After Orioles pitchers and catchers reported to Sarasota, Florida, on Wednesday, the club will have its first official workout Thursday, and spring training will be in full swing.

With their rebuild considered complete, the Orioles start spring training with their eyes on a playoff berth, with much of the core group behind last year’s unexpected 83-79 finish returning.

With spring training underway at the Orioles’ Ed Smith Stadium complex, here’s what you need to know.

Important dates

First pitchers and catchers workout: Thursday

Position players report date: Monday

First full-squad workout: Tuesday

First spring training game: Feb. 25 vs. Minnesota Twins

Last spring training game: Feb. 27 vs. St. Louis Cardinals

First regular season game: March 30 at Boston Red Sox

Home opener at Camden Yards: April 6 vs. New York Yankees

Broadcast schedule

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network will broadcast four Orioles games: March 6 against Philadelphia (MASN), March 18 at Boston (MASN2), March 21 against Boston (MASN) and March 27 against St. Louis (MASN). Last year, MASN aired three Orioles spring training games.

Twelve games, including the March 18 game, will be broadcast on the Orioles Radio Network: Feb. 25 vs. Minnesota, Feb. 26 at Detroit, March 3 vs. Pittsburgh, March 4 vs. Atlanta, March 5 at Tampa Bay, March 11 at Toronto, March 12 vs. Boston, March 18 at Boston, March 19 vs. Pittsburgh, March 24 vs. New York Yankees, March 25 at Pittsburgh and March 26 vs. Philadelphia.

Who’s gone?

Most of last season’s roster is back in 2023, though Baltimore did lose a handful of veterans who were credited with developing a winning mindset in the clubhouse.

Starting pitcher Jordan Lyles, second baseman Rougned Odor, catcher Robinson Chirinos and first baseman Jesus Aguilar became free agents after the season, with the Orioles declining an $11 million option in Lyles’ contract and paying him a $1 million buyout. The right-hander, who led the Orioles in innings in 2022, signed a two-year contract with the Kansas City Royals. Aguilar signed with the Oakland Athletics, while Odor and Chirinos are still available.

Who’s new?

The Orioles signed three major league free agents and made two significant additions via trade, while the club also added several other opening day candidates through minor league contracts, waiver claims and smaller swaps.

Baltimore replaced Lyles and Odor by signing another experienced starter in Kyle Gibson and another left-handed-hitting second baseman in Adam Frazier. With the players respectively receiving $10 million and $8 million on one-year deals, they have the highest salaries on the team.

The Orioles also reunited with reliever Mychal Givens, who made his debut with Baltimore in 2015 and was traded to Colorado during the 2020 season, on a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2024. Givens adds a veteran presence to a bullpen that was surprisingly successful in 2022.

James McCann, acquired from the New York Mets for Dominican Summer League prospect Luis De La Cruz, replaces Chirinos as young star catcher Adley Rutschman’s backup. As part of the deal, the Mets are paying $19 million of the $24 million owed to McCann over the next two seasons.

In a trade with Oakland, the Orioles parted with infield prospect Darell Hernaiz, their fifth-round draft pick in 2019, to acquire left-handed starter Cole Irvin and minor league pitcher Kyle Virbitsky. Irvin, a durable starter like Gibson, has four years of team control remaining.

Rule 5 draft pick Andrew Politi is competing for a bullpen spot; he must remain in the majors all year or be offered back to the Boston Red Sox. A number of players not on Baltimore’s 40-man roster were invited to spring training after joining the organization this offseason, with the most prominent being Nomar Mazara, Franchy Cordero, Ryan O’Hearn, Lewin Díaz, Daz Cameron and Darwinzon Hernandez.

What roster spots are up for grabs?

Assuming health, as many as 18of the Orioles’ 26 season-opening roster spots could already be considered locked up. The competition for the ones remaining should be fierce.

Although it’s unclear whether either will be Baltimore’s opening day starter, Gibson and Irvin will occupy two of the Orioles’ rotation spots. With executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias saying the team plans to have a five-man rotation, that leaves three positions for a group of 10 candidates. Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells and Austin Voth all had long stretches of effectiveness in the Orioles’ 2022 rotation. Elias has said frequently that Grayson Rodriguez, the organization’s top pitching prospect and one of the best in baseball, will have every chance to earn a starting spot this spring, and fellow pitching prospect DL Hall could also crack the group with a strong camp.

It’s expected that some of the starting candidates who fall short of the rotation wind up in the bullpen, where Givens joins closer Félix Bautista, Dillon Tate, Cionel Pérez and Bryan Baker as the players whose performance in 2022 likely lands them on the roster. Keegan Akin and Joey Krehbiel, who followed strong first halves with troublesome second halves, will also compete for spots alongside Politi and the numerous nonroster invitees.

Rutschman and McCann will be Baltimore’s catchers if healthy, but there’s seemingly a spot available in both the infield and outfield. Ryan Mountcastle is back at first base, and Frazier will be part of an infield rotation that also features top overall prospect Gunnar Henderson and two strong defenders in Jorge Mateo and Ramón Urías. Many of the Orioles’ offseason moves brought players who could potentially be left-handed complements to Mountcastle, with Díaz, O’Hearn and Cordero each having a path to the roster, while Terrin Vavra, a natural second baseman, spent the offseason training at first base to become a part of the competition, as well.

Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and Austin Hays are back as Baltimore’s primary outfielders, with Ryan McKenna’s role as a defensive replacement, pinch-runner and full-in starter also set to be reprised. But the Orioles are looking for a left-handed bat here, as well, with Kyle Stowers up against Cordero, Mazara and O’Hearn for the job.

Will any top prospects make the team?

All of the Orioles’ top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America, will be in major league camp. That tally includes Henderson, Rodriguez, Hall and Stowers, and unless a spate of injuries forces the Orioles’ hand, they are likely the only top prospects positioned to break camp with the team.

It might not be long, though, before some of the others joins them. Outfielder Colton Cowser and infielders Jordan Westburg, Joey Ortiz and Connor Norby all ended last year at Triple-A, with Westburg having more than 400 plate appearances at that level and Ortiz already on the 40-man roster.

Other well-regarded minor leaguers in camp are 2022 first overall draft pick Jackson Holliday, power-hitting infielder Coby Mayo, 2020 second overall pick Heston Kjerstad, left-hander Cade Povich (the centerpiece of last year’s trade that sent All-Star close Jorge López to Minnesota) and infielder César Prieto, the first product of the Orioles’ revamped international pipeline to receive an invite.