In this case, no news is not good news.
Opening Day is one week from today and the Orioles still don’t know for sure whether either star shortstop Gunnar Henderson or closer Félix Bautista will be ready to go for the day one roster. Henderson continues to do baseball activities as he works back from an intercostal strain, while the team could decide that Bautista is not fully ramped up yet and not ready for the roster.
Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters ahead of Thursday’s spring training game with the Yankees that Henderson continues to do baseball activities but may not be able to play in any of the remaining spring training games. Asked about Henderson’s status, Hyde told reporters, “We’re still hopeful, but we are running out of time right now. We haven’t made a final decision (on Opening Day) yet.” They don’t need to rush him back and aggravate anything worse, but he will be missed if he isn’t ready for the first games.
Bautista is likewise not certain, Hyde said. He is continuing to do throwing on back fields but the determination about whether he’s ready for the roster is not yet settled.
This Bautista update in particular is a real curveball given that Bautista did make it into spring games earlier than the team initially thought and he’s been projecting confidence about getting his velocity up to his usual level by Opening Day. Some caution about him was already baked in, with Hyde previously saying that the team will not use him for multi-inning saves or on back-to-back days in the early parts of the season. Even that might not be enough.
Not much to be done about it now except hope that the depth the Orioles have assembled will be enough to get them through. Given that the only bullpen addition they made was Andrew Kittredge, who is already out for multiple months, a Bautista absence will be testing whether any depth exists at all. Henderson’s absence may be less concerning if you can convince yourself he won’t be gone for long and that Jackson Holliday, Ramón Urías, and Jordan Westburg will make up a fine infield in the meantime.