Another look at Orioles’ starting candidates for spring training
Thirteen pitchers started games for the Orioles in 2024, and while six of the 13 spent time on the injured list, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias has to count on needed at least that many in 2025.
One of the starters was Matt Bowman, who was used as an opener in the penultimate game of the regular season when manager Brandon Hyde didn’t want to use any of his normal starters. That game meant nothing in the standings, and Hyde didn’t want to disrupt his rotation for the postseason.
The rotation was healthier in 2023, and the Orioles used only nine, including Keegan Akin, whose start on May 31st in the team’s only bullpen game.
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Of the 12 starters in addition to Bowman, who remains on the 40-man roster, Corbin Burnes filed for free agency on Thursday and Cole Irvin is no longer in the organization.
Three of those starters, Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells had season-ending elbow surgeries in June, and Means joined Burnes in filing for free agency this week.
Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and Grayson Rodriguez seem to be certainties for the 2025 rotation, and Cade Povich had an excellent September and was on the roster for the Wild Card Series, but didn’t pitch.
Chayce McDermott started on July 24th in Miami and was returned to Triple-A Norfolk after the game. He spent most of the remainder of the season on injured list with a scapula injury.
McDermott will come to spring training, competing for a starting spot.
So might Brandon Young, the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year, who Elias brought up in an August 10th news briefing in St. Petersburg, Florida as being on the team’s “radar screen.”
Young should be added to the 40-man roster by November 19th to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
Trevor Rogers, who had a 7.11 ERA in four starts after he was acquired from Miami for infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers on July 30th, will also be a candidate.
The Orioles will also be in the market for a top-tier starter to replace Burnes, should he sign elsewhere. They may attempt to sign two.
There’s another intriguing candidate to begin 2025 in the starting rotation, and that’s Albert Suárez. A year ago, Suárez had already signed with the team, a transaction that escaped notice, and he came into spring training as a good story, a pitcher who hadn’t been in the major leagues since 2017 and was attempting to return to the big leagues at 34 after years in Japan and South Korea.
Suárez didn’t start the season with the Orioles, but was quickly summoned to Baltimore for a start on April 17th, and while he had eight relief appearances, he started 24 times, tied with Kremer for second-most on the team.
The Orioles would probably prefer to use Suárez as a swingman, a long relief option who could start in a pinch. It’s probably not prudent to depend on a 35-year-old as more than a depth piece, but Suárez helped save the Orioles’ season.
He had a 9-7 record with a 3.70 ERA with a 2.1 WAR (Wins Above Replacement). His other stats demonstrated reliability, not dominance. Suárez averaged just under a hit per nine innings, 7.3 strikeouts per nine innings and about three walks per nine innings.
After his time abroad, he was delighted to be in the major leagues again, and set a great example for his younger teammates.
One of the tricky components for Elias and manager Brandon Hyde in constructing their 2025 rotation is deciding how much they can expect from Bradish and Wells, and whether they should attempt to re-sign Means.
The Orioles haven’t offered a timetable, but Wells was able to avoid Tommy John surgery and perhaps could return before the All-Star break.
Bradish and Means, if he returns, aren’t guaranteed to be ready at any time in the 2025 season, but could be a nice bonus if they were ready in August or early September.
Perhaps Elias can offer more insight into the progress of Bradish and Wells, and possible interest in Means at next month’s Winter Meetings in Dallas.
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