SARASOTA—Two weeks from today, the Orioles leave Florida and their 26-man roster will be set, or at least close to it.
On February 13th, when pitchers and catchers began their first workout, the roster looked fairly set, but 24 days later, there are many questions. And many injuries.
Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias addressed injuries on the day of workouts. He added only left-handed starter Trevor Rogers to the injury report. Rogers hasn’t pitched because of a dislocated right knee.
A few days later, right-handed starter Chayce McDermott was sidelined with a right lat/teres injury.
Neither Rogers nor McDermott has thrown off the mound, though manager Brandon Hyde reported that McDermott has begun playing catch.
Rogers and McDermott will begin the season on the injured list as will starters Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells, who both had season-ending right elbow surgery last June.
Infielder Jorge Mateo hasn’t played after his Tommy John surgery on his left elbow last August. Hyde has said that it’s possible that Mateo could play in a handful of Grapefruit League games, but he’s expected to start the season on the IL, too.
This week, there’s been more troubling news. Reliever Andrew Kittredge had left knee surgery on Friday. He’s likely to miss a few months, Hyde said.
Starter Grayson Rodriguez won’t be ready to start the season, either becuse of right elbow discomfort. And it’s possible that All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson won’t be ready because of a strain of his right intercostal muscle. The intercostal muscles are near the ribs.
While Bradish, Mateo and Wells weren’t supposed to be available for the March 27th opener at Toronto, and McDermott and Rogers were expected to start at Triple-A Norfolk, this week’s injuries are troubling. They do create openings for others.
Zach Eflin is the favorite to be named the Opening Day starter with Rodriguez out of the picture. Dean Kremer, Charlie Morton, who started on Saturday, and Tomoyuki Sugano, who will start Sunday, are in the rotation. They’re likely to be joined by either right-hander Albert Suárez or left-hander Cade Povich.
“I honestly don’t even think about those things,” Morton said. “I think about how I can support my teammates and how can I carry my load and do my job.”
Suárez has allowed eight runs on 13 hits in eight innings over three appearances. Povich has given up just one hit in five innings with seven strikeouts and one walk in five innings in two starts.
“It’s something unfortunate,” Povich said. “You never want someone being hurt the reason you get more confidence on being in the rotation.”
Povich had a strong September with a 2.60 ERA in five starts. He would be the only left-hander in the rotation.
“My whole standpoint and mindset on things is to keep the same mindset I’ve had this whole spring training, find my way to hopefully get in the rotation some way,” Povich said. “I think a guy getting hurt is the last reason you want to be the reason you make it into the rotation.”
Last year, the Orioles’ rotation was destroyed by season-ending injuries to Bradish, Wells, John Means and lengthy injured list stays by Kremer and Rodriguez. They also lost last year’s ace, Corbin Burnes, to free agency.
“I think we have plenty of guys up top that have been bounced between the bullpen and starting spots,” Povich said. “We have plenty of depth in Triple-A as well.”
Hyde didn’t get a chance to evaluate the 34-year-old Kittredge because he only pitched an inning but did say before the extent of the injury was discovered that Kittredge could serve as a closer when Félix Bautista wasn’t available.
Bautista has pitched twice after his October 2023 Tommy John surgery, and Hyde thinks he’ll be ready to start the season.
“We’re trying to get him, if everything goes well, hopefully six, maybe seven games,” Hyde said. “He hasn’t pitched in a long time. We’ll see where he is at the end of camp and if we feel like he’s ready to pitch in the big leagues for us, either it’s right away or getting him a little bit more time, we haven’t determined that yet.”
Assuming Bautista is ready to be the primary closer, Hyde has left-hander Gregory Soto and right-handers Yennier Cano and Seranthony Domínguez as closing and late-inning options.
Left-handers Keegan Akin and Cionel Pérez could be joined by Suárez, if he’s not in the rotation, and Bryan Baker, who’s retired all nine batters he’s faced this spring.
The Orioles could also dip back into the free-agent market. Kyle Gibson, who led the team in wins and innings pitched in 2023 is the best available starter, and David Robertson, a 16-year veteran,who’ll turn 40 early next month, is the most accomplished reliever who is unsigned.
They could also explore the waiver wire, which will become more active later in the month.
“It doesn’t really do us any good to play [general manager] or write out these equations or what the team looks like with or without certain players,” Morton said. “What benefits the team is that we pull our own weight and we pull for each other. It’s not my job or my responsibility to determine whether or not we have enough depth. It’s my job to be a good teammate and do my job as a pitcher.”
If Henderson isn’t ready to start the season, perhaps non-roster infielders Liván Soto or Luis Vázquez could get a roster spot. Both would have to be added to the 40-man roster, but that shouldn’t be a problem because Bradish, Kittredge and Wells could move to the 60-day injured list.
“With him being out, it will give me more opportunities to show what I can do,” Vázquez said through a translator. “You don’t like to see injuries, but as a result of it, I’ll be able to prove a little bit more what I can do.”
Morton isn’t concerned at this point.
“This is a talented group,” he said. “This is an exciting team. It’s a group of good dudes. That’s what I’m looking forward to being a part of.”
Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.