Baltimore Orioles Roster – 10 Items for the Next 10 Days
Mar 15, 2014; Sarasota, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman
Jonathan Schoop
(6) throws the ball to first for an out during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at
Ed Smith
Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Since this is my 100th article on the Baltimore Orioles here on this new The Baltimore Wire web site since our inception on November 13th, I thought I’d make it a dandy – with multiple parts seeking to address multiple outstanding questions from spring training 2014.
After a wretched winter that continues to look like it refuses to end, it seemed that baseball would never return. And so it is still a bit shocking to the senses that we are in the final days of Grapefruit League play and that opening day is only now 11 days from now!
With a total camp roster of 62 players, there has been, and continues to be, a lot of sorting in order to get to a 25-man Baltimore Orioles roster for the 2014 season. And along the way, the organization is also sorting players for continued development throughout the system – particularly at AAA Norfolk and AA Bowie. The Orioles truly see their roster as more than 25 players, or even 40 players. They see it as 50-60 players in continual development toward helping the club in a given season. The “deep depth” philosophy of Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette is difficult to criticize.
So here are 10 current Baltimore Orioles roster types of questions that you can bounce through by clicking the arrow at the bottom-right corner of the pages …
When will Manny Machado be available, and what level of play may we expect for 2014?
Who will get the most starts at second base in 2014?
Who will be the Orioles closer?
Will the starting rotation be a major upgrade over 2013?
Will the Orioles bullpen be an upgrade over 2013?
Who will get the most starts in left field in 2014?
Who will get the most starts as the Orioles designated hitter in 2014?
Who will be the backup catcher?
Who could be comeback players of the year for the Orioles?
What sort of encore season is reasonably possible from Chris Davis?