Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Friends, we are exactly one month away from the 2026 Orioles playing baseball. Spring training baseball, yes, but baseball nonetheless. There will be lineups and uniforms and everything! The O’s will kick off their Grapefruit League schedule on Feb. 20 with a home game in Sarasota against the Yankees, and most of us will even be able to watch, as it’s one of the 20 games that MASN will air this spring.
That exhibition opener, of course, won’t necessarily tell us much about what we should expect from the 2026 season. Not every projected Orioles starter will be in the lineup, and probably by the fifth or sixth inning the O’s will have nothing but backups and minor leaguers on the field. That’s spring training for you. Still, it’s a warming thought — on this 20-degree day in the greater Baltimore area — that there will be actual baseball happening not too long from now.
Before we get there, though, the O’s still have some roster business to attend to. They’re continuing their stated pursuit of a top-shelf starting pitcher, which at this point is Framber Valdez or bust on the free agent market, unless the Birds have another surprise trade in them. They also need to address the whole three-right-handed-hitting-first-basemen logjam, and maybe add another reliever or two while they’re at it.
There’s more work to do. There’s more roster maneuvering in store. But baseball is on the horizon.
Links
Alonso talks again about the quest to “hunt down a championship in October” – School of Roch
If there’s one thing Pete Alonso is as good at as hitting dingers, it’s saying things that get me super fired up.
JAWS and the 2026 Hall of Fame Ballot: Nick Markakis – FanGraphs
Nick Markakis won’t hear his named called during today’s Hall of Fame election, but Jay Jaffe offers a fine recap of the former Orioles fan favorite’s outstanding career.
Your guide to Orioles’ spring training in Sarasota – BaltimoreBaseball.com
If you’re planning a visit to spring training this year, Rich Dubroff’s got you covered on everything you need to know, including oodles of restaurant recommendations. I’m feeling hungry all of a sudden.
Braves Sign Jorge Mateo – MLB Trade Rumors
The former Oriole has found a new team, and he might even be their primary shortstop until Ha-Seong Kim returns from injury. Best of luck to Jorge in Atlanta.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! A whopping seven former Orioles have birthdays today: catcher Luis Exposito (39), outfielder David Lough (40), right-hander Matt Albers (43), infielder Ozzie Guillén (62), lefty Bill Scherrer (68), and the late outfielder Gene Stephens (b. 1933, d. 2019) and Baltimore-born righty Dave Boswell (b. 1945, d. 2012).
On this date in 1977, the Orioles traded eight-time Gold Glove center fielder Paul Blair to the Yankees. The best defensive outfielder in franchise history, Blair had spent the first 13 years of his career in Baltimore and starred on two World Series-winning O’s clubs, but was coming off the two worst offensive seasons of his career when the Orioles made the trade. As a bench player with the Yanks, Blair added two more championships to his total in 1977 and 1978.
In 1994, the Orioles signed Hall of Fame closer Lee Smith to a one-year deal. The veteran right-hander already had 401 saves on his résumé, and added a league-leading 33 for the Orioles in the strike-shortened ‘94 season. Smith finished his career with 478, currently the third-most in MLB history.
And on this day last year, Anthony Santander officially parted ways with the Orioles after eight seasons, signing a five-year, $92.5 million deal with the division rival Blue Jays. The O’s, with their best 2024 power bat no longer around, struggled to hit homers in 2025, but Santander’s first year in Toronto didn’t go well for him, either. He posted a meager .565 OPS with six homers in 54 games, missing nearly four months with a shoulder injury, and was relegated to a spectator during the Jays’ near-championship run.
Read the full article here
