Conventional wisdom has it that there’s one remaining spot in the bullpen for an outside candidate to seize.
Baseball is played on grass, not on paper—and rosters are built as much out of necessity as out of best-case scenarios. MLB starting pitching is entering a “quantity > quality” moment, what with league-wide aces from Gerrit Cole to George Kirby to our own Kyle Bradish out with damage to their throwing arms. No disrespect meant to Albert Suárez and Cade Povich, but it’s an “all hands on deck” situation among Orioles starters at this point, with not just Bradish but also Tyler Wells and now Grayson Rodriguez out for some extended time.
But there could be some surprises in the bullpen. Assuming the O’s go with a conventional eight-reliever setup, the roster locks would appear to be:
RHP Félix Bautista (closer), LHP Keegan Akin, RHP Yennier Cano, LHP Cionel Pérez, RHP Albert Suárez, LHP Gregory Soto, RHP Seranthony Domínguez
That’s seven, although for what it’s worth I think Soto and Domínguez, two of the Orioles with the shortest track records, are the least cut-and-dried cases. Soto, who has a great fastball and control problems, has had a middling spring (6.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB) but as a lefty he’s got the inside track, especially as the Orioles let southpaw Danny Coulombe walk in the offseason. Seranthony Domínguez would seem a lock based on the $8 million the Orioles agreed to pay him in the offseason, but he’s also had an awful spring so far, with twelve earned runs in five appearances (for a plus-23.00 ERA) and better than a walk per inning.
Anyway, the last spot is the most interesting. There’s a competition for it after it was announced that Andrew Kittredge, a 35-year-old veteran signed in January to stabilize the bullpen, underwent knee surgery recently.
A look at the current frontrunners:
Bryan Baker. This guy is one who always puts that old refrain regarding former O’s reliever Tommy Hunter into my mind: “He went boom.” Baker is homer- and disaster-prone, despite having shown up this spring with a new-and-improved fastball. He’d lost the manager’s trust a way back, but he’s got more leeway now. Then again—case in point: on Sunday the 30-year-old allowed three homers in 1 1/3 innings vs. the Twins. There may be reason for doubt, still.
Matt Bowman. One of the few NRI’s with any significant chance to make the team, Bowman pitched with four teams last season, including the Orioles for his last 15 games. This spring, he’s worked a 2.70 ERA in 6.2 innings with a very impressive ten strikeouts and two walks.
Bowman helps the Orioles as a reliever who’s able to provide length during games, in the mode of an Albert Suárez or Keegan Akin. Bowman is out of options, however, so if he doesn’t make the team being reassigned seems the most likely option. Manager Brandon Hyde made clear that Bowman remains of interest, in light of “the September he had and what he did for us at the end of the year,” as the skipper put it. “He gives you a unique look out of the bullpen and he’s been around for a while, so he knows how to pitch. Different than anybody else we have. He’s gonna be a decision at the end of camp.”
Roansy Contreras. Claimed off waivers from the Yankees in February, the 25-year-old Contreras has attracted notice this spring with seven strikeouts in seven innings, including four strikeouts in a nice appearance against the Red Sox A-team. On the other hand, the accompanying nine hits and four walks are a little much. A four-season MLB veteran, Contreras has not yet put up an ERA below 4 or a walk rate below 3. He seems like one to get the Norfolk treatment, with instructions to work on his stuff.
Zach Fruit. A young right hander who throws close to 100, Fruit drew the excitement of Brandon Hyde in his last outing. On Tuesday, against a group of Red Sox regulars, Fruit allowed two runs, one unearned, on two hits in three innings. He struck out four and walked one. Brandon Hyde enthused that the 25-year-old “threw the ball outstanding,” as he put it. “That was fun to watch.” Still, Fruit hasn’t yet thrown the ball above Aberdeen. Lacking in experience as he is, he’ll be a farmhand with a chance for a late-season call.
Anyway, even if the likes of a Contreras or a Bowman don’t sneak onto the 26-man roster this spring, we will certainly see some of them getting midseason call-ups. Don’t forget that last year the Orioles used a grand total of 34 pitchers. The most fluid and unusual part of a baseball team, the bullpen is the place where randos can show up and become stars (at least to us weirdo fans who follow the Orioles roster like bankers follow the stock market). This, of course, happened with Bautista, Cano, Cionel Pérez (barring his erraticness), and Akin in past years.
This begs the question: who could turn out to be the Orioles’ dark horse relief aces this year?