Baltimore Orioles Roster Battles: 3 Most Intriguing Spring Position Battles

Baltimore Orioles fans are hoping that the new regime led by general manager Dan Duquette can get more out of the young talent that seems to be so prominent throughout Spring Training than his predecessors did.

As important as developing that talent during the preseason will be, deciding who will fill out the Opening Day roster will be first on the agenda during spring camp.

This column will focus on the three position vacancies that stand out above the rest as needing the most attention.

Keep in mind that on a team trying to rebuild like the Orioles are, any player winning an Opening Day job will need to continually justify his role to maintain a spot on the major league roster.

Who Gets the Nod as Opening Day Starter?

The offseason trade of last year’s Opening Day starter Jeremy Guthrie leaves the currently unanswered question as to who gets the nod this April.

Lacking a true ace in the rotation, the most probable candidates for the job include Jason Hammel, Tommy Hunter and Jake Arrieta.

Jason Hammel has the most experience of that group, including having previously pitched in the American League East.

Having pitched 170-plus innings in each of the past three seasons, Hammel is more of an innings- eater type than a top of the rotation starter for any club.

After missing time earlier in camp with lower-back soreness, Tommy Hunter finally took the mound last Friday, albeit in a Single-A minor league game. He was able to throw 60 pitches and afterwards announced himself ready for his first Grapefruit League start on Wednesday.

Hunter was probably considered the pre-camp favorite to be the Opening Day starter until missing time, but he remains in contention with a couple of weeks left to get ready.

Arrieta has one thing the other two candidates don’t have, the raw talent to match up with the other top-of-the-rotation starters in the American League East.  

Seven months removed from season-ending surgery due to a bone spur in his right elbow; his fastball has been clocked as high as 97 mph in spring games.

Before the injury last season, he showed some positive signs, as his strikeout rate improved from year one (4.66) to year two (7.01).

If he can harness his command and stop giving so many free passes (4.38 career BB/9), that would go a long way to allowing him to reach his potential as a top-of-the-rotation starter.

Even though those three pitchers have a leg up in the race, there are some other possible contenders.

According to Sporting News, if left-hander Wei-Yin Chen continues to pitch every fifth day, he would line up as the Opening Day starter. It seems unlikely Chen would get the call, but if no one else steps to the forefront, he could be an option.

If not for the shoulder inflammation that has yet to allow Zach Britton to pitch in a spring training game, he would have been in the mix to start the opener.

Brian Matusz has as much talent as any pitcher in camp. After posting a 6-0 record with a 1.57 ERA in his last eight starts of 2010, a drop in velocity last season led to the worst ERA (10.69) by any major league pitcher in history who made at least 10 starts.

Matusz has shown flashes of being back to the form of two years ago during his spring appearances with his velocity reaching the lower-to-mid 90’s again.

OPENING DAY EDGE: Jake Arrieta

Who Will Buck Showalter Lean on to Close Games?

Once Jim Johnson took over for the struggling Kevin Gregg late last season, he made the most of his opportunity by closing out all seven of his save chances in September.

With Johnson appearing to have done enough to be proclaimed the closer for the upcoming season, not only did the Baltimore Orioles decide to trade for a reliever with closing experience, but they flirted with the idea of moving Johnson to the rotation.

Some offseason additions to deepen the pool of possible starters have since kept Johnson in the bullpen.

The unfortunate aspect that the Orioles still owe Gregg $5.8 million for this year, in addition to the offseason trade to acquire Matt Lindstrom, has further muddied the waters as to who will be the closer come Opening Day.

When asked about the closer's job manager Buck Showalter stated, “We’re still looking at all the options. We’ll separate that before too long. I’m not going to push that.”

With Johnson remaining in the bullpen, he is still the odds-on favorite to be given the first chance to lock down the ninth-inning job.

Though he was limited early in camp due to some lower back discomfort, he has recently pitched in two spring games.

Johnson isn’t going to strike out as many hitters as Orioles fans might like, but in his most extended action as a big leaguer last season, he proved to be an extreme groundball pitcher (61.5 percent).

As for Gregg, command issues (6.03 BB/9) eventually cost him the job in 2011. He has the pedigree to be the team’s closer, but the last three seasons have seen his walk rate increase while his strikeouts have decreased.

There have also been rumors the Orioles would like to move Gregg via trade, but that’s unlikely given his contract status.

In an effort to regain the closer’s job this spring, he has been working on throwing from the first base side of the mound in hopes that his ball stays in the zone longer.

Lindstrom is the dark-horse candidate of the group. He is unlikely to break camp as the closer, but an in-season switch is not out of the question.

His biggest value to the team is the ability to pitch multiple innings, averaging just over one inning per appearance in his career.

CLOSERS EDGE: Jim Johnson

Who Is the Frontrunner to Win the Second-Base Job?

As long as Brian Roberts is under contract with the Orioles, they will hold out hope that he can make some sort of return to the lineup.

The harsh reality seems to be that his career is all but over. Maybe he can come back as a part-time player, but it is doubtful he will ever be a regular in the lineup again.

What Roberts can do is provide veteran leadership to the others competing for the open second-base job, and that type of willingness to help the younger players can’t be overlooked.

Robert Andino appears to be the frontrunner to begin the season as the everyday starter. He won’t offer much on the offensive side, but he is the best defender of the group vying for playing time.

Previously an option, Ryan Adams has been reassigned to minor league camp after hitting .091 this spring.

Adams is still listed because his offensive abilities could give him another opportunity at the second-base job at some point early in the season.

He is a potential double-digit home run guy. Even though he has improved defensively, he is still suspect in that area.

The last candidate to receive some playing time at second base is Rule 5 draftee Ryan Flaherty.

More likely to be used as a utility man, he has to be given dark-horse consideration to unseat whomever wins the second base job.

Flaherty is a mix of both Andino and Adams because of his ability with the glove and the possibility his offense can play at the big-league level.

SECOND BASE EDGE: Robert Andino

Jim Pratt is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, MLB contributor for MLBDepthCharts and BravesWire. Follow Jim on Twitter, @2OutSacBunt