The Baltimore Orioles are wasting no time setting a new tone in Sarasota.
With Craig Albernaz now at the helm, the message coming out of Spring Training is loud and clear-literally. The new manager isn’t just looking for sharper swings and cleaner fielding drills.
He wants volume. He wants edge.
He wants a clubhouse that challenges itself from the inside out. In Albernaz’s vision, energy isn’t a luxury-it’s the baseline.
Hired in October after a frustrating last-place finish in the AL East, Albernaz stepped into his first camp as Orioles skipper with a clear directive: raise the temperature. He addressed the team at Ed Smith Stadium on Thursday morning, laying out his expectations with no sugarcoating.
Workouts should feel like competitions. Comfort zones?
Leave them at the door. And if a little trash talk helps crank up the intensity, all the better.
That philosophy was already in motion before his speech. During a live batting practice session the day before, newly signed slugger Pete Alonso traded playful-but pointed-jabs with right-hander Dean Kremer while digging in at the plate. Rather than tamp down the exchange, Albernaz pointed to it as exactly the kind of fire he wants to see.
“We're challenging our guys to talk a little crap,” Albernaz said, referencing Alonso’s spirited back-and-forth. “You want to get those competitive juices flowing… it kind of keeps guys accountable too.”
This isn’t about theatrics. It’s about sharpening focus and building a culture where internal competition mirrors the pressure of real games.
Albernaz isn’t asking players to fake intensity-he’s asking them to live in it. To embrace confrontation when it elevates performance.
To make accountability something you can hear, not just feel.
And in Alonso, the Orioles didn’t just land a big bat-they landed a tone-setter. The five-year, $155 million deal wasn’t just about home runs.
It was about presence. Urgency.
A willingness to challenge teammates in the right way. Alonso brings more than stats to the table-he brings a mindset that aligns perfectly with what Albernaz is trying to build.
This is the early blueprint of the Albernaz era. After finishing at the bottom of the AL East, the Orioles aren’t looking for incremental progress-they’re aiming for a culture shift. That means louder practices, more visible leadership, and a team that pushes itself before the first pitch of the season is even thrown.
If the players buy in-and early signs suggest they are-this new edge could start paying dividends well before Opening Day.