SARASOTA, Fla. -- Many times this spring, groups of starting pitchers have sat together on the couches inside the Orioles' clubhouse prior to workouts at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. They'll play Clash Royale on their phones or watch a game take place on the nearby pool table. If there's a sporting event showing on one of the televisions hanging above, they'll watch and partake in friendly banter.
It's a fairly low-key mix of veterans and younger hurlers, all with calm personalities. But whenever one of them takes the mound this year -- particularly once the bright lights of the regular season arrive -- they'll become fierce competitors out to prove one thing.
This Baltimore rotation could be better than many think it will be -- like a lot better.
"I’m not going to get too excited about it, just because I don’t want to make any headlines. I would rather be a stealth bomber, so to speak, and not have anybody talk about us. Just surprise people," right-hander Chris Bassitt said. "I think we’re very underrated."
"I think we’re all in agreement on that. I was talking to [pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek], and he said this might be the most underrated rotation in all of baseball," said left-hander Trevor Rogers, the O's Opening Day starter. "I think we all agree, and I think we all have that chip on our shoulder."
Entering Tuesday, FanGraphs projects the Orioles' starting rotation for 11.8 Wins Above Replacement in 2026, a mark that is tied for 16th in MLB and ranks 10th in the American League. It also is the lowest among the five teams in the AL East.
Perhaps the projections aren't too bullish about Baltimore's starting staff because the club didn't land one of the top-tier free-agent pitchers this past offseason, somebody such as Framber Valdez. Instead, the O's swung a trade with the Rays for right-hander Shane Baz -- a 26-year-old with a high ceiling -- and signed the 37-year-old Bassitt to a one-year, $18.5 million deal.
Bassitt is more than an innings-eating workhorse, though. He's an 11-year MLB veteran helping to shape this underdog mentality of the O's rotation.
"Everything that he talks about, it’s about the group and it’s about the team and it’s about the organization. It’s about winning. It’s about competing. You need guys like that," pitching coach Drew French said. "He’s about everything that we want the entire group to be about. And so, that’s just going to trickle down and that’s going to bleed into our DNA and it’s going to be really, really impactful."
But Bassitt can still pitch at a high level, too, recording a 3.66 ERA while averaging 176 innings and 30.4 starts per year over the past five seasons. And yet, he may end up as the Orioles' fourth- or fifth-best starter.
The 28-year-old Rogers had a 1.81 ERA in 18 starts during his remarkable comeback campaign last year. Kyle Bradish owns a 2.78 ERA in 44 starts since the beginning of 2023, and the 29-year-old is fully healthy after returning last year from Tommy John surgery (which he underwent in June 2024).
Baz has nasty stuff and tremendous upside. Dean Kremer, 30, has logged 599 1/3 innings for Baltimore over the past four seasons. And 31-year-old Zach Eflin -- coming off of back surgery last August -- says he's feeling the best he has in a long time and could return to the form he showed for the O's in the final two months of the 2024 season (a 2.60 ERA in nine starts).
That's six solid starting options for only five spots (unless Eflin begins the year on the injured list due to his slower buildup or the Orioles opt for a six-man rotation). The Triple-A Norfolk rotation is set to feature Cade Povich (who made 36 starts for Baltimore over the past two seasons) and Brandon Young (12 starts for the O's last year), as well as several intriguing prospects on the cusp of the Majors.
"I feel like we have a much deeper group than we’ve had in my three years here. Everybody knows that you need a lot of pitching, you need a lot of starting pitching, to make it through a season and be successful," said French, who joined the Orioles ahead of the 2024 season. "We feel really good about one through six, one through 10, one through 12."
Maybe this deeper O's rotation will accomplish its goal and just might surprise some people.
"We’re just focused on going out there and doing our job and winning games," Eflin said. "Wherever that takes us is where it will take us."