SARASOTA, Fla. — Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson will begin the season on the injured list, general manager Mike Elias announced Sunday as the initial roster begins to take shape.

Elias said Baltimore is working through the final spots on the opening day roster, but one of those will be reserved for left-hander Cade Povich as the fifth starter. Later Sunday, manager Brandon Hyde said right-hander Félix Bautista will break camp with the team and be in Toronto for opening day Thursday.

Henderson suffered an intercostal muscle strain leaping for a ball Feb. 27, and he hasn’t featured in a game since. But the star shortstop has started taking live batting practice and Elias said he thinks Henderson won’t be absent long. The injured list placement will be backdated three days, which means Henderson will miss at least seven days of the regular season.

Henderson will remain in Florida while the team travels north, and he will take simulated at-bats along with Jorge Mateo. Should Mateo be ready, he’ll make the trip to Toronto. But Henderson will need at least a series longer before he can return. The earliest he can come back is April 3.

“We’re going to try to get him out there as soon as possible,” Elias said. “Obviously, I’m very hopeful the IL stint will be measured in days instead of weeks, but I don’t have a crystal ball. But he’s doing well and it’s a matter of getting him prepared for the season, getting him at-bats, measuring his recovery.”

Without Henderson on the roster, there’s an opening at shortstop. Mateo could fill it if he’s deemed ready. Otherwise, Jackson Holliday has featured at shortstop throughout the spring during Henderson’s absence.

“It’s definitely not good when we’re breaking here without Gunnar,” Elias said, “but I think the position-player core on this offense can pick up the slack and hopefully it’s a very short IL stint.”

That core includes Holliday, who entered Sunday hitting .304 with an .808 OPS.

Elias provided more health updates:

• Samuel Basallo, Baltimore’s top-ranked prospect, will not play catcher for the first several weeks of the Triple-A Norfolk season because of elbow inflammation. He will serve solely as a designated hitter to begin the year.
• Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is throwing after receiving a cortisone shot to reduce elbow inflammation, but he’s near square one in terms of buildup and won’t pitch off a mound until next month. Elias said it will be “a while before we have any type of exciting updates for Grayson.”
• Infielder Emmanuel Rivera will remain in Florida due to left shoulder inflammation. He will begin on the Triple-A injured list.
• Right-hander Chayce McDermott (lat/teres) and left-hander Trevor Rogers (knee) threw bullpen sessions and need a few more weeks before appearing in game action.

The decision to include Povich on the opening day roster came down to his strong camp performance, Elias said. Povich finished the spring with a 3.07 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in 14 2/3 innings. With Povich slated for the rotation, right-hander Albert Suárez will begin the year as a bullpen piece.

Povich will start Baltimore’s home opener at Camden Yards.

“There were some arguments to be made in either direction,” Elias said. “We just thought Cade looks so good right now. I think he gives us what we feel is the best chance to win that game.”

Povich pitched unevenly during his rookie year, although in September he reached another gear. In 27 2/3 innings to end the season, Povich produced a 2.60 ERA. And, by optimizing his changeup this offseason, he set himself up well for an impressive spring. He finished it by throwing five no-hit innings against a Toronto Blue Jays lineup full of regulars, and he said that the performance was fueled by his desire to improve his chances for an opening day roster spot.

“Not only that [his spring stats], but the way he finished the year last year, too, and the adjustments and improvements he made this offseason. He did pitch very well this spring,” Hyde said. “But it was good to see the changeup development and him pitch with a lot of confidence this spring.”

Bautista’s inclusion on the opening day roster wasn’t a foregone conclusion, even as he expressed how well his arm felt during spring training. As he recovers from 2023 Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, Bautista’s velocity hasn’t reached the heights of his All-Star 2023 season, but it’s close, touching 98 mph. His command has been touch and go, however. Bautista entered Sunday with a 7.71 ERA in 4 2/3 innings.

Still, pitching in spring training rather than closing meaningful games is far different. His velocity could see a few more ticks once the season gets underway.

“A lot of these were day games on the road, the fourth inning of a spring training game,” Elias said. “I think, when you’re throwing 100, you kind of got to reach back for it. I don’t think he’s doing that necessarily. The important thing is he feels really good. He’s throwing strikes. He didn’t get the results the other day. Just looking at his stuff after the game, I thought it was arguably his best stuff of the spring. That was good to see.”

The Orioles also announced Sunday they optioned outfielder Dylan Carlson to minor league camp. He hit .321 with a 1.071 OPS in the spring.

Two spots remain unaccounted for on the opening day roster: one in the bullpen, another in the infield.

If Mateo is ready, that would fill one. Otherwise, nonroster invitees Liván Soto, Luis Vázquez and Vimael Machín are also options. And in the bullpen, filling in where right-hander Andrew Kittredge (knee surgery) would’ve fit, there’s a place for Bryan Baker, Matt Bowman or Roansy Contreras.

Bowman appears to be the front-runner after the Orioles selected his contract Sunday afternoon. Bowman had an opt-out in his minor league deal Sunday if he hadn’t been added to the 40-man roster. He could be designated for assignment or traded prior to opening day, but this decision buys Baltimore time to deliberate on that final bullpen spot.

This story has been updated.