there are already some rumbling that Baltimore could try to reunite with Ramon Urias. If that is indeed true, there were already some concerns about Jackson still having minor league options being used as a rationale to not include him on the Opening Day roster.

The rest are pretty straightforward. Baltimore is stuck with Tyler O'Neill, Leody Taveras can actually play center field, and Ryan Mountcastle will rot on the bench until the Orioles finally trade him. There was some consideration to giving Coby Mayo a roster spot right out of the gate, but there are just too many redundant players like him who don't have the flexibility of options. This could change if Mountcastle does get traded, though.

Orioles Starting Rotation

Trevor Rogers (LHP), Framber Valdez (LHP), Kyle Bradish (RHP), Shane Baz (RHP), Zach Eflin (RHP)

Alright, dreamers....we are calling it. With all of the noise around the Orioles and Framber Valdez, it just feels inevitable that the signing is coming. Feel free to call this prediction a curse if Valdez signs elsewhere.

Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish provide a real punch at the front of the rotation and Shane Baz could end up being as good or better if everything clicks. It is a toss-up between Zach Eflin and Dean Kremer for the last spot, but we will go with Eflin for now as he is out of minor league options.

Orioles Bullpen

Ryan Helsley, Keegan Akin, Andrew Kittredge, Kade Strowd, Colin Selby, Yennier Cano, Dietrich Enns, Tyler Wells

Alright, the Orioles threw a bunch of money at Ryan Helsley, so he is going to be closing games to start the season. Write that in permanent ink. The rest of the bullpen arms are intriguing, but some also feel interchangeable. For the spots that are the most likely to be in flux, Kade Strowd and Yennier Cano get the nod as that feels like the best compromise between keeping as many guys in the organization as possible while still prioritizing upside to a degree.