Orioles’ Elias on Kremer-Eflin decision and Westburg’s long road back

SARASOTA—Saturday was one of the more surprising days in recent Orioles history as team officials decided that pitcher Dean Kremer, who has started for the past four seasons, would be better off starting the season at Triple-A Norfolk.

They said the decision wasn’t because of anything Kremer had done, but because Zach Eflin showed he was ready to join a starting rotation that also will include Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz and Chris Bassitt.

Rogers will start Opening Day, and manager Craig Albernaz hasn’t announced who will follow him in the rotation.

“I think he looked terrific this spring,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias said about Eflin, who had back surgery last August and pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball against against the New York Yankees on Friday night.

“Coming into the spring, we were a little guarded that he may not be able to get himself prepared for Opening Day and the season, and he clearly did,” Elias said. “Both in terms of optics and result, did about as well as you could have imagined, especially coming off that surgery.”

Kremer must stay in the minor leagues until April 9th, unless there’s an injury. With offdays and unpredictable weather at the start of the season, Elias wanted to stick with a five-man rotation.

“These baseball seasons are so hard to predict, but we’re very much discussing points in the calendar where the right personnel’s healthy and throwing well, we’ll be looking to do that,” he said about the possibility of expanding the rotation.

“We’re open to it. We’ve done it in the past in the last couple of years and if circumstances align, we’ll view that as a benefit when that happens. But the first couple of weeks of the season when the starters aren’t going super long, when you have these offdays, when you have April weather, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense, and we did talk about it extensively. But maybe we’ll get there at some point, a little later.”

First-year manager Craig Albernaz acknowledged the decision to demote Kremer was difficult. He missed some time in camp to pitch for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic, throwing 4 1/3 scoreless innings.

“It’s all tough,” Albernaz said. “Anytime you have these conversations with the players, it’s tough. In Dean’s case, absolutely. Dean handled it like a pro and that’s all you can ask for. You never want the player to be happy, but we explained everything to him. Mike did a great job of laying out everything to him, completely open and honest, and I think that went a long way. It’s not easy for Dean, but he handled it like a pro and that’s all you can ask for.”

Another issue arose during Saturday’s Grapefruit League against the Phillies when left-handed reliever Keegan Akin, who was scheduled to pitch, suffered an adductor injury, commonly known as a groin strain.

“My understanding is that he was warming up for the game,” Elias said. “He had some kind of slip or misstep and had some adductor discomfort. We’re still evaluating it.”

If Akin goes on the injured list, that might ensure that left-hander Grant Wolfram makes the club. Right-handers Yaramil Hiraldo, Jackson Kowar and Albert Suárez are also in contention for the final bullpen spots.

Third baseman Jordan Westburg, whom Elias had said wouldn’t play in April after a platelet-rich-plasma shot in his right elbow because of a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament, isn’t close to being ready.

“May 1^st is unrealistic,” Elias said. “This is an IL situation that’s going to go into May even in the best-case scenario. Things are going fine so far, but we still have a lot of time ahead of us, but right now we’re not at the point of having a timeline for him.”

The Orioles wisely held on to Coby Mayo, who played first base last season, when they signed slugging first baseman Pete Alonso. Mayo had played third in the minors and has gone back to that position this spring while continuing to show promise as a power hitter. They also traded for utility player Blaze Alexander, who’s likely to start the season at second base for Jackson Holliday, who’s recovering from surgery to remove the hamate bone in his right wrist.

Elias declined to say who had made the team for Opening Day. Injuries to outfielders Dylan Beavers, who was s scratched from Friday night’s game with right knee discomfort, and Heston Kjerstad, who’ll have an MRI on Sunday on his right hamstring, could affect the composition of the roster.

“We’re going to need another infielder,” Elias said. “And then depending on the health of those outfielders, another one of those guys.”

It’s possible the Orioles will add players who have recently become free agents or through the waiver wire, Elias acknowledged.

“We like the guys here. I think we can put together a good team here,” Elias said. “I am excited about the talent on this team … We have to assess a couple of these guys who are a little banged up over the next few days and whether they’re going to break.”

Note: Levi Wells, who started Saturday’s game, was reassigned to minor league camp.

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