Bassitt uses bluntness to guide Orioles’ teammates

SARASOTA—The Orioles haven’t decided whether they’ll use five starters or six to begin the season. For now, as manager Craig Albernaz likes to say, everything remains on the table.

Trevor Rogers, who’ll start for the final time in spring training on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, will be the Opening Day starter. Kyle Bradish, who pitched in a simulated game on Monday after his scheduled start Monday night was canceled, will likely follow Rogers in the rotation.

Shane Baz also pitched in a simulated game on Monday. Chris Bassitt started on Tuesday.

Dean Kremer, who hasn’t pitched for the Orioles since he threw four scoreless innings on March 5th against Team Netherlands, will start on Thursday against the New York Yankees in Tampa in the afternoon half of a split-squad. Kremer pitched for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic.

The biggest question for the Orioles’ rotation is whether Zach Eflin will be on the active roster. Eflin had season-ending back surgery last August, and his second start of the spring ended in the third inning on Sunday night due to rain.

Eflin has officially thrown just two scoreless innings, allowing one hit. On Sunday, he pitched two more scoreless innings before the game was canceled. After the rain, he went to the Orioles’ indoor facility to throw two simulated innings.

He could pitch on Friday in a final Grapefruit League game and then the Orioles could make the decision on whether he’ll begin the season in the starting rotation.

“That’s my goal,” Eflin said on Tuesday. “I still have another outing to check-mark. There’s still eight, nine days left. That’s where my head’s at. We haven’t had that conversation yet. That’s what I’m thinking.”

Eflin thinks the staff is a strong one and and likes its cohesion.

“I think we have all the confidence in every guy we have,” Eflin said. “We’re all competitors. We’re all trying to help each other, which is what you want in a starting rotation. We’re just focused on going out and doing our job and winning games. Wherever that takes us is where it takes us.”

Catcher Adley Rutschman tries to ignore the chatter about the starters.

“I don’t know what the outside perspective is,” he said. “I think our staff is really good and capable of doing a lot. Top to bottom from Baz, Bradish, Eflin, Kremer, Bassitt, Rogers, we’ve got a really, really good staff. Just from what I’ve seen, they talk to each other a lot, feeding off each other and learning.”

Albernaz is enjoying the staff’s camaraderie.

“I love our guys, every single one of them,” he said. “Whatever the outside noise is, it is. I just know how good these guys are, being around them and being up close with them … The starting pitching group is like a subset of the team.”

That subset was solidified by Bassitt, who threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings on Tuesday, allowing one run on three hits, striking out six without a walk. Bassitt has a 2.51 ERA in 14 1/3 innings.

“That veteran starter presence has been awesome,” Albernaz said. “He’s not overbearing. He’s not trying to get too involved. It’s just him just sharing his experiences. Those guys know he’s there as a sounding board.”

Bassitt takes his role seriously.

“I would say I’m just blunt,” Bassitt said. “In this game, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things, and if you’re wanting to win, you’ve got to do a lot of the things the right way, pretty much all the things the right way. Even if you feel, as long as you’re doing things the right way, the odds are you’re going to have a pretty good year.

“People come and ask me questions because they want the honest truth, so to speak, rather than sugarcoat something or tell them what they want to hear.”

Bassitt credits top players and managers in convincing him to be honest with teammates, naming New York Mets teammates Jacob  de Grom, Francisco Lindor and Max Scherzer as well as former Orioles manager Buck Showalter. With the Oakland Athletics, manager Bob Melvin and teammates Sonny Gray and Barry Zito.

“I had guys coming up that were always blunt with me,” he said. “I always really appreciated that.”

Melvin and Showalter are known for direct approaches with players.

“They were pretty ruthless when it came to the truth with me, and I enjoyed it,” Bassitt said. “If I like this, why shouldn’t I give this treatment to everybody else? Tell them what’s going to make them the best person and the best player.

“I just try to treat everyone with respect, and I try to make sure everyone’s guided in the right direction. If I hurt your feelings along the way, that’s part of it. Someone may hurt my feelings, but at the end of the day, I can go home and say, “You had my best interests at heart.’ I can get over it.”

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com