COLUMN | These are extremely uncomfortable decisions the Orioles are forcing opposing managers to make, and there’s too much quality at the top of the lineup to not punish teams.

The Orioles' uneven start doesn’t mean anything in the context of a six-month season. It’s just not what this particular season needed to separate everything that will happen going forward from everything that happened last year.

With two scoreless innings in Nunez's debut Saturday, one of the most improbable stories in baseball may only be getting started.

With Baz’s five-year, $68 million deal, the Orioles have bet on him to be a meaningful part of their rotation for the rest of this decade — and having him in place will help them build that out however they see fit.

Everything Albernaz did in spring training to set the Orioles up for success was intentional. On opening day, it paid off.

COLUMN | It’s strange when you stack up just how many facets of the Orioles are better — the lineup mix, the rotation, the manager — to still feel uneasy about their chances. A lot of that has to do with how last year went.

If there’s anywhere the Orioles get the benefit of the doubt, it’s maximizing value by identifying pitchers who might help and guiding their development to make that true. That doesn’t make it any less risky.

Manager Craig Albernaz said the pitching coaches were “studs” at December’s winter meetings and called them “elite” both then and at the start of camp.

I bet everyone around and employed by the Orioles has watched the last couple of weeks play out thinking Henderson was going to be on a mission.

COLUMN | The Orioles have a talented group of potential reinforcements who will be in the high minors this year and could contribute in the major leagues.

It took until last fall — the end of Bassitt’s three-year deal — for Toronto to put it together and finally realize their potential, coming inches from beating the Dodgers for last year’s title.

COLUMN | A few months ago, new Orioles manager Craig Albernaz recounted his early calls with the team’s returning players. We asked players what they told him.

COLUMN | Kremer switched up his offseason routine to try to reverse a three-year trend in his results.

Pete Alonso has been through this before — and has reflections to share.

There are many reasons the Orioles sputtered out in 2024 and disappointed badly in 2025. Missing Westburg, to me, is always going to be one of the largest contributors, with his fractured hand in 2024 and hamstring and ankle injuries limiting him to 85 games in 2025.

Henriquez spent a decade out of pro baseball after being released from the Tampa Bay Rays’ Dominican program in 2015.

Albernaz walked from field to field throughout the day, and after leaving the situational field, turned back to ask, “Are we having fun yet?”

“It was a blow to the clubhouse in the sense of, yes, he was a really good pitcher who helped us win a lot of games, but then also he’s one of your boys, right?” Albernaz said of his former team. “You’re in it together.”

There will be six months of baseball to determine if the club spent enough, or well enough, or on the right things.

COLUMN: On the infield dirt and outfield grass, in the covered bullpens and batter’s boxes, much felt like business as usual — just a bunch of ballplayers and coaches preparing for the start of the season.