Oriole relief pitchers enter the final six games of the 2021 season with a 5.67 ERA—by far the worst in baseball. As planning begins for 2022, there are plenty of in-house candidates for relief jobs, but not many compelling cases.
Not a single Oriole reliever has been on the active roster all season. The one who comes closest, Cole Sulser, spent part of April at the alternate training site at Bowie.
Sulser has the best stats in the bullpen, a 2.79 ERA, seven of 10 save opportunities converted, and 11 of 35 inherited runners scoring (31.4 percent).
He and Tyler Wells, whose season is over because of right shoulder inflammation, are the most likely to return to the bullpen in 2022. Wells began the year as one of two Rule 5 draft picks, steadily earned the trust of manager Brandon Hyde, and ended his season as the unofficial closer.
Dillon Tate could also return. If there are any games to close in the final week against Boston and Toronto, Tate might get a chance. He closed Saturday’s game against Texas, recording his second save in four chances, but his 4.59 ERA and high percentage of inherited runners allowed to score — 25 of 53 for 47.2 percent — are troubling.
The Orioles are finishing the season with 11 relievers and only one, 35-year-old Fernando Abad, is a left-hander. Abad wasn’t added until mid-August and has a 5.71 ERA in 15 games.
At midseason, the lefty duo of Paul Fry and Tanner Scott was thought to be available in trades, but neither was dealt, and neither is on the 26-man roster.
Fry’s August ERA of 21.86 ERA earned him a demotion to Triple-A Norfolk. He has spent the last month with the Tides and has an 8.10 ERA in nine games, although his most recent three outings have been scoreless. With all the transactions the Orioles have made this month, it’s a bit surprising that Fry hasn’t been summoned, though he could be added for the final week.
Scott is on the 10-day injured list because of a sprained left knee. Scott has a second-half ERA of 9.82 ERA in 22 games, and Hyde thinks the knee has had a lot to do with his decline.
Both are arbitration-eligible, and it will be interesting to see if the Orioles retain them.
If they don’t, they’ll need to acquire left-handed help. Abad could be back, and they have a large number of potential left-handed starters: Keegan Akin, Zac Lowther, Alexander Wells and Bruce Zimmermann. One or two could be moved to the bullpen, although starting pitching is also an area of weakness.
Zimmermann is scheduled to start on Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox, and a roster move will need to be made. It’s possible that right-hander Chris Ellis, who left Saturday night’s game because of arm fatigue could take Zimmermann’s place on the injured list.
There are a number of inexperienced relievers on the team: Marcos Diplán, Thomas Eshelman, Conner Greene, Eric Hanhold, Joey Krehbiel, Brooks Kriske, Konner Wade and Spenser Watkins.
Only Diplán and Greene have pitched as many as 20 times for the Orioles, and four — Hanhold, Krehbiel, Kriske and Wade — have combined for just 17 appearances. Krehbiel and Kriske made their first appearances within the last week.
While there are still six games that will be crucial for the Red Sox and Blue Jays’ wild-card pursuit, those games also could be vital in determining if any of these pitchers have a place on the 40-man roster.
There are three other candidates who are on the 60-day injured list.
Jorge López was erratic as a starter — a league-leading 14 losses and 6.35 ERA — but impressed in the bullpen — 2.16 ERA in eight games with the stuff to be a potential closer. López, who sprained an ankle covering first, is eligible for arbitration and would draw interest from other teams. The Orioles should sign him.
Hunter Harvey, the top pick in 2013 whose career has been defined by injury, appeared in only nine games with a 4.15 ERA before he suffered a right lat injury. His season debut had already been delayed by more than two months because of an oblique injury.
While rehabbing at Norfolk, Harvey suffered a right triceps strain. He’ll be returned to the 40-man roster and the Orioles will retain Harvey for another year. He’s not eligible for arbitration and, although they won’t be depending on him, they won’t give up on him just yet, either.
Travis Lakins, who underwent elbow surgery in July, is the third on the 60-day injured list. If the Orioles think Lakins, who had a 5.79 ERA in 24 games, can be ready for spring training, perhaps they’ll retain him. Otherwise, he could be passed through waivers and put on a minor league deal.
Two other relievers on the 40-man roster who are at Norfolk, Zack Burdi and Isaac Mattson.
Burdi was claimed by the Orioles from the Chicago White Sox on waivers on August 18th and appeared in one game, throwing a hitless inning before he was returned to the Tides. He’s on the minor league injured list.
Mattson was one of four pitchers acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in the trade for Dylan Bundy in December 2019, and he had a 9.00 ERA in three games for the Orioles.
Space will have to be cleared on the 40-man roster for players who need to be added, including right-hander Kyle Bradish, who came along with Mattson, and left-hander Kevin Smith, obtained from the New York Mets in August 2020 for Miguel Castro.
The Orioles will scour the waiver wire in the coming days. They’ll have first choice when Tampa Bay removes players from their 40-man roster. The Rays have seven pitchers on the 60-day injured list, and the Orioles have claimed Ellis and Krehbiel from Tampa Bay within the last six weeks.
Room also might need to be cleared for Rule 5 draft selections. In each of executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias’ three Rule 5 drafts, he has drafted two players.
There also will be a large number of relief pitchers in the free-agent market. A dependable veteran or two could be the best investment they make all winter.
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Hopefully executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias will be allowed and be willing to sign some free agents to contracts more than $1M for one season, otherwise the probability of obtaining meaning bullpen help is very low IMO. Lots of candidates currently in the organization, almost all with question marks. Thanks for the superb review of the O's bullpen, much appreciated.
Thank you, Joe.
I think it’s time to forget about Hunter Harvey. He can’t be trusted to stay healthy. I think a lot of the bullpens struggles are how Hyde uses them. For example he consistently uses guys for one inning then tries to stretch them for the second inning. Tate is a guy who he does this a lot with. He also over uses them. Used Wells four out of the last five days before his injury. Same with Connor Greene. He used him as an opener then brought him back the next day. Sulser has actually been the most consistent reliever they’ve had all year. All those guys mentioned have the stuff to be good relievers but haven’t put it together yet.
For the "millionth" time this bullpen will not succeed until they have strikeout arms coming in. Unfortunately the 2 men who had that ability(Fry/Scott)flamed out. Back to square one. Greene(disregarding his last 2 outings),Tate,and Lopez should have an in. But a big key,and was previously mentioned,is will Elias be given the purse strings to pursue "quality" instead of just "bodies". Not sold on Wells as much as many are--he doesn't seem to overpower batters as much as originally thought. But yes he and Sulser are the starting points.
Forget Lopez as a starter, put him in the pen right off the bat next year. Thanks Rich for the interesting reads
Thank you, millboy.
Article title: "Orioles need to build a better bullpen for 2022" .... no offense intended, but this is what we call having a grasp for the obvious.
MY GOSH RICH ... did I just count 29 pitchers that you listed as possible relievers for next season? TWENTY NINE?!?! Normally you would think that there are strength in numbers .... I'm not so sure with that list.
In any case Rich ... it's obvious you've done your homework for this article. Nice.
Closing line: "A dependable veteran or two could be the best investment they make all winter".... again no offense intended, but this is what we call having a grasp for the obvious.
Still drinkin' Pepsi!
Ken, I appreciate the good words, and it’s obvious you’re a dedicated reader.
Totally agree Boog…Captain Obvious moments…go O’s…
No one can win vs. BRR and CP...that's obvious too
As was this by whatever…:)…go O’s…
Any guess which players will be left exposed to the rule 5 draft? This year we pretty much swapped Wells for Pop. If Os are going to lose players, Elias basically has to draft one or two to make up for that loss. Lots of decisions in offseason. I’m thinking a number of trades and a couple of free agent signings. Maybe the Os do get the #1 pick in the draft? That will be interesting to see who they get. Time for the Rutschman, Rodriguez era to begin! Maybe Hall, Bradish too? Bring in at least one free agent starter to help the rotation and take pressure off the bullpen.
I’ll address the Rule 5 draft after the season, but with such a large number of question marks on the 40-man, I think they won’t have a hard time protecting desirable players, Bman.
Number 1 thing to do is cut out the dead wood .
I put guys like Harvey, Scott , Fry in that category or if you like unrealized potential. You can not trust any of the above Harvey can’t stay healthy I have mirrors mor durable than him . Scott and Fry can’t throw strikes on a day to day basis . How many times did we have a one or two run lead and these two come in and walk the lead off batter and we give up a big inning ?
I’ve got to have guys that throw 92+ that can throw strikes it’s that simple but that means there is a very limited supply of guys like that .
Informative as always Rich..
The biggest story in MLB today (which is NOT being reported by the NY/Boston/Chicago/Los Angeles and ESPN Pundit Class) i will point you to the Tampa Bay Rays.
They are one of the absolutely best Teams in the game, have the best record in the AL, play an incredibly interesting and exciting brand of Baseball and have one of the best Scouting and Player Development Units.
Here's where their Payroll is in the AL East
- NY Yankees $203M
- Boston Recd Sox $182M
- Toronto Blue Jays $150M
- Tampa Rays $71M
- Baltimore Orioles $54M
Think on this please... their Payroll is approximately one-third of the Yankees. The Rays are the future of the game; scouting, player development, advanced metrics, roster flexibility, excellent Coaching and Manager, and they play an exciting brand of hustle, defense, timely hitting and have a terrific bullpen. Some will say that they don't have player continuity, I say that the connection between the players and fans there is the best in the game. Still others here will say "but we like our guys", well---"our guys" aren't doing that much for us and for the most part are unknowns outside of this fanbase.
I for one would love to see this brand of baseball visit upon the Baltimore Orioles.
Hoping that Mike Elias is watching..
Okay, SI has an article with title & subtitle: "The Rays Are Winning Efficiently, but at What Cost?
They are the model postmodern franchise. That doesn't mean their style is good for baseball." The article puts a different spin on the Rays...
You can link as many Articles about the Rays as you want.
The fact is that they are a highly competitive AND entertaining team. Verducci (who believe to be a good writer) is making the case for putting players on a carousel of being called-up and sent down...sounds familiar enough to me as an Orioles fan.
The problem for the Baseball Establishment is that the Rays have crafted a formula that works in today's Big Money/Big market baseball world...I respect this...I enjoy this...I have had it with everything being about the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Cubs, the Dodgers, etc...
I'm also quite sure that the MLBPA will be trying to "Legislate" out what they believe the Rays to be doing..
My last point is this....I'm tired of the Big Coastal Markets running the show in MLB, and make no mistake about this being true....the Rays are a breath of fresh air and I hope that they run the table this Fall...and I also hope that Elias is paying close attention...
So you are ok that we lose 100 games a year cause we are "good people"? My God. You are the fan base that makes me believe Baltimore does not deserve a baseball franchise. You are the guy that makes more noise for Relish than you do for the team. Shame. (Ding) Shame. (Ding) Shame. (Ding) Shame.
Castaway, the AL East payroll numbers you cite don't really convey the full extent of the Orioles miserliness ... of the $54 million figure for the Orioles, at least half goes to Davis and Cobb ... so even the small market, low attendance Rays effectively have a payroll nearly 3x times that of the Orioles ... the Rays have 15 players making over $1 million on their current active roster or on the IL - the Orioles have 3.
Gotta give an attaboy/girl to Hmmm, very interesting article on the si.com site by Verducci, agree, doesn’t necessarily sound good for baseball…go O’s…
Great article Rich but depressing that at this stage of the Ellis rebuild the bullpen is so awful
I would have expected it to be better, Bruce.
Rich, thanks for the very informative, if distressing, report on the status of the Orioles bullpen ... as you note, the Orioles need to invest in (at least) a couple of experienced major league pitchers to shore up the currently awful bullpen ... if Elias is again only permitted sign waiver wire and Rule 5 players, it will be a clear and worrisome sign that ownership is content to limp along fielding a bottom of the barrel product.
I know I'm repeating myself, but I've seen no evidence of ME complaining about not being "permitted" to do anything by ownership. No one gets a blank check, but I think the VP-GM is making his decisions based on a Plan he believes in, not based on fiscal limitations. The O's are spending (more) money on things they hadn't spent on before. Maybe the owners do have a tight rein on the team's wallet, but I'd like to see some proof.
The proof is right there in the payroll numbers for every MLB team, which are publicly available online ... the Orioles payroll is absurdly low - a $9 million 14 man pitching staff, and just 3 players making more than $1 million.
Do you really expect Elias to publicly criticize his employers' parsimony, and do you really believe that Elias would not prefer to have a $71 million payroll, like the Rays, to work with?
Thank you, Birdman. As for your questions, I do not share several of your assumptions. First, I do not assume that ME thinks exactly as I do. Second, I don't think the owner and VP have an adversarial relationship but a collaborative one in which they are on the same page. Third, I don't feel that Elias was forced into taking this job or that he was unaware of the club's finances. If you have evidence of disagreement or friction between the owner and GM, please provide it. Just saying that we'd all like to have more money to do our jobs isn't enough for me.
Right on Will!!! Posters that still do not understand what a complete rebuild is after being told numerous times is what's worrisome!!! For a team with a complete rebuild and with the pitching staff made up of mostly pitchers having 3 years or less and most really having been 1st or 2nd year rookies that were just being brought up this year or last year. Then to complain that the payroll for these guys is only 9 million they just don't get it!!! I mean how much do these posters think these guys as rookies or 3 years of experience or less make???? Just clueless!!!!
Since you have all the clues, tell me exactly who on this (atrocious) $ 9 million 2021 Orioles pitching staff is going to be a productive part of the "rebuild"?
Greene (8.57 ERA, 1.86 WHIP)? Watkins (8.42 ERA, 1.77 WHIP)? Wade (11.42 ERA, 2.08 WHIP)? Lowther (7.66 ERA, 1.66 WHIP)? Eshelman (7.20 ERA, 1.64 WHIP)? Plutko (6.71 ERA, 1.63 WHIP)? Akin (6.63 ERA, 1.58 WHIP)? Harvey (6.27 ERA, 1.54 WHIP)? Valdez (5.87 ERA, 1.65 WHIP)? Abad (5.71 ERA, 1.62 WHIP)?
Who said anyone on this staff would be part of the rebuild? That's what a rebuild is all about! Trying to figure out what you have and what you need. This process takes time. Something you apparently don't have the patience for. And crying about it doesn't make it go any faster! So you can bail on the Orioles and become a frontrunner somewhere else or stick it out. What's it going to be?
Thank you, Birdman.
Wow, always conflict…go Birdman & O’s…
On the the O’s bullpen there is so little of a positive that it’s a sign to s__t can the whole bunch and start over. Rich, as others have said you did a fine job of covering all of them. I know it’s not your nature to demean anyone but it’s time to assess and dismiss those who do not have the talent to be in the ML. Every single one of Mikey’s “add-in’s” at the end of the season (except Ellis) was a desperation dumpster grab and nothing else. NOT the way to success! … just saying…
Thank you, Ekim. I'm interested in taking a further look at Joey Krehbiel.
Sometimes you have to think outside the box. Rich notes the the Rays have seven pitchers on the 60-day injured list and thus will need to offload a bunch of presumably strong arms. The Rays have lower attendance this year than the Orioles despite the O's having had fewer home games. The Rays need money, the Orioles badly need pitching. A mutually beneficial arrangement would be for the two teams to agree on a sale/sell back arrangement. Our team could buy a specific number of pitchers, say for $250,000. After the 2022 season, we would sell to the Rays any pitchers they wanted back for, say $75,000. If the Rays have a surplus of infielders (left-side), we could include them.This deal would probably have to be kept secret because some killjoy baseball purists would oppose what would amount to the O's becoming a de facto farm team of the talent laden, revenue constrained Rays. This annually renewable arrangement could and should be ended at such time as Baltimore's farm system begins to deliver dominant MLB pitchers.
.
Steve, since the Orioles have first call on any American League waiver claims, they'll be able to snatch any of the Rays arms that come on the waiver wire.
Rich, There are ways to reduce rosters without waivers or DFAs, e.g. sending players to the minors, keeping them on 60 day IL until an active player goes on 60IL, temporarily moving players to front office media relations, etc. My plan would guarantee the O's got some really good pitchers and infielders. And it would help out the cash poor Rays. Everybody wins except the killjoys. Elias, are you reading this?
Rich, I forgot to mention that if the unshakeable optimist commentators are correct, by next year, we will be climbing in the standings. If so, no more first crack at waivers! Trust the plan.
Baltimore JV Rays?…go O’s…
Right now IMHO this bullpen consists of TWO people. Lopez and Wells. To build a bullpen is simple and Elias the Genius has proven that waiver wire (untradeables) are certainly not the answer. Until The O's decide to let go of some money, of which this team has plenty we're stuck with the dregs of The Waiver Wire. Enough of the phony poor mouthing small market bull (talking about the bullpen, that's funny). I may have said this before, baseball is money driven. You can have the #1 farm system in baseball which gaurantees not a damn thing. Major league players are what counts and that cost MONEY. No rebuild can be done without Major League Players.
AMEN…:)…go O’s…
Yeah the Padres, Mets and Angels have proven, spend money and you’re in the postseason… oh wait
No one is claiming that signing a couple of experienced major league pitchers will get the Orioles to the postseason next year - that's your straw man argument ... but it might actually help the Orioles to field a more competitive team.
You forgot the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Cubs.
At least they tried…go O’s…
Looks like Captain Obvious strikes again regarding the 2022 Orioles bullpen. Mike Elias is in a very tough position right now. I count 6 guys on the current 28 man roster as possible/definite "keepers". Cedric Mullins, John Means, Ryan Mountcastle, Trey Mancini, Austin Hays and Anthony Santander. And only one of these five players is batting over .300. A .250 - .260 BA is just mediocre and ain't cutting it. And being injury prone only shows you cannot be counted on. And that's it, so anyone that states Dan Duquette didn't leave this organization in shambles is lacking baseball knowledge! 6 guys - 5 players and one pitcher all going thru a 162 game season without injury and slumps, cannot carry a team all year long to make the playoffs. And no smart player with great talent will go to a team in this situation either. Period! So, the Orioles record is what it is for the lack of talent! Period! So all this bull crap about "tanking" and blaming it all on Mike Elias is bull crap as well.
And now there's talk of the draft, that actually helps the unfortunate teams restock good players, is talk that the new CBA of being changed to stop "tanking" is also bull crap. You want to help teams that are not doing well. Then help them, don't crucify them. Here's what I would change.
1) The 5 worst record teams can sign any free agent player WITHOUT LOSING ANY DRAFT PICKS! Period!
2) The 5 worst record teams during the off-season can pick up to 5 of the best free agent players they intend to sign to a guarantee minimum within the top 25% at their position and to a 3 - 4 year deal with an exclusive 2 - 4 week window to negotiate terms. If one of these players is a free agent from one of these 5 worst teams then that team can sign him to an extra 5th year!
3) If a free agent player is picked by more than one of these 5 teams then the window can go an extra week to negotiate a contract.
3) Any free agent player that gets this designation can opt out of this in 3 - 5 days. If player opts out then he cannot sign with any of these 5 teams. Even after this exclusive window closes.
4) All these transactions are posted so fans can see this play out. All of this "new" procedure should be moved to right after the rule 5 draft and after designating the 1 year qualifying offer procedure. The rule 5 draft should be moved to early in November during the off-season right after the World Series to help compensate the time line.
5) After this procedure, all the remaining free agent players can sign up to a 5 year deal with any of the 25 remaining teams for any amount going forward.
Then after seeing this new procedure, all the players and fans that were constantly crying and complaining that these unfortunate teams are not trying... Well now these teams can now show that they were willing and trying, but it was the players that were unwilling to go to a losing team!
Obviously, the relative lack of talent, especially pitching, is the cause of the O's' losing. The BIG question is WHY the team's cumulative talent is so poor. Again, I offer 4 possibilities:
1) Broad and deep incompetence in upper levels of management.
2) Excessive penny pinching by ownership.
3) A deliberate effort to tank.
4) Some combination of the above.
Answers or guesses would be welcomed.
THE ANSWER IS: Dan Duquette. His poor drafting, trades he made. Riding on the coattails of what Andy Mcphail did is his power play move to go to the Blue Jay's as President of baseball operations.
I like your creative and aggressive thing here Gov....
..and it is time to give up on the bad old days.
Sorry for the typo: It should be... After this procedure, all the remaining free agent players can sign up to a (3) three year deal with any of the 25 remaining teams.
They need a better everything. Pas on Fry, that ship has sailed!
Hunter Harvey, I feel sorry for the guy. Everyone had such high expectations for him. He would find a way to get injured even if he was wrapped in bubble wrap.
Build a better bullpen. Didn’t know they had one. Boy genius Elias will get it straightened out.
Better!? I do not trust the Angelos bros or Elias. 60+ pitchers on the bump this year with the highest era in the history of forever. So let's do the right thing....fire the hitting coach! Makes sense. Look. I'm ok with analytics but I'm not sure between Rosenbaum and Blood, which is the baby and which is the babysitter. 30 years and 2 division championships!? Stop drinking the kool-aid.