Hyde on Kimbrel: "I'm going to continue to try"

The Orioles’ approach to fixing Craig Kimbrel isn’t working. A second reset hasn’t landed him back in the closer’s role. Fresh ideas aren’t in abundance.

Manager Brandon Hyde intends to keep going down the same lower-leverage path with Kimbrel and hope for improved results. He can’t avoid using the nine-time All-Star and play shorthanded in the bullpen. He can’t hold out for blowouts.

This is it.

Kimbrel had three scoreless outings in a row July 31-Aug. 6, but traffic in each appearance raised the possibility of further trouble ahead. It wasn’t a false reading. He entered a tie game in the eighth inning last Sunday at Tropicana Field and allowed the go-ahead run, pitched in the seventh inning on Friday with the Red Sox leading 8-6 and surrendered a two-run homer to David Hamilton and solo shot to Jarren Duran.

To his credit, Kimbrel is a pro who doesn’t duck the media and who offers an accurate assessment of his work. The scoreless streak didn’t fool him.

"Going through those stretches there’s still times where my consistency is off, you know?” he said after a 2-1 loss to the Rays. “Still walking guys, putting guys on. Just the crispness isn’t there. Getting ahead of guys and walking them. That’s something that I shouldn’t be doing out there. That’s something I’ve been running into.”

Hyde hasn’t given Kimbrel a save opportunity since July 25. Seranthony Domínguez appears to be the first choice as closer after arriving from the Phillies at the trade deadline, but Hyde also can call upon Yennier Cano and Cionel Pérez.

He can’t go back to Kimbrel under the present conditions.

Kimbrel registered a 2.80 ERA and 0.962 WHIP in 39 games in the first half and opponents batted .150/.270/.250. He’s posted an 8.31 ERA and 2.308 WHIP in nine games since the break and opponents are batting .286/.438/.571.

Walks seem to hurt as much as the contact. Kimbrel has issued 10 in the second half, only six fewer than in the first.

The first instinct with a struggling reliever is to spread out the appearances. Give him more down time and side sessions to work through any mechanical flaws. Clear his plate and his head.

Kimbrel is more complicated. He’s allowed three earned runs in 14 1/3 innings on one day of rest and one run in five innings on two days. His ERA jumps to 5.06 in 5 1/3 innings on three days and 9.00 in five innings on four days.

To condense these numbers, he has a 2.20 ERA on two days or fewer and a 7.04 ERA on three days or more.

“I’m going to continue to try,” said Hyde, who mentioned the possibility of rust last Sunday. “It’s not going to do him any good not to pitch. The situations come up, maybe again like down a couple runs. But ultimately, it’s up to him.

“This hasn’t been a real good second half for him. He had a good first half, should have made the All-Star team. It’s just been kind of a tough month and hopefully he can turn it around.”

Kimbrel admitted to the challenges that come from irregular work and switching roles, but he didn’t lean on them as convenient excuses.

“I would say overall there’s times my stuff has played and gotten me through some things,” he said, “but all in all, my consistency has just been really terrible, and when you’re inconsistent, you put guys on base and things happen.”

The Orioles hold a $13 million option on Kimbrel’s contract for 2025 but he’s likely to hit the free agent market again. How he pitches over the last six weeks could determine whether he’s on the postseason roster, with the assumption that the Orioles make the playoffs. Shintaro Fujinami wasn’t in the Division Series bullpen last fall, but they carried Jack Flaherty.

Meanwhile, the Orioles will make a roster move later this morning by bringing up a reliever. They were shorthanded last night with Cade Povich recalled to make one start.

Hyde already dismissed the idea of a six-man rotation and Povich wasn't a consideration for relief because he wouldn't be available for four or five days. The plan was to insert him last night and push back the other starters for a day. A chance to freshen the rotation a bit.

The question now is which reliever is summoned from Triple-A Norfolk.

Well, two questions. How long until Povich is back?