Pitching in with more thoughts about the Orioles' staff

Having spent a few days wondering about the 13 position players on an Orioles 26-man roster, it seems only fair to do a little obsessing about the pitching staff, if that ratio makes sense.

The analysis is incomplete, as well as speculative, because the Orioles could add another veteran starter. They weren’t supposed to be done after Kyle Gibson’s $10 million deal. I still think there’s another transaction coming.

Names flew off the free agent board. The first tier never was in play despite some reports and the second proved more expensive than perhaps anticipated.

The perception of how much the Orioles were willing to commit financially also turned out to be inflated.

What do we know about the rotation?

Gibson is in it and John Means will rejoin it at some point during the summer.

Grayson Rodriguez is an overwhelming favorite to break camp as a starter. The club has pretty much guaranteed it if he’s healthy. He has nothing else to prove in the minors. He didn’t for quite a while before the lat injury.

Time to turn him loose on major league hitters and not overreact to whatever bumps rise in the road.

Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer would need to fall apart in camp to lose their spots. Bradish was ticketed for Triple-A last spring, with the club optioning him on March 28 after a pair of two-inning scoreless outings. He’s barreled into the next phase of his professional life.

DL Hall also was optioned that day after retiring the Phillies in order with two strikeouts and unleashing a 100 mph fastball. He remained at extended spring training after an injury-shortened 2021 season and debuted on Aug. 13.

“We’re going to have a lot of impact talent coming up later this season if these guys stay healthy and do their thing,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said on a video call.

Kremer strained his left oblique while warming in the bullpen in the season’s third game at Tropicana Field, ruining plans to have him pitch in bulk relief behind Tyler Wells. He returned on June 5, hopping into the rotation and making 21 starts, including his complete-game shutout of the Astros.

Wells, who got engaged over the weekend, is assumed to be in the rotation after converting from late-inning relief, his role as a Rule 5 selection. The arguments for starting him are based on what he did in the first half before the first of his two trips to the injured list.

Is there any scenario where he could become a reliever again? Yes, if the rotation becomes too crowded, he isn’t as effective as some of the other candidates, and there’s a place for him in the bullpen. But he comes to camp as a starter.

Oh look, that’s five.

Hall would make it six. He’s definitely a bullpen possibility, with the potential to dominate for an inning or two. Remember that he posted a 1.04 ERA with 11 strikeouts in his last eight appearances over 8 2/3 innings.

We still haven’t counted a newbie. That’s seven.

Austin Voth, Bruce Zimmermann, Mike Baumann and Spenser Watkins bring us to 11.

The overflow makes it much harder to pen an eight-man ‘pen, if that’s the proper math.

Félix Bautista, Mychal Givens, Dillon Tate, Bryan Baker and Cionel Pérez are your locks. Keegan Akin and Joey Krehbiel experienced late fades, but they can’t be discounted. And that’s especially true of Akin, who provides another left-hander.

Southpaw Nick Vespi is out of the running for an opening day assignment after undergoing hernia surgery.

Rule 5 right-hander Andrew Politi will audition in spring training. He’ll need to dig in his heels because starter candidates could shove him off the team.

Voth fits the profile of a swingman, able to provide length out of the bullpen and make the occasional start. The Orioles could do the same with any of the others.

An important consideration is Voth being out of minor league options. The Orioles tendered him a contract and must reach an agreement on salary by Friday or the sides exchange figures and perhaps go to a hearing.

The 2022 bullpen ranked ninth in the majors with a 3.49 ERA. A real stunner. A major reason why the Orioles contended.

It could undergo some significant changes in 2023.

Same with the rotation.