It takes more than 13 position players to make it through the regular season. At some point during the season several of the guys who don’t make the opening day roster will play for the Orioles and prospects like Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo will get called up without there having to be any controversy about the corresponding moves because over the course of 162 games injuries happen and trades happen and between now and mid June something will happen that will make room for Coby Mayo to join the roster.
However Gunnar Henderson and Jorge Mateo are both set to return from their injuries in the first week of the season which means that in one week the Orioles are going to have to DFA or send down 2 members of the opening day roster.
Obviously Livan Soto or whoever the Orioles have up for infield depth for the first week of the season will be one of the casualties but there is nobody else on the roster who the Orioles wouldn’t have to at least think about before either sending them to triple A or DFAing them and there’s not enough time between now and when these guys will be returning to count on someone getting hurt to make that decision for them.
Mateo still might make the opening day roster but for the sake of discussion let’s say that Livan Soto is the corresponding move for Gunnar Henderson and that means that the Orioles have to choose between Jorge Mateo and one of the other 12 position players on the roster.
Here are the guys in danger.
Ramon Urias
Urias has held onto a roster spot despite the Orioles appearing to call up his replacement several times. First it was “Gunnar Henderson is going to take over third base so that’s probably the end of Ramon Urias”, then it was “Jordan Westburg is going to take over third base so that’s probably the end of Ramon Urias” and then it was “Jackson Holliday is getting called up so there’s probably not even room for Urias on the bench” and then it was “Coby Mayo is getting called up and he plays third so there’s no way Urias will be on the team next year” and now the 2025 season is about to start and Urias is going to be on the roster.
Urias is still around because he is a steady glove at 2nd and 3rd base and he has a 4 year track record of being an average to at times above average bat. That kind of versatility and dependability makes it so having him on the bench provides the Orioles with insurance for if Holliday or Westburg get hurt. If it were up to me I would rather have Urias than Mateo as the Orioles infield utilityman but I understand the skills Mateo has that make him an attractive option for this team.
Of the two Mateo is the better defender by a significant margin, He can play shortstop which Urias cannot really do and he can play the outfield which Urias also can’t do. In addition to more defensive versatility Mateo can also be used strategically as a pinch runner which is something that Urias doesn’t offer either.
As I said I prefer Urias because I believe that if anything were to happen to one of the starters Urias’ bat makes it so he could fill in for a significant amount of time and the Orioles offense wouldn’t take too much of a hit but if you are anticipating both players being in a reserve role Mateo’s versatility makes him the better bench piece so I wouldn’t be shocked if the front office picks Mateo over Urias but it would be weird for Urias’ time with the Orioles to end so abruptly after he made it this far.
Urias is low profile enough and this DFA would be early enough in the season that most team’s 40 man rosters wouldn’t have space for a 30 year old utility infielder so it is possible that if Urias is DFA’d he could slip through waivers and end up back with the Orioles but I wouldn’t count on it.
Ramon Laureano
The Ramon Laureano signing was a bit of a head scratcher not because he’s not a useful player but because with everyone healthy I’m not sure how he is going to get enough playing time to be worth the 4 million dollars they agreed to pay him. Maybe they thought that Mateo’s injury was worse than it ended up being but with Mateo being right handed and able to play centerfield Laureano being right handed and being able to play centerfield is not nearly as valuable for this team.
The Orioles also have Dylan Carlson who can bat right handed and play centerfield in the minors right now so there is right handed outfield depth readily available in the organization.
4 million dollars is a big enough contract that it would feel like a waste to DFA him one week into the season and Laureano is a good enough platoon bat that if he was DFA’d there would definitely be a team willing to sign him away from the Orioles so there is no chance he falls through waivers.
If money were not a factor Laureano would be my pick to be replaced by Jorge Mateo but money is a factor and that 4 million dollar contract should keep Laureano safe from being DFA’d in the first week of the season.
Heston Kjerstad
Kjerstad getting sent down would be super disappointing and there isn’t a real baseball reason for it but he is the only guy without a starting role that has minor league options. If the Orioles front office isn’t ready to DFA someone then optioning Kjerstad would allow them keep all of the “depth” they acquired this offseason
I think this would be a bad idea but it does seem like something a front office would feel really smart doing so we can’t rule it out as a possibility.
Jackson Holliday
Nobody wants this but if one week into the season Jackson Holliday is 1-24 with 10 Ks then he could find himself back in triple A for a tune up. I don’t think that will happen but I didn’t think Holliday would struggle last year either.
Jorge Mateo
Everything that we’ve heard from the Orioles suggests that they intend to get Jorge Mateo on the major league roster but if they are stuck with a roster crunch and they like all the active players then there is a possibility that Mateo finds himself on the outside looking in.
There are a few ways the Orioles could do this. Mateo could get a longer injury designation than previously thought where the Orioles try to get cute with the IR rules (Mateo is recovering from major surgery so it wouldn’t be out of the question for the Orioles to want him to have a longer rehab process) or he could be DFA’d.
Of all the Orioles DFA candidates there is an argument that Mateo could be the most likely to not get claimed. Of the three, Mateo is the worst hitter and he had a season ending injury last year so teams might be wary to claim him but speed and defense always has some value in this league so I wouldn’t bet on it.
Nobody (technically Matt Bowman)
The Orioles could go with a short bullpen and just have 14 position players on the roster until someone gets hurt. It is early enough in the season that the bullpen arms should be fresh so getting regular use shouldn’t be too challenging.
This would be a temporary fix and they would pretty much be betting that someone would get hurt in the first month of the season before the bullpen dies of exhuastion becuase with the Orioles rotation it’s not like the bullpen will only have to cover 2 innings a night.
Now that I’ve written all this someone is going to twist their ankle on opening day and the Orioles won’t have to DFA anyone at all but assuming their health can hold up for one week the Orioles will have to make a tough decision.
The Dishwasher 
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