Baltimore Orioles: Where are any openings in the lineup?

Sep 26, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Steve Clevenger (45) congratulates center fielder David Lough (9) on scoring in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Now that FanFest is past, the Pennsylvania rodent has seen his shadow, and the sun no longer sets just after lunch, spring training is truly just over the horizon. The Baltimore Orioles will begin to work out, play games, and assemble a 25-man roster to begin the 2015 season.

The Orioles have also made a few additional moves here toward the end of the offseason, most notably trading for outfielder Travis Snider. Other earlier moves involved re-signing Delmon Young, securing Wesley Wright, and making the typical collection of lesser names of players on the fringes.

So where are the holes and openings in the roster? What are the many multiple battles to be fought over positions and places on the opening day 25-man roster that will play Tampa Bay before heading north?

Honestly, it is difficult to find any holes. Assuming for our discussion today that Manny Machado and Matt Wieters are a full-go to open the season, and assuming as well that there are not going to be any injuries (I know, I know, that’s a lot to assume) or blockbuster trades, I don’t really see any openings practically at all.

Again, apart from the aforementioned circumstances of personnel changes or health, the only way we don’t know practically the entire roster is if someone is simply so stinking awful in the spring that they cannot be retained to start the regular season. But most veteran players will get a lot of grace on this score because of their long-term records. And the inverse is true as well; it will take some mega-wonderful, awesomely-excellent, impressively-good performance for a lesser-known or younger player to break through.

Let’s think about it …

2 Catchers – Matt Wieters and Caleb Joseph – presuming Wieters is healthy and that Joseph does not “play himself off the team,” which I cannot foresee happening.

5 Infielders – Manny Machado, J.J. Hardy, Jonathan Schoop, Chris Davis (yes, beginning with game 2ff), Ryan Flaherty. The first four names are total locks, and there is really nobody else who can play all the positions as Flaherty, even if many could hit better.

6 Outfielders – Let’s call Alejandro De Aza, Adam Jones, and Travis Snider the three starters, with Delmon Young and Steve Pearce also on the team as free agent locks. The only question is the next player, though that would presumably be David Lough – though he could be the most (and maybe only) vulnerable person in the article. If the Orioles went with 11 pitchers instead of 12, there could be an additional name here – like Henry Urrutia or David Hassan.

5 Starters and 1 Long Reliever – Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris, Miguel Gonzalez, Kevin Gausman … with Ubaldo Jimenez. The time has come for Gausman to pitch every fifth day for the Orioles, and the $50-million man will not be in Norfolk.

6 relievers – Zach Britton, Darren O’Day and Tommy Hunter are total locks. And it is difficult to imagine T.J. McFarland, Brad Brach, Wesley Wright, and Brian Matusz as not being retained as well. If you’re keeping score, that is one too many. And this accounting even leaves out Ryan Webb – again. Also, how can any Rule 5 guy possibly be kept?

After stating the undeniable truth that this is a really great problem to have – one that the Orioles have not had practically ever in a long time – here is a further truth about all the names just beyond those mentioned today. They are playing and competing ultimately for one of three things: to be a first contingency plan when one mentioned already goes down with injury, to position themselves actually for a best shot at making the team in 2016, or to be trade bait for a team needing a particular player’s skills immediately.