SARASOTA, Fla. — Buck Britton always wanted to be a big leaguer. All it took was 17 years in the minor leagues.
Britton, an infielder drafted in the 35th round by the Orioles in 2008, never made it past Triple-A in his nine seasons as a player. In 2017, he began coaching in Baltimore’s minor league system, climbing the ladder to the final step and spending the past three seasons as Triple-A Norfolk’s manager.
There, he told several top prospects they were going to the major leagues, perfecting his craft at surprising them and catching it on video — clips that often went viral on social media. This time, no one was there to record Britton, but that didn’t dampen his excitement when he found out he’d been hired to join manager Brandon Hyde’s major league staff with the Orioles.
“No camera, right? I’m always the guy,” Britton said Sunday during Orioles spring training at Ed Smith Stadium. “I’m going to cherish every moment of this. Just really thankful that Hyde and [general manager Mike Elias] and everybody thought that I would be a guy to help push this team forward.”
Britton was hired to replace José Hernández as a major league coach, a role with amorphous duties. Britton said he expects to be a “Swiss Army knife,” including helping infield coach Tony Mansolino with infield defense and maintaining healthy “communication” between Triple-A and the majors.
Britton, who turns 39 in May, joked that he still feels “kind of young” despite his extensive experience roughing it in the minor leagues. His first season coaching was in 2017 as hitting coach for Low-A Delmarva during the Buck Showalter era. He was promoted to manage the Shorebirds in 2018 and moved up to Double-A Bowie for three seasons before taking over at Norfolk.
Britton has managed all of the Orioles’ top prospects: Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Heston Kjerstad, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo. He said it’s “special” to now coach those players in the major leagues.
“Him knowing so many of our players is going to be really helpful,” Hyde said. “He’s got a really good skill set as a coach. I watched him grow throughout the years. I think he’s going to be a really nice add to our coaching staff.”
Most players who’ve joined the Orioles from the minors over the years speak glowingly of Britton. For last year’s Home Run Derby, Henderson picked Britton to pitch to him during the contest.
“It’s just a guy who’s been here for a long time, he’s put in his work, he’s gone about things the right way,” new assistant hitting coach Sherman Johnson said. “All the players love him, the staff loves him.”
Britton said his brother, Zack, was “super fired up” to learn Buck had gotten the job. Zack, a two-time All-Star in his eight seasons with the Orioles, will join the club as a guest coach this spring.
Buck used his microphone Sunday to poke a little fun at his younger brother.
“He’s unemployed, by the way,” he joked. “I’m the guy who’s still hanging on here.”
“I just want to see him hit a fungo,” Buck continued, “because I don’t know if he can handle that.”
Judging by Buck Britton’s success as a minor league manager, there doesn’t seem to be too much he can’t handle. Britton isn’t getting ahead of himself about his future in the show. “I’ve only been a major league coach for four days,” he quipped.
But could becoming a big league manager be in Britton’s future?
“I think some of that will dictate itself,” he said. “Down the road, I’m always looking to learn and be better. Wherever that takes me, man, this opportunity to start this journey, and hopefully we can ride it out as long as we can.”
Clik here to view.
A reunion for Chirinos
After the 2021 season, Robinson Chirinos received seven offers in baseball.
The problem? Five were to coach, and only two were to play.
“That’s when you know you’re close to being a coach,” he said with a laugh.
Chirinos wasn’t ready to hang up his cleats yet, and he took one of the offers to play. He joined the Orioles as their starting catcher to begin the 2022 campaign, eventually ceding way to then-rookie Rutschman.
Three years later, Chirinos received another offer to coach, and he didn’t pass it up. The Orioles this offseason hired Chirinos to replace Fredi González as the club’s bench coach.
Hyde thought of Chirinos, who played 11 years in the major leagues, as essentially a player-coach in 2022, his final season as a player. The pair of former backstops remained in contact over the past few years, and Chirinos said he gained valuable coaching experience last year as a manager in Venezuela.
“To be back in the uniform is unbelievable,” Chirinos said. “I knew at some point I was going to get back to the game, and thank God it was with a team and organization I wanted to be with.”
Wait, who’s this guy?
Six Orioles pitchers threw during live batting practice Sunday, including former All-Stars Yennier Cano and Gregory Soto and setup men Cionel Pérez and Seranthony Domínguez.
Perhaps the best among them? Rodolfo Martinez.
Who?
The Orioles signed Martinez, a 30-year-old right-hander, this offseason as a nonroster invitee to spring training. Martinez has never pitched in the major leagues. He last pitched in affiliated ball in 2019. He tossed only 12 2/3 professional innings (all in the Dominican Winter League) between 2019 and 2023 before reappearing last year and throwing 29 innings in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Rodolfo Martinez, a nonroster invitee out of Mexico, looks great during his live bullpen. Here he is striking out Enrique Bradfield Jr. He also struck out Samuel Basallo and got Dylan Beavers to fly out. pic.twitter.com/H4fkR8nfqz
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) February 16, 2025
Martinez pounded the zone and sat down every Orioles hitter he faced, including strikeouts of prospects Samuel Basallo and Enrique Bradfield Jr. It was an impressive showing, even if it came against mostly minor league talent.
Martinez, who’s pitched only one inning above Double-A in his career, isn’t seen as a legitimate contender to play for the Orioles this season. But after Albert Suárez shocked everyone last spring, anything is possible.
In other live batting practice action, Rutschman’s right-handed swing looked in midseason form, roping a double off the left-center field wall off left-hander Cade Povich, who struggled with his command with three walks in two innings. Pérez issued two free passes and surrendered a rare home run to catcher Gary Sánchez. The last time Pérez allowed a home run in a real game was May 2023. Soto, meanwhile, went three-up, three-down with two strikeouts.
The best plate appearance of the afternoon was Basallo versus Cano. The 20-year-old catcher took a mammoth swing and a miss on a 3-1 fastball and walked on a close ball-four. Cano said the Trackman machine said the pitch was barely low, but he wanted the strike. Cano then impersonated an umpire striking out a batter as he grinned from ear to ear.
Yennier Cano vs. Samuel Basallo Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![🍿]()
Basallo swings and misses 2-0 (first video), takes a big boy hack 3-1 (second video) and then takes a close 3-2 pitch (third video).
You be the judge if that’s ball 4 or strike 3. pic.twitter.com/pElhpJkme7
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) February 16, 2025
Around the horn
• Pitching prospect Chayce McDermott isn’t concerned about his mild lat/teres strain. He said being briefly shut down from throwing is a cautionary move, and he’s looking forward to ramping up in 10-14 days. “It never really bothered me,” he said. “Don’t want to make it worse and miss three months in the middle of the season.”
• Hyde said the Orioles’ competition for their opening day starter is “pretty open.” Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez are seen as the favorites to get the ball first. “That’s something that we need to kind of start navigating here in the next week or so, line guys up the best way we can,” Hyde said.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.