Mike Elias said he’s spoken with all 29 other teams in Major League Baseball, scouring the market for any available starting pitchers to round out the Orioles’ rotation. That doesn’t mean there aren’t candidates already in Baltimore.
If Elias, the Orioles’ executive vice president and general manager, strikes out in his push for bringing in a front-of-rotation starter, manager Brandon Hyde will have a few options to slide in at the fifth spot behind returners Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, John Means and Dean Kremer.
One of those options is Tyler Wells. The 2020 Rule 5 draft pick began 2023 beating out Rodriguez in spring training, was optioned to Double-A Bowie shortly after the All-Star break (in an effort to keep him closer to Baltimore), then cleared a bit of second-half fatigue to become a helpful bullpen piece late in the season. A single season mapped out like chutes and ladders.
“Honestly, just had a couple bad starts and got out of whack,” Wells said. “For me as a bigger guy, it’s a little bit easier to fall out of whack and it’s a little bit harder to get back into that timing. It’s baseball, though. You’re gonna go through peaks and valleys. … I think the results spoke for themselves in that last leg and I continue to try and take that into this offseason.”
Wells’ 18-first-half outings wrapped with a 3.18 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP, the best in the majors. He was in the conversation among the league’s best. The backslide came in the first nine innings that followed, with an 11.00 ERA. Hyde called it fatigue at the time.
At this juncture, Wells has not yet had specific conversations about his 2024 role.
“I don’t think I ever deserve anything,” Wells said. “I think the best way I can put it is, ‘Where am I best suited to help the team win?’ I think I did that last year. With what we were able to do going into the postseason was kind of a testament for me to try to be as malleable as possible for the team. That’s kind of how the approach has been. I definitely don’t think I deserve anything but I’m gonna come in like I have each spring training and try to earn my spot.”
Cole Irvin is Baltimore’s other in-house card.
The 29-year-old left-hander was brought in via trade from Oakland almost exactly one year ago in hopes of filling a similar rotational spot. A rocky start jettisoned him to the minors twice in his Orioles debut season.
He pitched 77 1/3 innings with 68 strikeouts, allowing 78 hits, 42 runs and 11 homers. Unlike Wells, his ERA dropped after the All-Star break from 5.50 to 3.40 in more of a bullpen role. He credited introducing the cutter as one piece of his ride back up the ladder. “Extremely rough start,” Irvin said, “Really strong finish.”
“I’m building up as a starter,” he added. “I know that there are a lot of expectations on our rotation. And good expectations. We had a great year last year as a staff. We got a lot to build on. So [I’m] mixing things up in the arsenal and things are coming out really well. I’m excited to get to camp.”
Irvin heads to Sarasota, Florida, for spring training with a new sinker, new fastball, new four-seam and refined adjustments to make his cutter a “more devastating pitch.” He noted adjustments to the slider and curveball, too. All of which addressed what he called bland parts of his arsenal.
2024 could feature more movement and higher velocity for Irvin. At least that’s what he has seen in bullpen sessions so far.
“The rotation is pretty solid,” Rodriguez said. “You know, there’s a lot of guys in house that you know, I think that we’re very confident in to put out there and get through a season. So yeah, I mean, I think there’s a lot of confidence in the guys we have right now.”
Added Means: “I think all those guys in that rotation can easily take a step forward. I think that you know, there’s some games last year they you know, they did really well and some streaks that you’re like, ‘Wow, this is gonna be one of the best pitchers in the league.’ I think all four [Bradish, Rodriguez, Kremer, Wells] of those other guys had moments like that. And when you get more experience, it’s just about being more consistent. And the more experienced these guys are, the more consistent you’re gonna be.”
Outfield competition
The trio of Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays ranks among the best outfield groups in baseball. Filling the fourth and potential fifth spots among a crop of talent waiting in the wings poses the other query at the forefront of spring training for the defending AL East champs.
“It’s been very competitive the last couple years now,” said Ryan McKenna, one of those viable options. “Lotta young talent. Lotta really good people, I can’t stress that enough. I think that’s what makes good teams. You have to have both. I’m excited, it’s gonna be great. That only brings the best out of you.”
While McKenna previously served in a shuttle-type role, he’s now out of minor league options. The 26-year-old was steadfast in his response to that change.
“We’ll see,” he said. “Really have no control over any of that. It’s just going out and playing and preparing for another awesome season. Whatever happens will come to fruition but I’m excited. It could look different but I don’t know.”
Baseball America preseason top 50 prospects Colton Cowser (No. 34) and Heston Kjerstad (No. 41), along with recent waiver acquisition Sam Hilliard, previously with the Atlanta Braves, are among those vying for a spot to supplement the big league outfield as well.
Cowser hit 17 home runs while batting .300 in 87 games with Triple-A Norfolk last season. Come October, he was awarded the Triple-A championship game’s Most Valuable Player honor after a 455-foot seventh-inning grand slam sealed Norfolk’s win. The 2021 No. 5 overall pick is expected to take a step forward and be squarely in the mix despite a lackluster .115 average in 26 big league games.
“I wouldn’t say [it was] frustrating,” Cowser said. “I would say just because you struggled doesn’t necessarily mean it’s always frustrating. I think there were some certain struggles I couldn’t really control. And I think that it’s all about the frame of mind that you’re in, and also, whether you take that as a learning experience or just kind of soaking your sorrows. So I choose to take it as a learning experience.
“We’re gonna have a really competitive spring,” he added. “I know that we have a lot of really good outfielders on this team and a lot of guys who can play multiple positions.”
Dillon Tate raring to go
Dillon Tate flashed an eager grin, acknowledging that after being sidelined for all of 2023 because of a stress reaction in his right elbow, he’s “ready to go for camp and just excited to be back out there.”
The Orioles’ high-leverage reliever called last season a whirlwind. He first experienced the forearm strain in November 2022 after his fourth season in Baltimore, in which he recorded a career-low 3.05 ERA with a career-high five saves, 16 walks and 60 strikeouts in 73 2/3 relief innings.
Surgery was never a consideration for Tate this offseason, he said. Structurally, everything was in tact. The injury was a muscular issue. When Hyde recently saw Tate in Sarasota, he said he “looks unbelievable.” Hyde noted how much the Orioles leaned on Tate as late bullpen help, particularly against right-handed batters.
With the bullpen down All-Star Félix Bautista (Tommy John elbow reconstruction) but introducing veteran closer Craig Kimbrel and re-introducing Tate, how good can it be?
“We can compete with anybody,” Tate said. “I think we’ve shown that over the past few years. The track record has continued to go up so I wouldn’t see any reason for it to not keep trending the way that it is. We’re a competitive club and we’re ready to win. … For me it’s anything that I can do to help.”