Orioles 25 Man Roster?

After their recent moves, the Baltimore Orioles have 36 players left in Major League camp. They have until Sunday to weed it down to the 25 who will be on the Opening Day roster.

Here’s how the roster seems to be shaking out:

Starting Lineup:

1B Chris Davis

2B Steve Lombardozzi

SS J.J. Hardy

3B Ryan Flaherty (while Manny Machado is on the DL)

C Matt Wieters

LF David Lough/Nelson Cruz

CF Adam Jones

RF Nick Markakis

DH Nelson Cruz/Delmon Young

Bench:

C Steve Clevenger

OF/1B Steve Pearce

INF/PR Jemile Weeks

Starting Rotation:

RHP Chris Tillman

RHP Ubaldo Jimenez

LHP Wei-Yin Chen

RHP Miguel Gonzalez

RHP Bud Norris

Bullpen:

RHP Tommy Hunter (Closer)

RHP Darren O’Day

LHP Brian Matusz

RHP Ryan Webb

LHP Zach Britton

RHP Josh Stinson

RHP Evan Meek

(LHP Troy Patton is suspended for 25 games)

When Manny Machado returns from the DL and a possible rehab assignment, he’ll take over at 3B, which means either Flaherty, Weeks, or Lombardozzi will be headed to AAA Norfolk. Weeks would probably be the odd man out, although he has value as a pinch runner, so it may be Flaherty, although he is a favorite with management. All three are just placeholders for youngsters Machado and Jonathan Schoop.

Top position player prospect, 2B Jonathan Schoop, will most likely start the season in AAA Norfolk to gain more seasoning, despite having a terrific spring. Spring Training stats are what they are, facing pitchers who may not even see the major leagues. Regardless, Schoop definitely needs to work on his defensive decisions. He won’t be used as a utility INF, because he needs at bats, and those are at Norfolk right now. Look for Schoop to show up in Baltimore by midseason at the latest.

Lefty Troy Patton is suspended for the first 25 games of the season for violating the league’s banned substances policy. He will most likely need some game action in the minors before being up to speed. Then the Orioles will have another roster decision to make, deciding if they have a spot for him, since fellow lefty Zach Britton is out of options and had a nice spring.

Expect to see pitchers Brock Huntzinger, Eddie Gamboa, Steve Johnson, Brad Brach, and Kelvin De La Cruz, C Johnny Monell and OF Henry Urrutia at some point in the season.

The Orioles will take time to see what South Korean RHP Suk-min Yoon brings to the table, as he starts off the season at AAA Norfolk, after being delayed in Spring Training by visa issues. He could be used as a starter or reliever, but is coming off of a bad year pitching in relief, after an injury kept him from starting. His contract stipulates that he cannot be sent to the minors after the first year, so this is the window for sorting it all out. He was a bargain though, so it’s a low-risk situation for Baltimore.

The O’s are also eagerly waiting to see if two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana has anything left in the tank once he’s at full-strength.

All in all, I think it’s a pretty solid team, especially when Jonathan Schoop takes over 2B at some point in the season, and 3B Manny Machado gets back to full health.

©2014 Denim McDemus