Alex Wells is one step closer to realising his Major League Baseball dream after being named on the Baltimore Orioles roster for 2021.
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The Belmont South 23-year-old, who is now gearing up for an Australian stint at the Sydney Blue Sox, returns to the US in February for a training camp with the franchise's top squad.
A 162-game season is then due to start on April 1 and, "if all goes well", left-arm pitcher Wells will be eyeing off an MLB debut at some stage during the campaign.
"Obviously I'll play some spring training games with the big league club and if all goes well I'll be able to play the season with them," Wells told the Newcastle Herald.
"If not I'll probably go back and play AAA [minor leagues] with Norfolk.
"There's a chance I could get called up early or it might not be until late in the year or maybe not at all. It's hard to know.
"Hopefully I can keep pitching well and keep getting my work in. I'm really looking forward to getting back over there."
Wells admits there were some nervous moments leading into Baltimore's announcement over the weekend.
Reaching the five-year mark at the Orioles, they had to decide whether or not to keep Wells. Otherwise the former Belmont player would have essentially been on the open market for the other 29 clubs and potentially at risk of missing a contract altogther.
"This day had been circled for a little while so I was a bit nervous," he said.
"Once I found out I was in it was a big relief."
Wells said being signed again by Baltimore, who he first joined in 2015, provided a timely boost after eight months back at home having left America in March because of the coronavirus crisis.
"It gives you a bit of confidence being protected by the Orioles," he said.
"It means they want to keep you around and can see a future with you at the club."
Wells was invited to be part of Baltimore's main pre-season group earlier this year and started training before the COVID-19 outbreak brought a halt to proceedings.
"I was the young guy at my first big training camp so I just tried to take it all in," he said.
"There were a lot of senior guys around and I watched them to see how they went about it. I also knew a few of the guys so that helped me to relax a little bit."
Wells has made 86 starts in minor leagues across four campaigns and was selected for the All-Star Futures Game in 2018.
They are currently playing the NSW state competition together with Baulkham Hills and also preparing as Blue Sox for a new-look Australian Baseball League, which is set to start on December 17.
A revised ABL structure was released on Friday, featuring games on all-but five days in January and two week-long hubs.
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