Wondering again what Orioles are doing with rotation

Orioles' manager Brandon Hyde wasn’t ready to commit to a six-man rotation when asked about it earlier this week. Too many balls in the air to grab hold of an exact plan.

Actions could be pointing the team in that direction.

By keeping Cole Irvin and also needing a starter for Sunday night against the Astros, the Orioles could commit to the six-man alignment at least for the moment. And it provides extra rest for the entire crew.

There’s no other reason to keep Irvin unless he’s starting or the Orioles don’t want to run him through waivers again and risk a claim, which didn’t happen the first time.

Irvin isn’t any use to the bullpen this weekend after throwing 83 pitches Wednesday at Citi Field. The Orioles added two fresh relievers yesterday in Nick Vespi and Matt Bowman and sent down Colin Selby, who tossed three scoreless innings in two appearances.

Monday’s off-day would allow Corbin Burnes to work on regular rest Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, but the Orioles have emphasized the importance of additional rest for the rotation. Then again, that was prior to the break in the schedule.

I don’t know. All I can do is present some options.

Keegan Akin is set to make his return from the paternity list, which necessitates another roster move. They’re flooding the transaction wire.

Starters Kyle Bradish, John Means, Tyler Wells, Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin are on the injured list. Only the latter two will return this season. Somehow, at the risk of jinxing it, Burnes has managed to stay healthy and be the ace that everyone anticipated, and this club so desperately needs as it fights to repeat as division champions.

Burnes, Irvin, Dean Kremer, Albert Suárez and Cade Povich are the current five, and I’d like the names of everyone who predicted it back in March. Proof will be required. And Brandon Young, on the team’s radar screen per executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias, could make his major league debut Sunday night on ESPN.

This wouldn't be the equivalent of throwing him into the deep end of the pool. It’s dumping him in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay.

Young was signed for $20,000 as an undrafted free agent in the truncated 2020 draft out of Louisiana Lafayette. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the organization’s No. 21 prospect.

The Tides list Young as Saturday’s starter against Worcester but that can change. He’s allowed five earned runs this month in 21 2/3 innings.

If not Young, then it’s Kremer or a bullpen game that the Orioles resisted Wednesday.

If regular rest is deemed acceptable for some members of the rotation, and it wasn’t for Burnes Wednesday, the Orioles could just give the ball to Kremer after he’s allowed one run in six innings in each of his last two starts. He’s pretty fresh after missing over a month with a biceps strain.

Burnes has thrown 159 1/3 innings and Rodriguez is at 116 2/3 despite making two trips to the IL. Irvin has totaled 99 while shifting between rotation and bullpen. Kremer is tied with Suárez at 96 1/3.

That’s becoming a heavy load for Suárez, but Kremer threw a career-high 172 2/3 during the 2023 regular season.

And that’s how you try to execute a positive spin with an injury.

Hyde and Eflin provided good news yesterday with remarks that the right-hander shouldn’t need an injury rehab assignment. He’s eligible to return Sept. 2.

“He’s trending in the right direction and nothing’s changed,” Hyde said. “He should be ready to go when he comes off the IL.”

Povich is ready to make his 10^th major league start tonight against the Astros. He was optioned immediately after holding the Red Sox to two runs in a career-high 6 1/3 innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out six.

The Orioles were allowed to bring back Povich in less than 15 days because he was replacing Eflin.

“Obviously I kind of knew what their plan was last week and I had an understanding of that,” he said yesterday. “I was ready to just go back and kind of carry over what I took while I was down there from what I did last week and just continue to build off that. Obviously some things happened and I’m glad I can bring that work back up here.”

Povich isn’t necessarily a one-and-done again after tonight, especially with Eflin unable to return this month. There’s Cole, there’s the lingering questions surrounding five-man or six-man rotations, there's a blanket of uncertainties as the temperature drops.

“You never want to speculate just because you don’t know,” Povich said. “But I think all I can do is basically take what I did and try to continue to build off it. Put good starts together. Give my best option and my best showing to try to, I guess, say I should be here, and whatever they decide to do is obviously their decision.

“All I can do is perform and try to give myself the best chance.”