New Orioles’ pitchers Baz, Helsley make good first impressions

SARASOTA—Shane Baz couldn’t wait to face hitters, even if they were his new teammates. Baz, who was acquired by the Orioles from the Tampa Bay Rays in December for four prospects and a draft choice, was happy to be in the first group of pitchers for Wednesday’s live batting practice at Ed Smith Stadium.

“I bounced out of bed. I was ready to go,” Baz said.

Baz faced another new Oriole, first baseman Pete Alonso, who was suitably impressed.

“He’s got nasty stuff. He’s got two different sliders now,” Alonso said.

Some of the newest Orioles have already seen action in the stadium. On Thursday, reliever Ryan Helsley, counted on to be the team’s closer, got his chance.

“It’s always nice to get down to warmer weather and break a sweat a little bit and see guys in the box for the first time in four months,” Helsley said. “Get the adrenaline rush going again and get used to moving full speed again.”

Helsley and Alonso played together on the New York Mets for the last two months of 2025 after Helsley was traded from St. Louis. They’ll soon be joined by another new Oriole, starting pitcher Chris Bassitt.

“Excited to get to play with Pete again and all the other talented young guys here. Excited to have Bassitt here, too,” Helsley said.

Helsley signed a one-year, $14 million contract with a $14 million player option for 2027. He was a two-time All-Star in seven seasons with the Cardinals and had 105 saves for St. Louis, including a major league leading 49 in 2024. Helsley had a difficult time in New York, with a 7.20 ERA in 22 games. He’s eager for a new start.

“I’m excited for the change,” he said. “There’s a lot of great personnel.”

Helsley would like to save games for Baz, who was traded to the Orioles on December 19^th. Baz was given some homework by the Orioles’ pitching coaches.

“There’s a couple of things we’re working on that they brought to me this offseason,” he said. “It was super helpful to get it early and just be able to work on it at home as well as here.”

Baz and manager Craig Albernaz were briefly together in Tampa Bay’s minor league system.

“Shane Baz’s upside is a Cy Young Award winner,” Albernaz said. “Shane’s a competitor, and he’s a great worker.”

Baz wants to help the Orioles return to winning after last year’s 75-87 record and last-place finish in the American League East.

“I feel like I can really help,” he said. “I don’t care about the accolades, being the ace. I think I can do a really good job of making my starts and giving us a chance every five days. I hold myself to a really high standard. I think I can really help here.”

Baz was 10-12 with a 4.87 ERA in 31 starts for the Rays last year. His numbers were affected by Tampa Bay’s temporary home, George M. Steinbrenner Field, where he had a 5.90 ERA. His ERA away from home was 3.86.

He’s eager to absorb information, and the Orioles will give that to him in their new pitching lab.

“I’m the guy who doesn’t mind getting all the little data points,” Baz said. “We can decide as a group what’s important, what we need to look at, maybe what we don’t need to look at as much.”

After watching Baz’s first live session, Albernaz was satisfied.

“You can tell he was very intentful and purposeful in really feeling his delivery,” Albernaz said. “Everyone talks about pitch profiles and pitch movement. The body makes those pitch profiles. You have to start there. It’s delivery and the ball. It was really good to see Shane focus on his delivery, how he’s moving down the mound.

“He was asking for the feedback in real time. When you get someone that’s new to the organization, sometimes it’s tough for him to ask … With his willingness to ask for feedback, see how things are going, he’s really building a relationship with our pitching coaches.”

Even before the Orioles added Bassitt, Baz thought the rotation was strong.

“I think it can be as good as any rotation in the game,” Baz said. “I’m not going to put a ceiling on it. The talent is pretty ridiculous.”

Holliday surgery: Second baseman Jackson Holliday had surgery to remove the fractured hook of the hamate bone in his right wrist on Thursday. Holliday’s surgery, which the Orioles said was successful, was performed by Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.