Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! We start another day with no news from the Orioles. After a lot of activity at the start of the offseason, things came to a halt. If you think the Orioles still need changes to be successful this season, it’s certainly frustrating. But as each day passes, with or without the Orioles traveling, we move one day closer to the 2026 baseball season.
Orioles pitchers and catchers will report on February 11th and the first full team practice will be held on February 16th. The team’s first Grapefruit League game will be on the 20th against the Yankees. There will be a month of spring games, as well as the World Baseball Classic, March 5-17. Finally, the Orioles will host Opening Day on Thursday, March 26. Spring training matches aren’t very exciting, but the WBC should be a good time.
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But speaking of the WBC, the news broke This weekend, Puerto Rico could withdraw from the game due to insurance issues. A league-approved insurer would cover a player’s salary if he were injured in the WBC, and the insurer refuses to insure at least eight players scheduled to play for Puerto Rico. This includes superstar Francisco Lindor, who has undergone several surgeries in the recent past.
It would be a real blow to the tournament if the Puerto Rico team were to withdraw. They are one of the strongest teams in the tournament, and the first round of the tournament is taking place in San Juan. Talk about awkward. I’m actually traveling to Puerto Rico to attend two WBC matches, but I don’t have tickets to the Puerto Rico matches. They sold out too quickly.
In old Orioles news, there were two signings. Austin Hays signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Chicago White Sox. The contract comes with a mutual option for 2027. And the Dodgers reached a minor league deal with pitcher Cole Irvin. The deal includes an invitation to major league camp during spring training. Irvin spent 2025 in Korea with the Doosan Bears. He made 28 starts with a 4.48 ERA.
Links
A bunch of questions for the 2026 season – MASN Sports
Roch Kubatko’s post yesterday morning raises many questions about the upcoming season. For his question about who will hit the most home runs, I’m going to go out on a limb and answer Pete Alonso.
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Top Candidates for Orioles Utility Role – Baltimore Baseball
While the rest of Birdland waits to see if the Orioles sign Framber Valdez, Rich Dubroff is ready to talk utilities.
More Orioles played through injuries last year than we thought. How might things change in 2026? – The Baltimore Banner
In case you missed it this weekend, Jon Meoli explained how this year could be different when it comes to injuries.
Birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have six Orioles birthday friends, including two Orioles Hall of Famers. Today is Don Buford’s 89th birthday, so happy birthday to him! Buford played for the Orioles from 1968 to 1972. During the first four years, Buford played All-Star caliber baseball, although he only made the All-Star team once. He also excelled in the postseason, with an .851 OPS over 22 games. In 1970, when the Orioles won the World Series, Buford reached base 12 times in six games with two home runs.
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The second Orioles Hall of Famer to be celebrated today is Melvin Mora (54). Mora was a late bloomer who didn’t make his major league debut until he was 27 years old. He came to the Orioles in 2000 as part of the Syd Thrift sellout and spent a decade with the team. He was a bright spot on a bad baseball team, with single-season bWARs above 4 in each of the 2002-2005 periods. In 2003 and 2004, his OBP was over .400, which was unheard of on these mid-August teams.
Other former Orioles born on this day in history are Travis Snider (38), Scott Erickson (58), Pat Clements (64) and Paul Kilgus (64).
On this day in 2005, the Orioles’ trade for Sammy Sosa was made official. The Orioles sent Jerry Hairston, Jr. to the Cubs for Sosa. Sosa was horrible for the Orioles during a painful season for the team.
In 2009, the Orioles sent money to the Cubs for Rich Hill. Hill had a 7.80 ERA in 14 games that year at age 29, his only season in Baltimore. He continued to pitch for 16 more seasons. That’s right, he appeared in two games for the Royals last season at age 45. Hill announced just a few weeks ago that he would not attempt to pitch in the MLB in 2026.
In 2021, the Orioles traded Alex Cobb to the Angels for Jahmai Jones. Cobb had a disappointing 2.5 seasons with the Orioles, but bounced back a bit with the Angels and later the Giants.
