John Means’ imminent return to the Orioles could be a major boost for the club and its World Series aspirations.
The Orioles weren’t big players at the trade deadline, but the return of Means gives them a proven starting pitcher or potentially another sturdy arm for a long relief role.
Means has made six rehab starts for Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, going 1-1 with a 3.74 ERA, 22 strikeouts and a 1.15 WHIP in 21.2 innings.
“The stuff has been good and has been continuing to get better,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “The next step is really going to get major league hitters out. And Meansy has been in the big leagues for a few years. He understands obviously what the process is. He’s going to have a lot of nerves and be super excited whenever that day comes.”
Means was supposed to return around the All-Star break after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2022. However, Means strained his left teres major — a muscle in the back — during non-throwing activation drills as part of his rehab in May.
While Means has not pitched in a major league game since suffering the elbow injury on April 13, 2022, he has the pedigree to make a huge difference for the Orioles.
In 2019, Means finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting and was selected to his first All-Star Game as a 26-year-old. Two years later, he threw the sixth no-hitter in team history against Seattle on May 5, 2021.
Overall, Means is 20-24 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP in five major league seasons. He gives Hyde great flexibility with his pitching staff. Means could wind up being the key player to push the Orioles over the top and into their first World Series in 40 years.
Rotation Shakeup
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has gone with a six-man rotation recently to prevent some wear and tear on the team’s young arms.
Kyle Bradish, Jack Flaherty, Kyle Gibson, Cole Irvin, Dean Kremer and Grayson Rodriguez have been the starters for the past month. Bradish, Kremer, and Rodriguez have already reached career-highs for innings pitched in the majors. All three of those starters, in addition to Irvin, have performed well in the past month.
Hyde now will make further adjustments heading into the final month of the season. Hyde named Bradish, Flaherty and Rodriguez the starters for the weekend series against the Boston Red Sox, in that order.
Irvin is moving from the rotation to the bullpen for the foreseeable future. This means Hyde has gone back to a traditional five-man rotation for now.
“We are looking ahead with our rotation,” he said. “We’ve got Cole, who has done a nice job. We’ve got Means making his last [rehab] start. …We thought for the short term putting Cole in the bullpen would allow us to have a long guy, which we really don’t have. We’ll see after the next series.”
Bullpen Showing Depth
The Orioles have gone 7-2 since closer Félix Bautista suffered an elbow ligament injury that will sideline him indefinitely.
Baltimore’s bullpen ranks fourth in MLB with a 3.53 ERA.
Manager Brandon Hyde has done a solid job putting his relievers in a position to succeed.
Yennier Cano has been one of the team’s best pitchers, despite some hiccups in July, and has become the de facto closer.
However, the recent addition of Jorge López, who was claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins this month, adds some intrigue to the bullpen and more options for Hyde. López had 19 saves for the Orioles last season, and he could help close out games, along with Cano.
Hyde has also done a solid job using left-hander Danny Coulombe in high-leverage situations.
Shintaro Fujinami, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Oakland Athletics, rookie DL Hall, lefty Cionel Pérez and surprisingly Jacob Webb have all contributed in middle relief.
Hyde also has Joey Krehbiel to eat some innings if the starter runs into trouble.
“You do try to give yourself the best opportunity,” Hyde said. “So, when the season is coming to the last 20-plus games or so, you start looking ahead a little bit trying to line guys up the best way you can.”
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox