O's bullpen excels amid injuries; plus notes on Eflin, Westburg

PHOENIX – The Orioles have had key injuries just about everywhere. 

Superstar Gunnar Henderson is gearing up to play just his sixth game of the season and has not yet overlapped with Rookie of the Year runner-up Colton Cowser. Jordan Westburg has been dealing with minor injuries and has been given some days off. 

Amid some challenges in finding a rhythm, the lineup has remained solid, posting the seventh-best batting average and fifth-best OPS in the American League. Keeping the ebbs and flows to a minimum remains a hurdle. 

A starting rotation that was supposed to feature Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez now features neither after Eflin’s injury Monday evening. The right-hander now hits the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain, but manager Brandon Hyde did note today that Eflin “feels really good right now.”

Despite Eflin’s excellence, the rotation’s 5.34 ERA through a dozen games is just 12th best in the AL, and their .291 batting average against is fourth-highest. 

Andrew Kittredge was one of the best setup men in baseball last season and marked a huge addition for Baltimore this offseason. Albert Suárez was one of the best stories in the game in 2024, and was looking to build off of his positive momentum. Both are out for extended periods of time. And even on the healthier side, Félix Bautista is still working his way back to his old self. 

Nevertheless, the Orioles bullpen has been outstanding. With a sub-3.00 ERA, they rank as the fourth-best unit in the AL and top-10 in all of baseball. In Arizona, that trend has continued. 

On Monday, Yennier Cano, Gregory Soto and Bautista combined to toss three innings of scoreless, walkless ball, allowing just one hit and striking out two. 

“That was electric,” Hyde said yesterday morning. “You bring in Cano, Soto, Bautista and you feel good about it. 

Last night, it was much the same. 

Three innings, one hit and no earned runs in a combined effort from Keegan Akin, Bryan Baker and Seranthony Domínguez. 

“How about Bryan Baker?” Hyde said with a smile today. “Bryan Baker’s throwing sliders and getting rollover ground balls now … They’ve been great. We’ve had a couple of rough innings, but besides that, knock on wood, these guys are coming in and throwing strikes and giving us a chance.”

You couldn’t ask for much more from the unit, especially given their workload with injuries to the starting rotation. 

Just two bullpen arms that have made at least three appearances this season have an ERA over 3.00. Baker, Domínguez, Soto and Cano have yet to allow a run. Matt Bowman, who joined the bullpen to replace the injured Suárez, has allowed just one run to cross over 5 1/3 innings of work and hasn’t walked a batter. 

Today, the Orioles get a new arm to help in Colin Selby, who was promoted from the taxi squad with Eflin hitting the injured list. 

Selby has appeared in three games for Norfolk without allowing a run to begin 2025. 

“Felt pretty good,” Selby said this morning. “Just feeling a little bit more smooth to the plate, feel like everything’s a little bit more on time … It’s the big leagues. Just being up is exciting.”

The lineup still needs to find a rhythm and the starting rotation needs to find some warm bodies to throw every fifth day. Both units have injuries that are at least partially to blame for their inconsistencies. 

“I’d like to see our offense kind of pick us up a little bit,” Hyde added. “I think our offense has the ability to score more runs than we are. We need to … Michael Phelps everybody!”

An appropriate interjection with the greatest of all time in the house. Anyway. 

If the Orioles bullpen was struggling, you could point to the same injury issues. But the ‘pen, led by established arms and unsung heroes, is just finding a way. 

Breadcrumbs from the skipper

It’s another day off for Jordan Westburg today. Hyde noted that he’s been “banged up,” but called the injury a general upper-body issue. It’s the same reason that Westburg had a day of rest against the Blue Jays early in the year. “Minor, nagging things. With an off-day tomorrow, trying to give him a couple of days off.” 

Zach Eflin’s is still day-to-day after he landed on the 15-day injured list. With two off-days coming up, the O’s don’t need to make a decision about the starting rotation right away. In the meantime, Selby gives Baltimore some help in a taxed bullpen. He feels “really good right now,” Hyde said, expressing optimism that Eflin's stay on the IL will be minimal. 

Kyle Gibson will get a few innings tomorrow with the Norfolk Tides. At least that’s a positive pitching development. How about another? 

Everything went well with Grayson Rodriguez’s bullpen session. “No setbacks present right now, so he’s on track.”