SARASOTA, Fla. — Nick Marakakis knows what it takes to go from a perennial loser to one of the best teams in baseball.

The Orioles were one of the majors’ worst teams during the outfielder’s first six years in the big leagues before turning it around during the Buck Showalter era.

The current iteration of the Orioles has done the same thing, going from a rebuilding club losing 100-plus games to stacking three straight winning seasons and entering this spring hoping for a fourth. Markakis didn’t mince his words when speaking about the Orioles’ talent and their potential.

“They definitely have the team to win it all,” he said. “It’s just a matter of piecing it all together and staying healthy.”

Markakis, who played for Baltimore from 2006 to 2014, is with the Orioles this week as a guest coach, one of the many former players to make their way through Sarasota this spring. The Orioles Hall of Famer noted there are only a few “familiar faces” with the Orioles as the organization went through an overhaul a few years after he left for the Atlanta Braves.

“The organization’s been great, everything you want to see,” he said. “You can’t really ask for much more than they’re doing here.”

Markakis said he’s mostly getting to know the players and offering advice where he sees fit. The group of outfielders — which includes a mix of veterans like Cedric Mullins and youngsters like Heston Kjerstad — could certainly see value in some tips from Markakis, who accumulated 2,388 hits across his 15-year MLB career.

“All the guys here are awesome,” Markakis said. “I didn’t know what to expect coming in here, being out for a little bit. A lot of unfamiliar faces. I talked with [Brian Roberts], he was telling me how good the guys are. He didn’t lie. These guys are here to work, they know what they’re capable of doing. It makes it easier for the coaches to coach a group of guys like this. Uncoachable guys are hard to coach, but these guys listen and pay attention and make it easy for the coaching staff.”

Markakis, who is coaching alongside former Orioles outfielder John “T-Bone” Shelby, also said he’s happy for Adam Jones, the other half of “2110 Eutaw Street,” getting elected into the Orioles Hall of Fame.

“It’s well-deserved,” he said.

He also said it was a “no-brainer” for the Orioles to hire Jones as a special adviser to general manager Mike Elias this offseason.

“What he can bring to a clubhouse and an organization is special,” said Markakis, who retired after the 2020 season.

When asked what made the Showalter-era Orioles a special group, Markakis said it was the “camaraderie” in the clubhouse. With how often players are around each other during the 162-game season, creating a positive clubhouse culture is “half the battle.”

“This team over here has no problems with that,” he said. “From what I’ve seen, everybody’s great, they all get along. I think the most important part is they have fun doing it. It’s fun to see, and it’s going to be fun to watch.”

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