None left: O's rotation will be without a southpaw

Will having an all right-handed rotation be a problem for the Orioles? Last year, right-handers made 131 of 162 O's starts. Wei-Yin Chen's 31 starts were the only by any left-hander.

Will they go 162-for-162 this year?

When the Orioles officially add Yovani Gallardo, he will join holdovers Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, Kevin Gausman and Ubaldo Jimenez. No lefty anywhere.

But there are some reasons to think it will not be an issue. For one, the other four American League East teams last year all hit better versus left-handed pitching.

A look at team averages and OPS versus left-handers and right-handers:

* Boston against left-handers (.272/753) and against right-handers (.263/.735)
* New York against left-handers (.257/.749) and against right-handers (.248/.741)
* Tampa Bay against left-handers (.260/.759) and against right-handers (.248/.703)
* Toronto against left-handers (.278/.818) and against right-handers (.266/.791).

Those four AL East teams all ranked among the top six teams in the league last year in OPS versus left-handed pitchers with Toronto first, Tampa Bay third, Boston fourth and New York sixth. They can hit lefties pretty well.

Against right-handed pitching, Toronto also ranked first with New York tied for fourth, Boston seventh and Tampa Bay 13th. New York's OPS was eight points lower against right-handed pitchers with Boston (18 points), Toronto (27 points) and Tampa Bay (56 points) all less potent on the stat sheet versus right-handed pitchers. In fact, those other AL East teams were worse against right-handed pitchers in both batting average and OPS.

On the other hand, if those teams stack lefty batters against O's starters, based on last year, the O's might be equipped to handle that.

Three of their projected five starters posted solid numbers against left-handed batters. The two that could improve are Gallardo and Gonzalez. Gausman gave up an average of .223 and slugging percentage of .358 versus lefties. Those numbers were .225/.392 for Jimenez, .259/.361 for Tillman, .270/.425 for Gallardo and .277/.487 for Gonzalez. Gonzalez's slugging percentage against lefty batters was among the worst among AL starters last year.

Chen was very good last season versus lefty batters with an average against of .217 and .326 slugging. But then again, as I pointed out, the AL East teams enjoy facing left-handed pitchers better. While Chen was kept from facing Toronto in 2015, he had a respectable 3.41 ERA against the other AL East teams.

Meanwhile, Gallardo last year made two regular-season starts versus Toronto and did not give up a run or even an extra-base hit. Over 13 2/3 innings, he allowed six singles with five walks and six strikeouts. Toronto had both a .136 batting average and slugging percentage against him in those outings.

Gallardo then pitched Texas to a win over Toronto in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. He went five innings, allowing four hits and two runs as Texas won 5-3.

How did Gallardo fare against the other AL East teams in 2015? He went 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA in two starts versus Boston, 1-0 with a 5.25 ERA over two starts against New York and 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in two starts versus Tampa Bay. In those six starts, he was 3-2 with a 4.81 ERA. He also had one start versus the Orioles where he pitched six scoreless innings.