Holmes on Orioles relievers: "It doesn’t surprise me, what they’re doing"

The regression that’s so common with major league bullpens from one year to the next, deserving of an attached warning label each spring, hasn’t impacted the Orioles. Relievers in the first month are immune to it. Can’t touch them.

Being an exception really defies logic when factoring the loss of veterans Dillon Tate and Mychal Givens to injuries. Zero appearances in 2023 beyond Tate’s one inning Wednesday with High-A Aberdeen.

Givens is expected to pitch Saturday at Double-A Bowie, where Tate is set to join him. Meanwhile, the Orioles have a 2.78 bullpen ERA that ranks third in the majors. They were ninth in 2022 at 3.49.

They’ve done some shuffling, with Yennier Cano recalled April 14 and Logan Gillaspie optioned five days later, but they haven’t folded.

Cano ran his streak of retired batters to begin the season to 24 yesterday, tying the club record, in a 6-2 win over the Red Sox. He nailed Justin Turner on the elbow but hasn’t allowed a run or hit or walked a batter.

Left-hander Danny Coulombe stranded an inherited runner from Tyler Wells in the sixth and allowed two singles in the seventh before Cano bailed him out.

Coulombe earned his fifth hold, one more than Cano, and has allowed one run this season with 12 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. Félix Bautista worked a non-save situation, struck out two batters, stranded two runners and lowered his ERA to 1.54.

The bullpen’s 2.78 ERA trails only the Yankees (2.53) and Rays (2.66).  Reppin’ the AL East.

“I think a lot of it blends from last year,” said assistant pitching coach Darren Holmes. “These guys are really a tight-knit group that trusts each other, and they brought that in. And then we added Danny Coulombe, we’ve added Cano, and both of them have been dynamite. (Keegan) Akin’s pitching really well. Obviously, Bautista. (Mike) Baumann has come up and he has been lights out. (Austin) Voth right now, he threw really good (Wednesday) night. He had a pretty good game the outing before. Cionel (Pérez) is starting to get back to Cionel now. He was a little down early in the season, and now he’s getting back and getting his stuff where he needs to be.

“It doesn’t surprise me, what they’re doing, to be honest with you, just from what I saw from what they did last year. I think just the comradery of being a bullpen guy. I was a bullpen guy, I’ve been a bullpen coach, and there is a lot of family environment there. There’s no bad eggs. They’re doing great. Barring injury, I expect them to continue doing what they’re doing.”

Credit is spread among the pitchers and the coaching staff. Tim Cossins, the club’s major league field coordinator/catching instructor, switched places with Holmes last season and relocated to the bullpen.

“Cuz does a great job with them,” Holmes said. “They love him and kind of feed off him a little bit, too. So, there’s a lot of good things happening out there.”

Cano is the popular feel-good story in 2023, one of the key pieces from the Twins in the Jorge López deadline trade. Averaged 8.0 walks per nine innings last season in 13 games, and 4.4 in four minor league seasons. Pounds the strike zone in 2023, proudly displays an attitude that challenges any hitter to cross him.

His body language is assertive and intimidating.

“I think he’s cleaned up some stuff that we worked and talked to him about in spring training,” Holmes said. “He’s (three-quarters arm slot) and using his slider and using his changeup. I think his delivery has gotten a lot better and a lot simpler, and he’s able to throw strikes. All he has to do is be around the zone, because his stuff is so good that there’s a lot of swing and miss against him and a lot of soft contact. I think that plays into it a lot.

“Now he’s here and he’s finally made it to the big leagues, and he’s locking in. And this guy, he is durable. I think he plays a big role in this now.”

Holmes admitted that he knew “nothing” about Coulombe after the Orioles acquired the left-hander from the Twins on March 27 for cash considerations. Coulombe was joining his sixth organization. He had bounced around like a spiked curveball.

“Once we got him, obviously I went in and dug in on him,” Holmes said. “Surprised that they let him go, to be honest with you, with the stuff that I saw. Not surprised by what I’m seeing out here.

“The last bit of spring training, he threw the ball really well. He’s got a lot of deception with his delivery. He does a lot of good things with his slider.”

That isn’t the pitch that intrigues the Orioles. They want to see more of the changeup, which he didn’t throw in the majors in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2021 per BrooksBaseball.net. It’s No. 4 in his arsenal this year after the slider, four-seam fastball and sinker. His slider usage is at an all-time high at nearly 60 percent, with much less frequency with the fastball.

Coulombe threw 13 sliders/sweepers among his 15 pitches yesterday and no changeups.

“We actually talked (Wednesday) night. He’s got a really good changeup. He doesn’t use it a ton, but we had some talks with him about maybe using his changeup a little bit more than how he’s using it,” Holmes said.

“He’s going from throwing a fastball 92 and the slider 87-88, and he’s got a changeup at 72-74 mph. He’s used it a couple times and it’s been really effective, so I think that’s something he’s going to bear down on and work on.”

The relievers are sharing in the success but offering much different looks, which can confound hitters and help to explain why the bullpen again is a beast.

“I think that last year we had mostly guys up here, and we didn’t have a lot of this, and now we do,” Holmes said, extending his arm over his head and then lowering it. “Danny’s way over top, so he does everything at a steep angle because he’s kind of a shorter guys. He gets a steep angle. As you see, a lot of sliders that are at the top of the zone. And I think with Cano being out here, it’s something they can’t see very well.

“When I think about Cano, he’s not a guy that I think people will figure him out, because he’s so consistent in where his arm is and he’s so consistent in letting it release at the same height as a two-seamer, as a changeup, as a slider, that it’s really hard to attack all of this. He’s been a godsend for us. We got him, that was huge for us.”

One more guy to come up big.