3 Things the Baltimore Orioles Still Need to Do Before Start of Spring Training

The holidays have passed, the new year is here and it's now back to the ol' grind.

Already more than a week into January, the countdown to spring training has begun. Pitchers and catchers report to camp February 19, just six weeks from now. Baseball fans will be hearing about roster spot competitions and minor injuries popping up before we know it.

The Baltimore Orioles are a team coming off of a 96-win season that saw them capture their first AL East title and ALCS appearance since 1997. They're a team that has lost some key players to free agency this winter, yet on paper they still appear to have the ability to take the division for a second straight season.

Still though, the team will enter spring training with plenty of questions that they'll be looking to answer before Opening Day on April 6 in Tampa Bay.

Accomplishing a couple of things before spring training begins, such as the following, could ease the stress for manager Buck Showalter during camp.

Add More Outfield, Pitching and Catching Depth

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Don't get me wrong, the Orioles are a team with some pretty good depth in every area, but no team can have too many capable players.

With the loss of Nick Markakis and Nelson Cruz in free agency, the Orioles have been looking to add another outfielder all winter. The team does have some guys who can play alongside center fielder Adam Jones, such as David Lough, Alejandro De Aza, Steve Pearce and even Chris Davis, but it would be nice for it to add an established left-handed hitting outfielder to create even more quality depth. The team has been eying Colby Rasmus, Nori Aoki and Andre Ethier, so it'll be interesting to see what direction it chooses to go.

The Orioles were fortunate in 2014, as they had just seven pitchers make starts all season long. Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Wei-Yin Chen, Kevin Gausman and Ubaldo Jimenez all made at least 20 starts, and reliever T.J. McFarland provided one spot-start.

The team is lucky to have pitchers with that kind of durability, though it can't just assume it'll be the same way this year. The team would be wise to at least look into adding a starter who could be had on a minor league deal as an insurance policy, should the club lose a couple of guys from the rotation at once.

And though the bullpen remains solid with the likes of Zach Britton, Darren O'Day and Tommy Hunter out there, the loss of Andrew Miller, who was acquired at the trade deadline last season, will be felt. The O's have added lefty Wesley Wright on a one-year deal, providing depth to the options in the 'pen, but adding another arm or two to the competition wouldn't be a bad idea. Maybe the team could catch lightning in a bottle.

The club would like to add another catcher, even though it currently has five on its 40-man roster. With All-Star Matt Wieters coming off of Tommy John surgery, the team figures it can never have too many options. Wieters is supposed to be ready for Opening Day, but anything can happen while recovering from major surgery.

Obviously, these areas could be improved during spring training as well, but it's always a little more beneficial to the player to know where he's going before camp starts.

Narrow Down the Leadoff Hitter Possibilities

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This is something I'm sure manager Buck Showalter has already at least considered, and it's also something spring training is meant to help figure out, but it would be good for the team to enter camp with at least an idea of who is being considered.

The Birds have some interesting in-house candidates to bat leadoff this season, though none of them are established leadoff hitters, and some of them are hardly established hitters at all.

There's Steve Pearce, who posted an awesome .373 OBP in 2014, but as everyone knows by now, last season was his first real season of consistent playing time leading to a breakout year for him. And if he keeps hitting like he did last year, he needs to be batting in more of a run-producing slot in the lineup.

Outfielders Alejandro De Aza (pictured) and David Lough have speed, but both are left-handed hitters who struggle against lefty pitchers, and both have careers that are a little up-and-down to date.

J.J. Hardy has a little experience batting leadoff (64 starts in that spot in the lineup), but his career .312 OBP doesn't make much sense for a lineup spot that requires on-base ability. Plus, his 20-plus-homer and 60-plus-RBI potential fits in nicely in the sixth or seventh spot in the lineup.

And there's Delmon Young, who could provide an unconventional choice at the No. 1 spot in the lineup. Young has strong all-around ability with the bat while providing power, and he mashes lefties to the tune of a .302 career batting average. However, his career OBP of .317 and his lack of speed work against batting him there.

Of course, if the O's were to bring aboard a guy like Nori Aoki, then this entire conversation would be irrelevant. But they haven't done that yet, so it's something the team needs to figure out. Having a good leadoff man does wonders for helping a team score runs.

Ink an Upoming Free Agent to an Extension

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This one isn't an absolute necessity, but it sure as heck would help in multiple ways.

The O's have 11—yes, 11—players eligible for free agency at the end of the 2015 season. Starting pitchers Wei-Yin Chen and Bud Norris (pictured), relievers Darren O'Day, Tommy Hunter, Ryan Webb and Wesley Wright, catcher Matt Wieters, infielders Chris Davis and Steve Pearce and outfielders Alejandro De Aza and Delmon Young are all in their final year of their respective contracts.

Now obviously, unless the O's work to extend multiple players (or flip some of these guys for other players who are under control longer), the team is going to have a problem come next offseason. Sure, it has some guys in the minors who could come up to fill some of the void (Dylan Bundy, Dariel Alvarez, etc.), but replacing 11 players all at once is a tall order.

After losing Markakis, Cruz and Miller in free agency, the team has money to spend. Investing in some of the players the team currently has can help fix some problems for the future as well as settle down a fanbase that is upset with a lack of activity this offseason.

Showing commitment to players who have been with the team for an extended period of time not only is loved by the fans, but it also provides a morale boost for the other guys on the team as they openly see ownership and upper management continue to strive to field a strong team as well as rewarding players for what they've done for the franchise.

Of course, deciding the details of who is worth keeping around and for what size of contract is a whole new headache, but that's why Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette gets paid the big bucks.

This is something that needs to be looked in ASAP, if it hasn't already begun, because a lot of the time players won't want to negotiate during the season, and sometimes even after the start of spring training. Showing commitment after an offseason of loss could be a huge mental boost for the Birds as the 2015 season steadily approaches.