Will Orioles be able to expand bench?

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde appreciates the value of having an extra pitcher in his bullpen. He also covets a fourth bench player.

The math doesn't work and Hyde knows it. No calculator required.

A 26th man is permissible only for the second game of a traditional doubleheader scheduled the day after a postponement. Rosters won't expand until September.

What's a manager to do?

He concedes that having starters who are laboring to get beyond the fifth inning requires a 13-man pitching staff, an expanded bullpen providing needed support.

Dylan Bundy gave the Orioles only their fifth quality start of the season Saturday night. They were tied for the fewest in the majors.

The Orioles have been trying to find the right combination of relievers and perhaps get back to a more standard alignment. If a starter isn't providing length, someone in the bullpen needs to do it.

Too much baton passing won't get the Orioles down to 12 pitchers.

Yefry Ramirez covered the last 4 2/3 innings Friday night after replacing Dan Straily. Gabriel Ynoa worked three scoreless innings with five strikeouts in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader in Chicago.

They can be extended and, if effective, remove the need for an extra arm.

"I would love to have our bullpen guys do what Yefry did (Friday) night. That would help us out a ton," Hyde said.

"I feel good about having two guys down there that are starters that can give us length in Yefry and Ynoa, so we have a little bit of a luxury there and that's going to help us out a lot. That we don't have to use certain guys in games that we don't want to use them in. Yefry did a great job with that."

The bullpen lost Tanner Scott after the Orioles optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk, but he exceeded one inning only twice in his eight appearances and didn't throw more than 30 pitches. Jimmy Yacabonis, also sent down, worked three innings to get the win on March 30 and covered 2 1/3 in his follow-up outing, but the ability to be stretched out was trumped by his struggles.

Yacabonis allowed seven runs in his last three appearances over 3 1/3 innings to raise his ERA to 6.32 and cost him a spot in the bullpen. Branden Kline was recalled from Norfolk on the same day that Luis Ortiz came up for one game while Alex Cobb returned to the injured list.

David Hess was supposed to move to the bullpen, giving Hyde a long reliever, but that plan never got off the ground. Cobb's lumbar strain pushed Hess back into the rotation.

John Means is too valuable as a starter to provide left-handed long relief. The innings he consumes should begin in the first.

Stabilizing and downsizing the bullpen would allow for more late-game bench maneuvering from Hyde and make it easier to bring up someone from the minors who otherwise can't crack the roster.

Where can the Orioles fit Anthony Santander unless they're willing to option Joey Rickard and really trust Stevie Wilkerson with the center field job? Wilkerson has made two career starts at the position. There are more infielders playing the outfield than actual outfielders.

Ryan Mountcastle is tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A, but he's learning to play first base, a position the Orioles already have covered. He could get at-bats as the designated hitter, but it's hard for Mountcastle to co-exist with Renato Núñez on a three-man bench.

Heck, it's tricky on a four-man bench with a team that demands versatility.

Cedric Mullins could return to center if he continues to swing the bat the way he's doing it in Norfolk - he homered in back-to-back games from opposite sides of the plate - and Rickard could resume his role as a backup at all three positions in the outfield if he stayed. Otherwise, Santander could bump Rickard, back up at the corners and get some at-bats as the DH with Wilkerson capable of spelling Mullins.

M-U-L-L-I-N-S.

Wilkerson and Hanser Alberto could remain in their super-utility roles.

A full bench makes so much sense for the Orioles if they can get the pitching to cooperate.