Orioles aren't ready to announce Wild Card roster and other starters

The Orioles must set their Wild Card roster by 10 a.m. Tuesday morning and they have more meetings to conduct. They’re talking about the composition of it heading into Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Royals at Camden Yards, as well as the identities of the next two starters.

Nothing came out of today’s media sessions that offered any hints.

“We’re gonna keep talking about it today,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Corbin Burnes is confirmed for Game 1, but the club hasn’t committed to Zach Eflin for Wednesday afternoon’s Game 2. What happens Tuesday might influence the decision.

“It could,” Hyde said. “We’re going through every scenario, just kind of covering all the bases on it. Seeing a little bit how Game 1 goes, seeing how deep Burnsie goes, all those type of things."

Hyde said he’s happy with his bullpen options and talked about his four left-handers, though rookie Cade Povich would make it five.

“We have a lot of good stuff down there,” he said. “We have guys I can put in different roles. Without having set roles down there, I can try to mix and match the best way I possibly can. This is really, really good team. It’s a really good lineup. We’re looking more into it, but I’m really happy with how we played on this last road trip and really happy with how we threw the ball.”

Hyde noted how there aren’t many similarities with lefties Danny Coulombe, Cionel Pérez, Gregory Soto and Keegan Akin.

“All four guys kind of bring a little something different to the table and I like that,” he said. “I like to have different options. Certain guys get more lefties out than righties, and et cetera. The more of that you can have like that that make it tough on the opposing manager, that’s ideal.”

Coulombe didn’t get a tune-up inning like the other relievers after Friday night in Minnesota. He's made four appearances since his reinstatement from the 60-day injured list and totaled 3 2/3 scoreless innings with two hits, two walks and four strikeouts.

“Danny got his feet wet a little bit getting in a few games,” Hyde said. “Continuing to feel good, continuing to feel healthy. Danny’s unique and he’s got unique breaking balls, so the ability to get lefties and righties out is really important.”

The lineups won’t be posted until Tuesday and the Orioles could start James McCann behind the plate and use Adley Rutschman as the designated hitter. McCann has caught Burnes 15 times this season, with the veteran right-hander posting a 2.65 ERA. And Hyde will want Rutschman’s bat in the lineup.

This would be the case regardless, but Rutschman is 4-for-6 lifetime against Ragans, who started on Opening Day and made the All-Star team.

The playoffs are different and the Orioles could divert from starting Austin Slater against lefties or just stay the course. Cedric Mullins probably would sit, with Colton Cowser playing center field. And Ryan O’Hearn goes to the bench with Ryan Mountcastle at first base.

All-Star right-hander Seth Lugo is starting Game 2, and he’s going to appear on five-man Cy Young ballots. Right-hander Michael Wacha, with eight games of playoff experience, starts Game 3 if necessary. He’s 7-2 with a 2.79 ERA since the All-Star break.

Ragans and Lugo rank second and third, respectively, in American League bWAR pitching leaders at 5.4 and 5.0. The Tigers appeared to be a bad matchup for the Orioles, but the Royals aren’t a party. And they have remarkably talented shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., likely the runner-up Most Valuable Player behind Aaron Judge, and 134 stolen bases to rank fifth in the American League.

Burnes has allowed 41 stolen bases, and slowing the Royals is "kind of pitcher dependent a little bit," Hyde said.

"Burnsie's last few starts, he's done a great job controlling the running game, but these guys are aggressive and they're gonna run. We know that and we have to do a really good job of being able to mix up our looks. And kind of in the era right now of not being able to do certain things on the mound to control the running game. We have to do a good job of limiting it the best we can."

"Early on, the mechanics were a little bit different," Burnes said. "A lot longer, slower to the plate, trying to emphasize some other parts of the game. When we kind of made the mechanical tweaks there the beginning of September, kind of went back to what we did in '21 and '22, which makes me a little bit shorter to the plate, makes the leg kick quicker. ... Kind of takes care of itself in that regard.

"There's still a lot of work being done behind the scenes as far as holds and mixing in some different types of picks, but yeah, just the mechanical changes to what I did in '21 fixed a lot of that issue."

Ragans had two starts against the Orioles in April that couldn’t have gone more differently. He tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings with one hit allowed at Camden Yards but allowed seven runs and nine hits in 1 2/3 innings in Kansas City.

“One of the premiere left-handers in the game,” Hyde said. “He’s got great stuff. We’re gonna have our hands full with him. He’s got a big-time fastball and he’s tough to hit. It’s going to be a challenge.”

The matchup of these two teams will conjure some painful memories for local fans – the four-game sweep in the 2014 Championship Series. when every Orioles line drive was caught and every Kansas City bloop found grass. And the Royals possessed a dominant bullpen that stayed fresh with off-days.

The Orioles didn’t have Manny Machado due to knee surgery, Matt Wieters after his Tommy John surgery and Chris Davis due to his suspension for using Adderall without a therapeutic use exemption, which he acquired in previous years. The one significant roster change after the Division Series was adding left-hander Brian Matusz and dumping Ubaldo Jiménez.

Somehow, the Orioles made it to the ALCS without three major pieces of their lineup. They swept the Tigers in the Division Series but have lost their last eight playoff games.

Royals catcher Salvador Pérez is the only player left from the ALCS. He’s 6-for-12 lifetime against Burnes.

Paul DeJong is 7-for-22 with a double and two home runs. Former Orioles infielder Adam Frazier is 5-for-21.

The Orioles will take their chances with Burnes, the former Cy Young winner with Milwaukee and this year's All-Star Game starter who registered a 1.20 ERA, 0.933 WHIP and .194 opponent average in five outings this month.

"We feel great about Corbin going Game 1, especially with what he's been doing in September," Hyde said. "He's had a heck of a year. He's a guy that can beat anybody on any night, and to have a guy like that with that kind of stuff, that kind of confidence, Corbin Burnes is pitching, you expect to win that night. And that's how our guys feel."

Burnes continues to downplay being the guy for Game 1, just as he did with the first exhibition game and the regular season opener.

"For me, i treat it as every start's the same," he said. "Spring training, Opening Day, a start in June, one of the bad ones in August, they're all the same. For me, the way I go prepare, my five- or six-day plan is about the same just about every time. A lot of guys would say it's pretty boring, but for me it's what it takes to get on the mound and be fully prepared."

The Orioles faced the Tigers twice this month but Sunday’s outcomes had them looking back at a team they hadn’t played in five months.  

“It’s a little bit of a scramble,” Hyde said. “It’s a scramble for them, too. They weren’t sure who they were gonna play. That’s part of postseason baseball sometimes is that the season’s over and then you gear up quickly for the opponent.”

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (thumb fracture) would swing in the cage today, since outdoor workouts were nixed due to the rainy weather. Pasquantino could be a huge addition to the Wild Card roster if reinstated.

Pasquantino would be restricted to designated hitter duty, but the Royals gladly would take a bat that produced 30 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs and 97 RBIs in 131 games. He hasn’t played since Aug. 29.

Eloy Jiménez was spotted at the dugout railing today. The Oriole are keeping players ready in Sarasota and it’s common to bring up a few in case there’s a sudden roster issue.

* MASN is airing a one-hour playoff preview show tonight at 7 p.m. hosted by Brett Hollander and Ben McDonald.

Hollander and Hall of Famer Jim Palmer will host pregame and postgame shows during the Wild Card Series, with Rob Long joining them.