The start of spring training is supposed to be a celebration of stretching, arm circles, being in the best shape of your life and hope.
I mean, for baseball players. Me personally, I’m not in the BEST shape of my life, but I’m not that far off from three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, so I’ve got that going for me.
Orioles fans were able to enjoy that unbridled hope for a few seconds before it was met with the news of Kyle Bradish’s sprained UCL and John Means’ lingering elbow problems. Neither injury is, as of now, considered season-ending but for various reasons both are quite concerning. The Orioles are hoping a PRP injection will be enough for Bradish to avoid Tommy John surgery, but there is reason for concern.
On the shows I’ve done both via Glenn Clark Radio and 105.7 The Fan since the news of the injuries, I’ve heard from a lot of Orioles fans who have actually had quite reasonable and measured responses to the news. It’s been very pleasant! We’re not usually this reasonable and measured about literally anything at all!
But there shouldn’t really be any reason to panic. It is fair to suggest that on the whole, the Orioles are still in a better place as a roster than they were in 2023, when, you know, they won 101 games. Last year’s starting rotation featured full seasons from Bradish, Dean Kremer and Kyle Gibson with a combination of Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Cole Irvin, Jack Flaherty and Means filling out the rest.
This year, the team hopes to get full seasons out of Corbin Burnes, Kremer and a more seasoned Rodriguez. Add some combination of Wells, Irvin, Means, MAYBE Bradish and perhaps even a trade-deadline acquisition and it doesn’t look like a step backward at all, at least on paper.
It’s disappointing, but the Orioles wisely built up enough depth to be able to withstand a bit of bad news. In a perfect world, David Rubenstein would authorize the current front office to go ahead and start wildly spending more of his money to sign a Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell, but those moves still don’t fully feel practical.
The reported interest the Orioles showed in Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo is quite compelling. I’m not of the belief that catching prospect Samuel Basallo should be considered fully “untouchable,” but I understand why Mike Elias would balk at the request — particularly given the additional value of left-handed hitters in Camden Yards’ current configuration.
I’d still be willing to take a flyer on a lesser free-agent starter just to add another option into the mix. But I don’t know that it’s a necessity at this point, particularly if the team has real reason to be hopeful about the chances of Bradish avoiding surgery. I think the starting pitching can be good enough to compete. There is time to reconsider what might be necessary to make up the difference in “good enough to compete” and “good enough to win the World Series.”
There are two key qualifiers in that last sentence. The obvious one is “good enough to win the World Series.” The other is “starting pitching.” They walk hand in hand.
Because even before we knew the Orioles had Bradish-Means problems, I was concerned about the bullpen. This is a team that went a staggering 49-24 in “close” games a season ago (one- or two-run games or games that went to extra innings). That’s the single biggest reason why the Tampa Bay Rays finished two games behind them in the AL East despite ending the regular season with a better run differential by 66.
The presence of Félix Bautista was overwhelming. Before he got hurt, Bautista was the best relief arm in baseball by every measurement. His 16.2 K/9 rate was borderline unheard of. He also had a 0.918 WHIP and 1.48 ERA.
In his place, the Orioles turn to Craig Kimbrel, who had a nice bounce-back season in 2023 but … still wasn’t that. His 12.3 K/9 rate, 1.043 WHIP and 3.26 ERA would all be acceptable if he’s capable of replicating those marks this season and yet would be a real step back for a club whose success was somewhat predicated on winning close games.
The two pitchers who felt like they had the highest upside to try to fortify the back end of the ‘pen were DL Hall (now gone) and Tyler Wells (now needed in the rotation). The Orioles will, of course, hope that Yennier Cano can be closer to his early 2023 production than his second-half effort and that Dillon Tate can find his 2022 level form. If they do, it will go a long way toward offering a more complete bullpen.
But I’d still be looking for help in that department. That can come in multiple forms. Veterans Brad Hand and Ryne Stanek might not be particularly inspiring but with more quality options unavailable, quantity might have to be the play. And while I don’t think starting pitching is a need, it does appear to be the area where greater quality is available. Perhaps the best option to address the bullpen would be to add a starter, thus allowing Wells to move back into a bullpen role.
They won 49 “close” games a year ago. If they can’t replicate that, they’re going to need to score even more runs in order to avoid close games. That’s not impossible as Jackson Holliday arrives and other players continue to grow. But it feels like a little more pitching help would go a long way to closing the gap.
Photo Credits: Colin Murphy and Kenya Allen/PressBox