SARASOTA, Fla. — Last spring, Jackson Holliday operated with a big question mark swirling over his head.

Would he make the opening day roster? And, if not, when would he be ready for his major league debut?

The pressure was on him, as the No. 1 prospect in baseball, to perform all spring as the longtime shortstop learned second base. But this spring, with 60 major league games of experience, the attention has shifted for Holliday. He’s all but certain to be in Toronto on March 27 — especially with Jorge Mateo not expected to be ready for opening day after undergoing Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery — so Holliday can spend this spring fine-tuning.

“I mean, it’s a little bit less uncertainty I guess,” he said. “Being able to make my debut and play and just come out here and just enjoy it and continue to try to get better each and every day, and just really enjoy the process instead of pushing to try to prove something. Obviously, I am still trying to get better and show everyone the player that I can be.”

At the top of the list is defense. He was told after the 2023 season that the Orioles wanted him to learn second base, a position Holliday had played only 25 times. Now he has the basics down and can focus on being crisper.

“Watching the league, everything is so clean and direct; that’s something I’ve been working on,” he said. “And obviously being as fast as possible on double plays, just trying to get the ball to Gunnar [Henderson] as quick as possible and let him do his thing.”

On Saturday, in the first spring training game, Holliday got his first chance to show what he’s been working on. Ground balls came his way “a lot more than” last spring training, he speculated (in reality it was only three times, but last spring he seemed to get none), and he converted every play. He also showed his speed — another area of focus — as he scored from second.

He may have been faster, he noted, had he not worn new socks and had he tied his shoes properly.

“I was sliding everywhere,” he said.

This spring will also be about getting as many at-bats as possible, with the goal of hitting low line drives and putting the ball in play.

Suárez gets first start

Much like Holliday, Albert Suárez enters this spring in prime position to earn a spot on the opening day roster. The question for him is whether that comes in the rotation or the bullpen.

The Orioles are building him up as a starter, and on Saturday he got the nod in the first spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He threw 41 pitches, 19 for strikes, allowing three hits and two runs while walking two.

“Fastball is good; breaking ball is not so good,” he said. “I need to work on it and make sure I throw more in the strike zone. That’s what I’m going to be working on in bullpens.”

He also introduced his new pitch, which is a combination of his cutter and curveball. He’s calling it a slurve, and it’ll add extra horizontal run to his mix.

“He threw a couple today, didn’t land them, but in the bullpen he has,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I know he’s excited about that pitch to get something to really go right to left. It’s a work in progress a little bit.”