SARASOTA, Fla. -- Here stands DJ Stewart, now 28, seven years removed from being drafted in the first round, facing possibly the most important season (and spring) of his career and with an uncertain future ahead. But that’s nowhere near the center of his focus.
Instead, Stewart’s focus is geared toward the same vision a lot of other Orioles players have this Spring Training: opportunity.
“I can't look at stuff like that. Honestly, every year to me is big,” Stewart said. “I can't go out there and put more pressure on myself. At the end of the day, I'm playing for the Orioles and trying to make the team as much as I can. I know the roster and how it is, but I want to be a part of it more than anybody.”
So call Friday, a 1-for-2 showing with a run scored in the O’s Grapefruit League opener -- a 9-5 loss to the Blue Jays at Ed Smith Stadium -- a step in the right direction for Stewart, and a big step at that, because it didn’t hurt him so much to take a right-footed step.
“Big goal for him is just to stay healthy and try to be there every single day,” manager Brandon Hyde said pregame. “But yeah, it's a big year for him and a big camp.”
Stewart is coming off a 2021 campaign that ended on Sept. 18 with right knee surgery that ultimately defined his offseason preparation. Most of that was spent at Tork Sports Performance in Jacksonville, Fla., with teammates Mike Baumann and Tyler Wells. His knee still isn’t 100 percent, Stewart said, but it’s good enough to play. Hyde has said he wants Stewart in the outfield this spring, and it remains to be seen how his knee might play into his aptitude there.
No matter the path, he’ll need to set aside some professional struggles to unlock his truest self.
In bits and pieces, there have been tantalizing moments, such as Stewart's near-viral home run tear of September 2020, in which he homered seven times in nine games (many against the Yankees). But true sustained success is yet to find Stewart. And fighting against him now is an outfield lineup mostly set, a crowded designated hitter group and a crop of prospect talent chasing the Majors.
“Early on in my career, I was definitely putting more pressure on myself to try and prove that I was the [first-round] pick, but this game is hard,” Stewart said. “It's humbling, obviously, but I'm not disappointed. Things can always have been better, but I thank God every day for where I am, going to keep working to get better every single day.”
Top of the rotation plans
John Means and Jordan Lyles -- the only surefire members of the O’s 2022 rotation as things stand -- threw a pair of innings in a simulated game on the Ed Smith Stadium main playing surface on Thursday before Grapefruit League action began. It’s likely their next outings will come away from the main field, too.
That was revealed by Hyde pregame on Friday, who said that each of the more veteran pitchers will probably make their next outings in a back field simulated game or an intrasquad scrimmage. Their veteran status factors into that decision, as they don’t need as much game action to be ready by the start of the season, but so does the situation the O’s find themselves in.
With an open competition for the rotation slots behind Means and Lyles, and with an extreme caution being exercised on pitching during this shortened Spring Training, the O’s can opt for more controlled environments to ensure each of their pitchers’ health, with importance to the club in mind.
Bird seeds
• In other starter news, right-hander Jorge López will take the mound behind lefty starter Ryan Hartman for the Orioles’ tilt with the Yankees on Saturday at Ed Smith Stadium. He’s looking to solidify a role either as a starter or a long-relief option -- or both. Other regulars will also start the game, Hyde said, as time is precious this spring.
• It was a rough spring debut for Spenser Watkins on Friday, who didn’t receive much in the way of defensive help as he allowed six runs (three earned) on four hits and one walk over 2 2/3 innings as he, like López, has a roster opening to compete for. Watkins was signed to a Minor League deal in November as the O’s expressed early interest in a reunion, he said, coming off a debut season with 16 appearances (10 starts).
• Shortstop prospect Joey Ortiz’s diving stop to his right to rob Orelvis Martinez of a hit in the bottom of the sixth was the O’s big defensive highlight of the Grapefruit League opener, making up for some earlier defensive miscues that forced Watkins into three unearned runs.
Ortiz was joined by Jordan Westburg, who played second, and Colton Cowser among top prospects to get playing time following the departure of Friday’s starters. Kyle Stowers, who is in big league camp, was among said starters, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout.