Every year there are storylines that dominate the headlines in spring training but disappear once the season gets under way. Fringe players post ridiculous stat lines, prospects hang around big league camp, and position battles are manufactured if a dark horse overachieves.
The Orioles assembled a collection of left-handed first basemen in Sarasota and asked them to compete for a job that never materialized. Baltimore appeared interested in more than simply adding depth at the position, but the O’s broke camp with Ryan Mountcastle as the only true first baseman on the roster.
Franchy Cordero opted out and eventually signed a major league deal with the New York Yankees, but Lewin Díaz, Ryan O’Hearn and Josh Lester all remain in Baltimore’s system.