Westburg ready to be difference-maker for O's

This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BALTIMORE -- During Spring Training, Jordan Westburg was in a battle with himself. The 25-year-old infielder wanted to win a spot on Baltimore’s 26-man Opening Day roster.

The Orioles made it clear early in camp that Westburg would be on the team. Every roster projection included him locked into the infield mix. But he didn’t want to take it easy this spring -- that’s just not in his DNA.

Now that Westburg broke camp with the big league team for the first time in his career -- and experienced his first Opening Day -- his work isn’t going to slow.

“I’m very thankful. I’m feeling very lucky that I made this club,” Westburg said. “There’s a lot of competition, a lot of good players who are here and who are not here. I’m going to try to make the most of it.”

Westburg, who had a solid 68-game MLB debut stint last year, could be a near-everyday player. He’ll play a good bit at both second base and third base. He can also be a backup option at shortstop. He’ll even see some time at designated hitter, which is where he started in the Orioles’ 11-3 Opening Day win over the Angels at Camden Yards on Thursday.

In his first plate appearance of the season, Westburg worked the count full against Halos left-hander Patrick Sandoval, then slapped an outside changeup over a leaping Brandon Drury at second base for an RBI single that put Baltimore ahead, 2-1, in the first inning. The O’s led the rest of the way, as Westburg finished 1-for-3.

“I’m going to try to give him a lot of at-bats,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I thought he did a great job for us the last couple months of last year, and he had a nice Spring Training. Did a great job defensively. I thought his at-bats got better as camp went on.”

The Orioles have a welcoming clubhouse. Still, when Westburg arrived in the Majors for the first time last June, it was easy for the 2020 Competitive Balance Round A Draft pick to feel nervous.

Westburg’s locker was sandwiched between outfielders Aaron Hicks and Austin Hays, two of the most experienced players on the 2023 roster. Next to Hays was fellow veteran outfielder Cedric Mullins.

“I know that I was a little bit scared to be myself last year, [I was] just the rookie in here,” Westburg said. “I wanted to make sure [I was] staying in my lane and playing my role.”

Still not far removed from rookie status, Westburg felt much more relaxed when he returned to Baltimore’s big league clubhouse this week. He’s bonded with more of his teammates, and he feels they’ve developed stronger relationships.

Now, Westburg is hoping comfortability can translate to increased productivity with better stats. He slashed .260/.311/.404 with 17 doubles, two triples, three homers and 23 RBIs last year, but he’s confident there’s more in the tank.

“I hope so. I really hope so,” Westburg said. “Maybe just knowing that people have a little bit of confidence in me -- or I have more confidence in myself -- or I don’t really know how to describe it. But I think it will.

“And if it doesn’t, you can’t really control a lot of things in baseball. I can just control what I do every day. I’m going to always put the work in, I’m always going to try to better myself and be prepared.”