FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The final Spring Training days are upon us, and as the workouts wind down, the decision-making process shifts into high gear.

Much to the chagrin of O’s fans everywhere, manager Brandon Hyde’s pregame media chat on Thursday did not contain news about whether No. 1 overall prospect Jackson Holliday will break camp with the team. Still, Hyde was able to clarify a few things as the roster begins to take shape.

“We only have a few days left, so we're obviously getting close,” he said before Baltimore’s 3-2 loss to the Red Sox at JetBlue Park. “In the next couple of days, we'll start making some tough decisions.”

Here’s what we learned Thursday:

Rotation, rotation
The O’s announced on March 10 that Corbin Burnes would make his third consecutive Opening Day start on March 28 at home against the Angels. The rest of the rotation holds few surprises, with Hyde confirming that Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin would follow in Burnes’ wake.

Injuries to Kyle Bradish (right UCL sprain) and John Means (left elbow) opened the door for Wells and Irvin, who took the opportunity and ran with it. Wells in particular has impressed, holding opponents to a .189 batting average and allowing just two earned runs across 10 2/3 innings (three starts) this spring.

“Like I've said a million times, he was one of our best, if not the best, starter in the first half last year,” Hyde said. “He's throwing the ball like that right now, so we wanted to start him Game 3.”

This news ended speculation that Baltimore might opt for a four-man rotation to open the schedule, a possibility thanks to five off-days in the first five weeks of the season and one that would have opened them up to carry an extra player elsewhere.

It’s also a decision that might have come back to bite them later on, and with Baltimore in position to make another strong run in the American League this year, Hyde said he’d rather give the arms extra rest when he could.

Gunnar is short
Kind of a no-brainer here, but Gunnar Henderson will spend the majority of his time at shortstop this season rather than split time between there and the hot corner like he did in 2023.

The O’s broke this news to Henderson at the beginning of spring. Hyde allowed for the possibility of sliding over to third “if something arises in a game,” but Henderson has yet to appear there this spring, spending nine Grapefruit League games at shortstop and one at designated hitter, so it’s clear how often Baltimore sees that happening.

The benefits of allowing the reigning AL Rookie of the Year to play just one position are obvious. There’s no telling what Henderson could do with an opportunity to master one craft, but the O’s are eager to find out, and so is he.

“That’s what I was drafted as and what I’ve played my whole life growing up, so I'm looking forward to just getting some consistent playing time there,” Henderson said. “It’s the position I'm most comfortable [with]. … I feel like I can make big strides there.”

Mateo is in
There are a lot of questions surrounding what the roster will look like come Opening Day (and whether Holliday will be in it), but Jorge Mateo’s versatility and fleet feet have earned him a spot … well, lots of places.

Mateo has primarily been a shortstop for Baltimore, but with Henderson in that role (see above), Mateo spent the winter and enough Grapefruit League games getting reps in the outfield and at second base that the O’s feel comfortable with him as a utility option for 2024.

Henderson agrees.

“You can’t coach speed,” Henderson said about Mateo’s 30.1 ft/sec sprint speed that ranked seventh in the Majors last season. “He’s going to make a difference on the base paths. Wherever he is, he’s going to make a difference, and that’s just the beauty of his ability. He’s a difference-maker, no matter where he is.”

This, of course, doesn’t answer the question of whether the O’s will go with four true outfielders (and have Holliday in the infield mix) with Mateo and likely Ryan O’Hearn as the alternates, or five (with Holliday left off the roster), but it’s a step in the right direction.