SARASOTA, Fla. — Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was asked about his confidence that Félix Bautista would be on the ballclub’s opening day roster.

His answer Thursday began with the word “no.”

“No, we’re still talking about our roster,” Hyde said. “We haven’t solidified anything there yet.”

Hyde was then asked a similar question about Gunnar Henderson, and the skipper used the phrase “running out of time” to describe the shortstop’s status.

“We’re still hopeful,” Hyde said. “But we are running out of time right now. We haven’t made a final decision on that yet either.”

Bautista, an All-Star closer, and Henderson, an American League Most Valuable Player candidate, are two of the most important players on the Orioles’ roster, but it’s possible that neither are with the team when it heads to Toronto for opening day March 27.Bautista is recovering from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery he had in October 2023, while Henderson is making his way back from a ribs muscle strain he suffered in late February.

The Orioles said at the beginning of spring training that they wouldn’t rush their 6-foot-8 closer.

“We’ve got a team with strong playoff aspirations, and we want Félix to be a big part of that playoff push if we’re able to get that far,” Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said in February. “We’ll be keeping an eye on his buildup in that regard. We’re going to take it slow.”

Bautista has pitched in four games this spring to mixed results, and he’s scheduled to pitch in relief Friday. His most recent outing was his best — three up, three down with two strikeouts — but the one before that was his worst. He allowed three hard hits and two runs in one frame. Bautista’s velocity has also been down this spring, though him ramping up for the season and the lack of adrenaline could be factors in that.

Throughout spring, Bautista has remained confident that he’ll be ready for opening day and unconcerned about his velocity being a few ticks down.

“In spring trainings past, I would progressively throw harder and harder leading up to opening day, and I feel like that’s what’s happening now,” Bautista said earlier this month. “Once I got to opening day, it felt like the adrenaline would kick in and that’s where I would reach those high velos. I’m hoping now that will continue to be the same.”

If Bautista doesn’t break camp with the club, that would open another bullpen spot. Reliever Andrew Kittredge will be out until at least June recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. Bryan Baker and Matt Bowman, two right-handers the Orioles could lose if they don’t make the team, are the front-runners to be in the bullpen if Bautista opens the year on the injured list.

It looks like Henderson could be there, too. While he resumed baseball activities last week, Henderson has yet to play in an exhibition game since suffering the mild intercostal strain, and only four games remain before the Orioles head to Canada. Hyde said earlier this week that Henderson almost certainly needs to play in Grapefruit League games to be on the opening day roster.

“It’s going to be really tough,” Hyde said Monday. “You gotta get some at-bats. Hopefully we can get him in games sometime soon. He needs to get at-bats and feel good before we make that decision.”

Given Henderson has a muscle injury in his midsection/side area, Hyde said that he doesn’t want to rush the superstar back and then have it reappear during the season.

“It’s definitely something we don’t want to linger into the season and throughout the season,” Hyde said Saturday. “You want to make sure that’s free and clear. He’s so important to us. We want to make sure he’s right and he’s not playing through any sort of injury or soreness the first part of the season.”

Around the horn

Charlie Morton will be the Orioles’ No. 2 starter to begin the season, Hyde said. Morton, 41, will pitch Friday against the Blue Jays after Zach Eflin starts opening day. “He’s been an amazing influence on our team so far, I mean already,” Hyde said. “Just with his interactions with guys, he’s thrown the ball extremely well. He looks great. It’s vintage Charlie Morton. The stuff he’s thrown every time out has been really good. He’s brought a lot to our team already.” The Orioles have yet to announce their Nos. 3-5 starters. Dean Kremer and Tomoyuki Sugano are locks to be in that group, while Albert Suárez and Cade Povich are competing for the final spot.

Hyde said pitcher Grayson Rodriguez (elbow inflammation) played catch again Thursday, his second time in three days. Rodriguez was shut down for about 10 days after receiving a cortisone shot in his elbow to reduce inflammation.

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