One of the oldest clichés in baseball is that you can’t ever have too much pitching depth, but the Orioles are finding that out the hard way.
They just designated for assignment a pitcher who throws his fastball 98 miles per hour and – since the start of last season – has an 11-1 record and a 3.69 earned run average.
Mike Baumann now must be traded, released or passed through waivers and, with those numbers in a sport that values hard-throwing pitchers who can master the strike zone, he certainly isn’t going to get through waivers and end up back at Triple-A Norfolk waiting for the next opening in Baltimore.
What else could executive VP Mike Elias do to make room on the active big league roster for the return of starter Grayson Rodriguez from the injured list? Nothing really, except do the same thing with one of several other quality relievers who are similarly out of options. There might have been an easier choice if he could have sent out a position player, but a recent rule change limits the number of pitchers on each major league staff to 13 and the O’s were already there.
Based on Baumann’s numbers, he’s likely to get taken if the club has to put him on waivers, so look for Elias to get something for him from a club with a need that is deep in the waiver pecking order.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez will take the mound against the Mariners Saturday and manager Brandon Hyde is expected to embark on a long stretch with few offdays with a modified six-man starting rotation.